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DUCK AND GOOSE DEFINITIONS
* Broiler Duckling or Fryer Duckling - a young duck (usually under 8 weeks of age) of either sex that is tender meated and has a soft bill and a soft windpipe; ducklings classified as broiler-fryers weigh from 3 to 6 ½ pounds.
* Roaster Duckling - a young duck (usually under 16 weeks of age) of either sex that is tender-meated and has a bill that is not completely hardened and a windpipe that is easily dented; they usually weigh from 4 to 7 ½ pounds.
* Mature Duck or Old Duck - a duck (usually over 6 months of age) of either sex with toughened flesh and a hardened bill; these ducks are usually too old to lay eggs and their meat is used in processed products.
* Young Goose or Gosling - may be of either sex and is tender meated. A gosling weighs about 8 pounds; a young goose weighs 12 to 14 pounds.
* Mature Goose or Old Goose - may be of either sex and has toughened flesh. A mature goose is usually a spent breeder and its meat is used in processed products.
* Gander - a male goose.
Almost all ducks are raised indoors to protect from predators and to manage their manure, which is collected and used elsewhere selectively as fertilizer. Most ducks are now raised in Wisconsin and Indiana since land on Long Island, NY, where most ducks were formerly raised, has become increasingly too valuable for farming. Ducks are fed corn and soybeans fortified with vitamins and minerals. Most feed contains no animal by-products.
Geese are raised under cover for the first six weeks of life. Then they are put on the range 14 to 20 weeks where they eat available grass and some grain. California and South Dakota are the main geese-raising states.