The case of the missing eggs?

[BrukeyBrooke]

My momma goose is setting a second time on a small clutch of eggs, including one duck egg she claimed. I also gave her one of the ones I ordered from eBay to ensure she had enough to set. When I candled her eggs yesterday, the eBay egg was mysteriously gone without a trace. I marked it with permanent marker so I’d know which one it was. Today, she was off the nest for a few. Lo and behold, another of her eggs is gone, seemingly one that was not developing. There is no evidence there was even another egg there at all… no shells… nothing.

Do momma geese cull the bad eggs on their own? By eating them?!

 

[Goosebaby]

What feed is she on?

geese sometimes do eat their own eggs. Sometimes there’s no explanation as to why but it can be because of a nutritional issue, if she’s still laying she may be in need of calcium.

there’s also a chance it could be a predator. Is she somewhere where possums, skunks, or rats can get in to her nest?

 

[BrukeyBrooke]

Predator is very unlikely. We do have rodents, but they’ve only been seen on the other side of the outbuilding, the side the LGD has access to. Also, could a rat sneak a whole goose egg without being stopped by the mother or pecked by the rest of the flock, 8 ducks and papa goose who is outrageously protective of her?

My birds are on Scratch n Peck Layer feed with occasional vitamin powders and a dash of cat feed for the extra vitamins (per our vet following a prior nutritional deficiency with a duck about a year ago) as well as free choice flaked oyster shells. I also have been giving her water and a small bowl of feed right next to her after I saw her not take breaks for several days (that I was aware of) to ensure she’s getting some nutrition. She definitely looks skinny ten days in, but this is unexpected.

 

[Miss Lydia]

If mine I'd make her get up and go outside eat drink and bathe. I did this with my goose while she was sitting. They need to stretch their legs too.

 

[JRies]

If you have mice dont rule out a snake. Bull snakes here will swallow a full egg haven't seen it to a goose egg but yep a duck egg. Just a thought probably not it.

 

[Goosebaby]

It may be her or one of the other birds eating them too.

 

[pspaniel]

If you have mice dont rule out a snake.

I wondered about snakes too. When I lived in Queensland Australia we had a python swallow a whole chicken without trace, and we only found out because the kids found the snake sleeping it off in the bushes nearby with a chicken-sized bulge in its belly.

 

[JRies]

I wondered about snakes too. When I lived in Queensland Australia we had a python swallow a whole chicken without trace, and we only found out because the kids found the snake sleeping it off in the bushes nearby with a chicken-sized bulge in its belly.

My bull snakes here (pretty harmless more helpful)do get good size. I have also see videos of larger ones than these take on a wild goose nest. Did watch one with my runner eggs went down easy. Our bull snake's keep the rattlers away. So whats a egg or 2. Those Pythons get so much bigger than these guys.

 

[BrukeyBrooke]

Thanks for all of the input! I love this group! Sorry I’ve been flaky in responding. TGIF!

I have been booting her off the nest each morning to get a little food and water with the flock. That gives me a chance to see what she has too. She has somehow accumulated another duck egg, which will be about ten days behind the rest. I suspect it is from my girl who occasionally goes broody and has been hanging around her a lot. Who knows?

As for snakes, we just moved back to WA and I don’t think we have large snakes on the West side of the state. At least that would be news to me. I’m not saying it is impossible, just not likely. I have tried checking out the security camera, but there are way too many alerts to view without an idea of when I should be watching. I am comforted by the fact our LGD was sleeping on her side of the outbuilding last night for part of the night. And I still think momma goose culled the bad eggs since the rest appear to be developing.

In other news, I am pretty crushed about the eBay eggs since literally none of them are developing. That’s what I get for trying my hand at Sebastopols. I have one of her own eggs in the incubator too, the only one that appears viable, which I may sneak under her once it starts to pip so it isn’t all alone. We’ll see how she does.

 

[BrukeyBrooke]

Meanwhile, I’m having a hard time tossing out the eggs I spent a fortune on that aren’t developing even though it has been 15 days.