Almost 5-month of Goose Laid an Egg!!!

[jajeanpierre]

She's too young! I'm not prepared what should I do? (These are my first geese.)

I've been feeding my young pair of White Chinese Manna Pro Duckling and Gosling Starter. I've just ordered Mazuri Waterfowl Breeder Duck and Geese Food from Chewey. I will start supplementing with oyster shells which I have.

I live in Wyoming but spend weeks of time in Texas near Houston. The geese have always traveled back and forth with me. In fact I found them in a feed store in Texas the end of July. My next trip is in the middle of January. Normally, they travel in a big dog crate in the cab of my truck. Should I separate them into two crates in case Fiona decides she needs to lay an egg or just leave them together and if she lays, expect the egg to be broken?

I keep them in a small pen in my garage which rarely gets below freezing even on the coldest nights because, well they are traveling back and forth to Texas from Wyoming. Plus I like to go out and talk to them. My barn is a metal building with just a small flock of chickens in it so really really cold.

What do I do about a nest box? They are currently on large flake shavings. I've been trying to get hay and straw with no luck although I do have a few flakes. I haven't noticed any nesting behavior from the goose although when I cleaned the pen yesterday, I did notice a small bare patch where she ended up laying an egg this morning.

Thanks for any advice you can give. I'm really concerned that she is about 10 days shy of five months old--much too young to be producing eggs.

 

[Callender Girl]

Wow! Neither of my geese have ever laid eggs this time of year, and I really don't remember how old they were when they first laid.

American Buffs Gussie and Golly share a very small house -- really just a bit of shelter where they can be locked at night for safety, and MOSTLY lay their eggs there. Neither has ever broken their own or the other's eggs. In fact, I first thought Golly was a gander because of her fierce protectiveness of Gussie's eggs.

Unlike my chickens, neither has shown any interest in an actual nest box. However, the first year they laid, they would sometimes sneak into the hay shed or a small duck shelter for a bit of privacy, I guess. They seem to prefer straw for nesting, but have laid eggs on wood shavings in their house.

I wish I had more and better advice to give. All my goose experience comes from raising my two girls.

BTW, what a great photo of that special egg!

 

[JRies]

Chinese are well know for early eggs. Along with the production Africans. And good Mothers. Congrats! 2 years ago my African Production geese were hatched in April and started laying in September each of the girls laid a egg about every 3 days all the way till April the next year. This year the two I still have they haven't even started yet. You just never know.

 

[Isadora]

I wouldn't worry too much about separating them on the trip. The egg may break regardless of whether there's two geese in the crate or not. And goose egg shells are pretty thick and tough.

 

[jajeanpierre]

I wouldn't worry too much about separating them on the trip. The egg may break regardless of whether there's two geese in the crate or not. And goose egg shells are pretty thick and tough.

I was more worried about her becoming egg bound from stress than loosing the egg.

The crate is very large and thickly bedded with shavings. I pretty much drive straight through, stopping only for fuel when I feed and water them. They are in the cab of the truck (my back seats fold up.) They aren't thrilled but have done the trip 5 times since September.

 

[Isadora]

I was more worried about her becoming egg bound from stress than loosing the egg.

The crate is very large and thickly bedded with shavings. I pretty much drive straight through, stopping only for fuel when I feed and water them. They are in the cab of the truck (my back seats fold up.) They aren't thrilled but have done the trip 5 times since September.

Oh, okay. You mentioned the egg getting broken in your original post so I thought that was your concern.

 

[Callender Girl]

Awesome photo of your girl!

 

[jajeanpierre]

We poached her first egg and it was a double!