2013 Sebastopol Breeding/Gosling Thread

[RURU]

My grandson has come to stay with us awhile (The one who done the Twilight Breaking Dawn Part 2 movie). Yes, I have him out there with me chasing geese to help put them up! I told him pretend you are in a movie and herding warewolfs! We have mainly woods so it fits to tell him this...

 

[Tim K]

Looks like this hatching season has proven to be a dud again this year. After 16 infertile eggs I've pretty much given up. I didn't get any fertile eggs last year either out of my sback goose Camelia that I got from Jenifer 3 years ago. Can a goose get to old to lay fertile eggs ? She is still laying and I have been letting her breed with another gander for the last week but I'm not getting my hopes up. This just sucks !!! Think I'll give up on geese.

 

[RURU]

Tim I have a question for you. Did you cut the protien to 15 to 16% during the winter? Last years breeding season I fed too much protien 18% throught the winter and do believe it caused too much fat around the breeding organs on both the ganders and the geese.
This year I am having more fertile eggs... Hopefully I can get them to hatch?

 

[pips&peeps]

Looks like this hatching season has proven to be a dud again this year. After 16 infertile eggs I've pretty much given up. I didn't get any fertile eggs last year either out of my sback goose Camelia that I got from Jenifer 3 years ago. Can a goose get to old to lay fertile eggs ? She is still laying and I have been letting her breed with another gander for the last week but I'm not getting my hopes up. This just sucks !!! Think I'll give up on geese.

How old is she? Mama was around 12 last year and I got fertile eggs from her before she passed.

 

[Tim K]

Yep Barb, thats what they were on for the past year 16%, I just up the protien a couple months ago. Jean I really don't know for sure, I've had her for three years and I assumed she was two to three years old when i got her but I can't remember what Jenifer said when I asked her. Maybe my ganders were just to young last year and this year. Now I do feed them cat food as treats would that make much of a difference ?

 

[pips&peeps]

The gander you got from me would definately be fertile.

Some of my ganders I sold are reproducing and eggs are developing already.

I've got a goose here that I am "babysitting" for someone who has only produced two eggs that developed. The rest have had weird air bubbles and/or deformed. I do not know her age, but I would assume she is older.

How long has Camelia been laying?

 

[ChristineR]

Question: I've decided to get another Brinsea to hatch my goose eggs. Should I get auto-turn or hand turn them?

 

[RURU]

ChristineR get which you like best so long as the eggs lay on their side and not stand upright.

 

[RURU]

Tim cat food is full of protien even if you give it as a treat. If you are giving it to the gander(s) this could cause fat around the breeding organs. If your goose is only 6 years old that is not that old she should be able to lay fertile eggs. Unless she is much older than that.
Is this girl the only one you have? Or do you have other geese? Sometimes the first eggs are not fertile or sometimes we need to think about this that not always do the geese we breed and put together will go together in order to fertilize. Not being the fault of either goose just sometimes just does not click together...

 

[Tim K]

Jean she has been laying since like the 11th of Feb and she has been with the white gander I got from you. I see them breeding all the time. Maybe Barb is right, its the cat food. I feed the cats every morning before I go to work and i'll throw a hand full out to the geese. I'm definately going to stop doing this, it may be to late this year to see results.
She is the only goose i have Barb