I bought both breeds this spring which I hope will start laying soon. Right now they are housed together and all free range all day but this winter I will be separating them for spring breeding. Until then I was wondering when they start laying if it is possible to tell the eggs apart ? Thanks...
Yes I got Welsh and runners from Metzers which are growing great. They are a bit spoiled with their new 12 x 16 barn I built and large pond I had a contractor dig. Hope to get eggs soon and also start breeding them in the spring.
We hatched out a goose this year when our ducks came in and have been raising them together. We actually hatched several geese for our neighbor and decided to keep just one for a protector for our ducks. This is working really good cause the goose is a good protector.
We just got the 1502 two weeks ago and put about 200 eggs in it. Before that we got the hovabator Genesis which we really liked and had very good hatch rates but we decided to go bigger.
They will take care of the breeding part on their own. I have found in Vt. that my ducks hardly use their shelter even through the winter but we do have a shelter where they can go when they want to plus it is where they lay there eggs.
In my experience it is risky to help them out but I have helped many after the 48 hour period. Ive found that if they start pipping then are not out after that period they start dryng inside and sticking to the shell making it hard for them to move and make there way out. Also some I waiting too...
I just wipe mine off a little so I dont get poo in the bator but some do still have dirt on them. I would put all the eggs you can in the bator but the problem is going to be various hatch times which is challenging but we just did it. Once they start hatching out it gets messy so we would wait...
Are you hatching them yourself or getting them someplace ? We have had 3 hatches lately with no issues. We give them water,gamebird starter and also a little gatorade for a few days, not sure if this makes sence but works for us.
Ive stored mine for up to two weeks in a egg carton in a dark place in the house trying to keep them cool. I tip the caton twice a day while I am waiting for enough to put in the bator with duck and chicken eggs. Just had our third succesfull hatch 3 days ago and will fill again this weekend.