Pilgrim Geese setting on clutch in AK

[Leslie In North Pole]

Lol, you missed it today. We got some snow and dropped back into the the teens again. Spring is coming, I couldn't imagine Nome. Our winter is long enough.

Your dog was very fortunate to have that pressure being applied to his artery and I have heard good things about Dr. Battig. I hope his recovery isn't drawn out as a dog's nature is to play. I can't imagine what you must be having to do to accommodate for his stitches and to keep him from being in pain.

The pup will be 8 weeks tomorrow and believe it or not, is a full blooded border collie. The breeder referred to her color as an Irish Spotting. I am so use to seeing border collies as black and white that she is refreshing. So far, she is laid back and has dealt with be swarmed by four kids, our bc/aussie mix and four cats like a pro. We did purposely pick her for breed, as we wanted a dog that would be friendly to our flock.

I saw you mention that your pair is on 7 eggs? Wow, if they are fertile, you will have your hands full of goslings everywhere. As to getting them to eat, I would definitely encourage them with some fresh greens like cabbage, sprouts, or spinach if they are available to you. If you could even grow your own sprouts if whole oats or barley are available to you, as I understand worrying about broody birds and wanting to make sure they are eating. My experience with broody chickens and ducks is:
*they don't eat as much, they seem to conserve a lot of energy.
*when they do leave the nest, they make nasty bms
*and with waterfowl, you definitely need to make sure they have somewhere to wet their feathers before they get back on the nest.

 

[Mrs MIA]

Quote:
Chicks and turkeys (all babies) just about drove me nuts the whole 4 hour drive home from the valley.

CHEEP CHEEP CHEEP CHEEP CHEEP CHEEP CHEEP CHEEP CHEEP CHEEP CHEEP CHEEP!!!! omg. I have one baby that's less than a week old, and I stuck my hand in the box while driving... he crawled up into my warm hand and fell asleep! So I transfered him to my left hand so I could still shift gears, and travelled the last 1/2 hour with him sleeping in my lap.

A little light brahma roo. What a cutie he is, too. Everyone was happily ensconced in their new brooders... 2 with chickens, 1 with ducks, 1 with turkeys... all in the garage!

A friend of mine was going to pull a prank on my hubby, and "accidentally" send him a message to me letting me know that my 1000 eggs had shipped.

I think that would have set him off into seizures!!!!

I'm so glad your pupper is doing better!! I like Fairbanks, too. Not quite as much as Sterling, but I could live there.

PS: +8°F this morning after 3-4" of new snow...

 

[snowydiamonds]

Thanks so much for the info about needing to supply water! I'll have to put the water container back in and keep the heat lamp over it so it won't freeze- I think I could remove the drinking pail and just use the rectangle bathing container for drinking water, too. Its a small chicken coop they were only to be in temporarily! I'll get the salad greens for them again, poor things-

Do I need to worry about the goslings drowning at first like chicks? Should I remove that bathing container if any hatch out, until they feather out?

Would the goslings eat adult pellets? I also have smaller rabbit pellets which were sent by mistake, 16% protein and alfalfa so are green instead of the grey color of the 20% goose feed pellets. Or is there something else I should order? Grit? So much to learn and am I forgetting anything?

There will be two pens but I won't put them out until they are feathered and its warmer, yesterday was 14 above and today is windy. I'll put the bathing container back in today! (Whoops! Took it away when I left last week as it froze, wasn't beneath the heat lamp.)

 

[Leslie In North Pole]

I would take the bathing container away when they are hatching. I lost a duckling once because it wandered off and decided to go swimming while momma was still setting the nest and hatching the rest of the eggs. Once your hatch is over, put it back and with a brick next to it and in it so the goslings have something to climb on. Mom and Dad will coat their down with water protective oils, waterfowl really love to groom each other.

The goslings will eat what mom and dad eat, if you are concerned on the size of pellets, break them up with a hammer. As to the alfalfa pellets, I would blend those in with their feed (waste not, want not) at a ratio of 2/3 waterfowl to 1/3 rabbit pellets, so as not to drop the overall protein level too much. Fresh greens will also bring their protein levels up as well, especial sprouts. By the time your goslings hatch, you will need to supply some sort of grit... Instead of ordering grit in, see if you can find a container of clean fill, they will pick out what they need and the adults will appreciate it as well.