Will my goose's eggs hatch?

[Gossie]

I had suspicions yesterday that my brown chinese crested goose, Buttercup, was making a nest. Today, I noticed 2 eggs in her nest. She has become broody 3 times before, but none of her eggs ever hatch. She sits for 30 to 40 days at a time, but they never hatch. We even candled them last time, and there were moving, baby goslings in them, but they didn't hatch. I've seen our gander, Gossie, mate with her. So, I have 3 questions.

1. Why do her eggs never hatch?
2. Is there a chance her eggs will hatch this time?
3. Should we not let her hatch eggs since the winter is coming?

 

[nchls school]

I had suspicions yesterday that my brown chinese crested goose, Buttercup, was making a nest. Today, I noticed 2 eggs in her nest. She has become broody 3 times before, but none of her eggs ever hatch. She sits for 30 to 40 days at a time, but they never hatch. We even candled them last time, and there were moving, baby goslings in them, but they didn't hatch. I've seen our gander, Gossie, mate with her. So, I have 3 questions.

1. Why do her eggs never hatch?
2. Is there a chance her eggs will hatch this time?
3. Should we not let her hatch eggs since the winter is coming?

There are a number of reasons why fertile eggs don't hatch. Your goose may have hidden health problems. Sometimes embryos are too weak to form correctly and hatch. The goose may not brood right when the goslings start to hatch. It may be a nutrition problem. It is hard to impossible to know for sure. Have you tried incubators or broody hens (chicken) to see if the eggs would hatch that way. If the goslings hatch under different circumstances then you'd know it is Buttercup who is at fault. The only way to find out is to experiment.

Yes, there is a chance that Buttercup will succeed this time. The reason why the eggs don't hatch may very well work itself out.

Winter-only if you have a warm building/place for the goslings to grow. Otherwise wait for spring. Remember it takes 4 weeks for geese eggs to hatch; which means your goslings would not hatch until mid October.