does anyone have info on swan farming?

i know ducks, and geese can be moved around on pasture

--- i saw people setting up things like wheeling bathtubs for DIY grazing ducks through savannah style pastures.

but.. i was wonder if anyone had info on swans. i was thinking about a tick tock setup for swans but im not sure how much grass they could eat or if i could direct them to the grass areas? also they clean up a pasture like ducks, geese, chickens, and turkey's will? or do they just want grass more. do they have a preferred height on grass. ... meat and eggs, i know it's not that poplar in main stream markets but ethnic markets..

Does anyone anywhere farm swans ?
In the UK they are traditionally a royal food and theoretically only the queen can keep them for more details I would suggest you research "swan upping"
But that seems to be more a way of counting them .
Often in the breeding season they are quite anti social to other swans and humans too , this could be the reason they have not been domesticated.

David

David Livingston wrote:Does anyone anywhere farm swans ?
In the UK they are traditionally a royal food and theoretically only the queen can keep them for more details I would suggest you research "swan upping"
But that seems to be more a way of counting them .
Often in the breeding season they are quite anti social to other swans and humans too , this could be the reason they have not been domesticated.

David

i notice that for the most part swans tend to take care of themselves. which is part of the reason i asked if anyone did this or had info.

they are a pretty big bird. they like eating and other water greens. and duckweed, they clean up areas.. ive always seen a few they raise there own young.. it seem like a win win.

The problem with swans is, that they are very territorial during breeding season. If you confine several of them during breeding, they might even start killing each other.
In Europe there are some people keeping swans as a pastime.
But as you cannot keep them in numbers, they are not interesting as livestock.
No big loss as they are just big geese. And you can keep other geese in any number you want.

I have Chinese swan geese which are related to swans but smaller. They are pretty territorial but not totally feral. They take care of them selves pretty totally.

Landon Sunrich wrote:I have Chinese swan geese which are related to swans but smaller. They are pretty territorial but not totally feral. They take care of them selves pretty totally.

i was looking into that... breed..

yeah i wouldnt want them killing each other but you can put the males in pins during that part of the season


i scored something interesting and im sending this guy.. a email to see what he says

http://www.roysfarm.com/swan-farming/

I have two males and one female and no problems with violence just FYI

What species of swans and on how much area?
How many offspring do they produce in an average year?

Manfred Eidelloth wrote:What species of swans and on how much area?
How many offspring do they produce in an average year?

For clarification I was referring to my above post regarding my Chinese Swan Geese- these are not true Swans.

I have had them for almost 1 year. I am on about 3/4 an acre. I have thus far gotten about 20 eggs from the one goose and am Attempting to hatch about 7 of them.

Swans are mean as hell! Ive seen them behead canada geese and once saw one kill a groundhog, though they never bother with ducks. Ive heard the mechanics of mating requires them to be in water to reproduce and a 1 acre pond is the minimum for a pair. They are worth a pretty penny if you succeed though.

Al Senner wrote:Swans are mean as hell! Ive seen them behead canada geese and once saw one kill a groundhog, though they never bother with ducks. Ive heard the mechanics of mating requires them to be in water to reproduce and a 1 acre pond is the minimum for a pair. They are worth a pretty penny if you succeed though.

1 acer of pond isnt that bad..if you have a few ponds.. on property.. that's not bad at all..

i like ducks but they work on land if you set them up right..

but if you have swans they have a hell of a lot stay alive..

I've heard it said that you can tell the swan breeder by their missing fingers . . .

They do not reach breeding maturity until year three, as I recall. On avg, they live to be about 10 yrs old. I think their egg production is very low - like 10 or less per breeding season. So its a long life cycle.

J D Horn wrote:I've heard it said that you can tell the swan breeder by their missing fingers . . .

They do not reach breeding maturity until year three, as I recall. On avg, they live to be about 10 yrs old. I think their egg production is very low - like 10 or less per breeding season. So its a long life cycle.

ok if swans can reproduce themselves, are near 90% forage .. i dont see a need to stick my fingers in there mouth so i think i'll be fine lol. to be honest if they are willing to just reproduce themselves i'll just kill them from afar with a pellet gun and eat em if they taste good. if they dont.. i can always sell them as PET meat which oddly enough in a weird way for effort put in makes a lot of money in the raw food dog market.

Swan are too valuable to ever consider eating! People purchase them for hundreds of dollars and some for over $1500/ pair. They need a very large, well fenced area with ponds. They live to be 25 to 30 years old. They have 4-8 offspring per year - if you are lucky. They breed for life and are very territorial. Pairs of swan must be kept separated while raising their young. Permits are required to have swan. Breeding age is 5 years plus.

Ben Miller wrote:

Swan are too valuable to ever consider eating! People purchase them for hundreds of dollars and some for over $1500/ pair. They need a very large, well fenced area with ponds. They live to be 25 to 30 years old. They have 4-8 offspring per year - if you are lucky. They breed for life and are very territorial. Pairs of swan must be kept separated while raising their young. Permits are required to have swan. Breeding age is 5 years plus.

had no idea.. they get shot here.. and were i was travelling .. we ate em... who buys them? and do they buy them all the time?

Swans are purchased by retirement communities, gated communities, city lakes and parks, golf courses, people that have acreage and ponds and plenty of fencing to keep them from wandering off. They are protected and in most places you have to have a permit to possess swan. Some utilize swan to attempt to keep Canada geese away.

Ben Miller wrote:
Swans are purchased by retirement communities, gated communities, city lakes and parks, golf courses, people that have acreage and ponds and plenty of fencing to keep them from wandering off. They are protected and in most places you have to have a permit to possess swan. Some utilize swan to attempt to keep Canada geese away.

wow cool.. so they are profitable.. nice.. so like selling swans to wineries and things like that.. to keep away geese that eat the crops

Al Senner wrote:Swans are mean as hell! Ive seen them behead canada geese and once saw one kill a groundhog, though they never bother with ducks. Ive heard the mechanics of mating requires them to be in water to reproduce and a 1 acre pond is the minimum for a pair. They are worth a pretty penny if you succeed though.

I'm picturing a swan wearing a hood and holding an axe.

Swans will grab and hold onto a person with their peak and then beat you with their wings. They can break bones. A person was drowned by a swan in Florida a few years ago. They are very protective of their young!

I had a swan attack a young horse I was driving. They were nesting under a bridge and I'd just persuaded the horse that it was indeed possible to set foot on a bridge without the whole world collapsing when an enormous white beast-from-hell landed on his side and started beating shit out of him. Closest I ever came to tipping a cart over, and the horse was a bit dodgy going near geese forever afterwards. He forgave the bridge though...