2016 Gosling Hatch-a-long

[servpolice]

* counting down 5 days

 

[servpolice]

All six external pipped.
4 males and 2 females

 

[servpolice]

Two boys and a girl.
Had to help these 3 out the egg and they are so tired
Other 3 are zipping

 

[Iain Utah]

I hope the three babies you had to help will be ok! I have 3 more days until my pair of white eggs are due to hatch, but they are looking good. In the meantime, my hubby impulsively bought me a pair of day old cochin bantams yesterday. We have never had baby chickens before. They are really stinking adorable!

 

[bobthebunny]

Hi! I'm looking into getting a gosling and raising him/her with my hens, and i was wondering a couple of things, where would be the best place to get a gosling and at what age is ideal? Is one gender sweeter then the other, they will have 7 chickens around them 24/7 and my family will be in frequent contact with them. Is it important who if anyone the gosling imprints on and if they imprint on a chicken will they still allow me to touch my chickens and be around them? Thank yall

 

[Jimwie]

This is my 1st time hatching geese. I bought 3 Sebastopol eggs on ebay. 1 hatched. I had to help it out in the end. He/she just couldn't get out. I think she was shrink wrapped in there despite the fact the humidity in the incubator was very high. She has been active and noisy this whole time. She seems to be strong. We rarely see her eat. She will eat like crazy if we take granulated feed on a wet finger and feed it to her. I have never seen her drink on her own. I dip her bill into the water and she will drink it down but that's the only time I see her drink. I travel a lot, so I've been gone for 4 of those 6 days of life. My wife has been working with her. She doesn't seem to be growing much. Her tummy seems to be really firm and her eye lids look a little droopy. I just caught her stuck on her back. When I turned her on her feet she was walking fine. At 6 days old should she be like this? Any clues what could be wrong? I'm kind of freaking out here.

 

[Iain Utah]

bob, it really depends on what breeds you like and whether you want to raise them up from babies. Each gender has its pros and cons. Best to get a pair, then they won't need to integrate as much with your chickens.

Jimwie, it does not sound good. You are describing a failure to thrive baby. They usually pass between days 6-8. Very sorry.

 

[JanetMarie]

Hi! I'm looking into getting a gosling and raising him/her with my hens, and i was wondering a couple of things, where would be the best place to get a gosling and at what age is ideal? Is one gender sweeter then the other, they will have 7 chickens around them 24/7 and my family will be in frequent contact with them. Is it important who if anyone the gosling imprints on and if they imprint on a chicken will they still allow me to touch my chickens and be around them? Thank yall

Are you putting them with a broody hen, or waiting to put them with the chickens when they've grown some?

 

[servpolice]

And here's the last batch of 2016
4 males and a female.
One female got caught in the bars of the incubator and died unfortunately
Now it's time for these little guys to grow.
Incubator is now going to be used to hatch 62 pheasant eggs so goose eggs are done!
Got a nice bunch of goslings and let's hope they survive to adulthood!

 

[Jimwie]

Last night, every time I checked on baby gosling she was eating or drinking. I don't know what to think about her. She is still so small and a week old! Here's a pic. She is a Seb. Can you tell if she's a he or she? I guess only time will tell with her outcome.