Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Dave went on to earn a degree in poultry science and taught applied poultry sci-
ence in Puerto Rico. His students raised over 100 varieties of poultry, researching
which ones would thrive in the tropics. While procuring stock for the island program,
he was dismayed that many of the old, adaptable varieties were difficult to find any-
where in North America. Upon returning to Oregon in 1976, Dave and Millie started
Holderread Waterfowl Preservation Center to help the survival of many rare varieties
of ducks and geese.
They have a strong business sense, a heart for preservation, and realism about
what they can handle. They have done a superb job over the years of perpetuating
breeds and varieties, and then passing them on to take on new ones that need care
and propagation. Dave's detailed records on poultry family lines and data from his
incubation of eggs have helped him develop guidelines on what it takes to get a su-
perb hatch, even from difficult breeds. With Millie's dedication to careful handling
and washing of the hatching eggs and Dave's painstakingly careful monitoring of the
incubation process from start to finish, they have a topnotch operation that maintains
and preserves high quality lines of ducks and geese. In order to perpetuate and pre-
serve they have imported rare stock into this country and then spread it around the
entire United States and Canada.
No one in the United States today has a better grasp of the genetics of waterfowl
than Dave. He is truly the authority on waterfowl and has written two excellent topics
on ducks and geese. Dave and Millie are dedicated to their work and their cause.
GUARD YOUR TREES
Watch geese around young fruit trees. They will debark them easily and quickly. I
always use tree guards in a young orchard if I am turning the geese loose to forage
there. Older, established trees are safe, and the fowl will actually gnaw off the suck-
ers that come up at the tree's base — parts of the tree you want to get rid of anyway.
Raising geese is an enormously gratifying experience. They bring a certain style to
the farmyard that is unrivaled. Like Tom Turkey, they walk with an air of confidence
and pride. They are neat freaks that love to look their best. Devoted pets if you spend the
time with them in their young gosling days, these birds love to talk. They make excel-
lent watchgeese and will run off intruders without hesitation. I always know if someone
pulls into my drive and gets out of their car. My geese never fail to honk to announce
the presence of anything or anyone strange to them.
