It is on the west coast of Norway, near the town of Orkanger, between fjords and mountains, that our second stage in Norwegian lands led us. Here, on the hillside, is located Hammerfield Gård, the farm where Heidi and her husband raise a herd of 150 geese of two historic Scandinavian breeds: the Norsk Hvit Gås (white goose) and the Smaalensgås (a older breed, grey and white). They also keep quails and some fattening bulls.
From left to right: Photo 1. Sign at the entrance to Hammerfield Gård. Photo 2. View of the barn and the geese pastures. Photo 3. Goose Smaalensgås. Photo 4. Geese Norsk Hvit Gås. Photo 5. Quails. Photo 6. Young quails from the farm.
Here, the geese graze (yes yes they graze!) from early June to November (before the snow settles on the meadows). They are reared in the barn from January, when the breeding season begins. In winter, geese are given wrapping and grain. Admittedly, these animals do not hibernate like bears, but they have the ability to slow down their metabolism in winter, which means that they consume little when they are inside. Geese prefer young, short grass. The pastures are therefore mown before being opened to the geese, in order to offer them a short and tender grass. The parks are opened gradually, as the pastures are mown (the cut grass will be used for the production of wrapping for the winter). In spring, the geese will first benefit from a park at the entrance to the building. Then, from June, the geese will frolic on 5 hectares of pastures!
Photo. Heidi with grazing geese
The history of breeding is closely linked to Heidi's love for these palmipeds. She started her breeding in 2015 with 7 goslings collected from a friend, who had a flock of geese dedicated to the protection of the two breeds (Norsk Hvit Gås and Smaalensgås) for 25 years. Falling under the spell of geese and their social character, Heidi took over the entire herd (60 geese) when the breeder stopped his activity. There are very few goose keepers in Norway and especially local breed geese. Thus, the farm received aids from the Norwegian state to protect these 2 endangered breeds, almost extincted at the end of the Second World War. For Heidi, the best way to save these breeds is to value them in the form of meat, which she is working on. Obviously the 2 breeds are not distinguished only by their colors, another important difference concerns the weight of the animals: 7 to 9 kilos for the white against about 5 to 6 kg for the Smaalengås. In any case, no need to cut the tip of the wings, indeed being too heavy these geese do not fly, it is easier to keep them in the pasture!
Geese live in a small "tribe": 1 jar for 3 geese is the right ratio to satisfy everyone. It is also important to monitor the formation of tribes so that the two races remain pure. Hammerfield Gård is the only farm raising these two breeds of geese in the region and one of the few Norwegian geese farms. So, to avoid inbreeding, Heidi has to go look for "new blood" far from the farm, in the West of the country.
In geese, brooding lasts about 30 days and a goose alone can hatch between 12 and 20 brooding eggs! In Hammerfjeld Gård, laying starts in mid-February (for Valentine's Day!) until the end of May. The brooding of geese is delegated to an incubator present on the farm, which ensures the brooding of about 30 to 40 eggs per goose. The goslings are fed with pellets during the first weeks of life, then gradually discover grazing. Some are led into an closed park equipped with a net (against predation by crows), others will integrate the herd into the pasture, in the company of adoptive mothers. Heidi keeps promising youngsters, who will become reproducers.
Photo. Goose egg
The slaughter takes place in November, when the geese store fat. On average, goslings weigh 4-5 kg during this period. Because of a lack of an existing structure in the region to slaughter the palmipeds, here, we manage differently. This year, Heidi and her husband are in the process of building a slaughterhouse on the farm, which should be operational by this fall. They plan to slaughter around 70 geese there (and 3'000 quails). As in France, slaughter on the farm requires meeting a number of rules and standards: biological analyzes, health rules, breeder and animal safety, traceability ... Heidi was trained to obtain the authorization to slaughter her own animals on the farm. The structure will not open to animals outside the farm, as the regulations would then be stricter. The construction of this slaughterhouse is quite exceptional. It's a big investment, but the breeders hope to make the tool profitable within 3-4 years. For Heidi, it is a godsend to be able to slaughter on the farm, to limit the stress on animals linked to transport or to the change of environment. She enjoys working on her products and testing new things. We must admit that in goose, Norway has everything to invent ! This year Heidi made a "dried ham" of goose: as beta-testers, we validated 100%! ;)
While grazing, geese must still avoid attacks from foxes, which are very present in this area. At the beginning of autumn, attacks are frequent, when the mothers teach the young cubs of the year to hunt. The danger is also sometimes in the air, because eagles fly in the area. Even though their attacks are rarer than those of foxes, an eagle can easily take off a young gosling. In all cases, the breeder brings her animals into the house every evening. A way to ensure their protection from predators, but also to maintain a link and proximity with them, by feeding them. The breeds of geese bred by Heidi are very hardy, so they are very rarely sick. The only serious health risk for Heidi is the same as for all poultry farmers: avian flu. This year, avian flu forced the breeder to keep her animals in the house longer than expected.
Heidi and her husband are part of a group of producers around Orkanger. Together, they sell their products "on the farm". More precisely, three producers of the group have a farm store and sell the products of the group. The products of Heidi and her husband (goose meat, eggs and quail meat, honey) are therefore sold directly to consumers, through the farm stores of the group of producers. In the future, Heidi would also like to develop sales to restaurants in the area. The originality of their breeding finds an increasingly important clientele and the demand does not dry up since the beginning of breeding. There are even people who stop at the farm after seeing the geese grazing by the roadside, to ask if there is any meat to sell. According to Heidi, local consumption is not very developed in Norway, but people are increasingly interested in it, so the trend is positive!
Norwegian moment
- Geese and good wine lover
Here, as elsewhere in the country, breeding is rarely the only activity. Heidi is also a wine writer (which has earned her many trips around the world, especially in France!). To make a living from breeding geese, the couple would have to greatly increase the number of animals and therefore the surface area of buildings, but that is not part of their philosophy. In Norway, for several years, the government has encouraged livestock productivity and increase in farms size. Given the profile of the territory, arable land (and even grazing land) is often not available near the farm. Thus, those who gain weight are forced to travel more kilometers to maintain all their surfaces, more travel time, more fuel consumed and ultimately no more interest. Heidi's words echo what we told you about in a previous article (Between mountains and valleys): "Norwegian policy tries to apply the European conventional breeding model in this country, to believe that they do not know the territory!"
- Taste of Orkland
Hammefield Gård in a member of the producers' group Smaker fra Orkland (taste of Orkland). For more details about them (in Norwegian!) : www.smakerfraorkland.no