2017 Gosling Hatch a long!!

[Pyxis]

Seems like Finn is feeling his oats now, so I think I can finally expect eggs soon. He was chasing his poor hatchmate Jasmine around and I thought trying to mate with her but once she gave up running he just started chewing on her wing (obviously he doesn't quite know what he wants to do when he catches a female yet). So I picked him right up and gave him a stern talking to about that and then put him down. Then Willow, one of the older geese, put him in his place too after that spectacle. Good to know the older ladies won't be taking any guff from him.

 

[GeeGi]

I actually watched Leonardo mate yesterday and today, I don't think he knows what he is suppose to be doing. He holds the girls down by their necks and is on top but as far as I can tell there's nothing really going on but he jumps up flapping his wings like he's beating his chest or something. I can't actually get close enough to tell but it looks like his tail feathers are on her back instead of down under her tail feathers. Do some ganders not know what to do or is it me who doesn't understand geese? I think I'll go find some mating vids??? BTW I've been looking at incubators and there are so many! I cannot afford 700 for a nice one and would like to stay at 200 or less. Does anybody have any suggestions on a good brand/model?

 

[8GeeseALaying]

I actually watched Leonardo mate yesterday and today, I don't think he knows what he is suppose to be doing. He holds the girls down by their necks and is on top but as far as I can tell there's nothing really going on but he jumps up flapping his wings like he's beating his chest or something. I can't actually get close enough to tell but it looks like his tail feathers are on her back instead of down under her tail feathers. Do some ganders not know what to do or is it me who doesn't understand geese? I think I'll go find some mating vids??? BTW I've been looking at incubators and there are so many! I cannot afford 700 for a nice one and would like to stay at 200 or less. Does anybody have any suggestions on a good brand/model?

How old is the gander? I don't remember if you told us the age, sorry. If he's young it might take him a few tries. To know for sure, you can crack one of the eggs and look for a small bullseye on the yolk, that means they are fertilized. Knowing would save a lot of time, would be a shame if they started sitting and the eggs weren't fertile.
You don't have to spend hundreds on an incubator. I have 2 Little Giant incubators, one is almost 20 years old & is still working like a new one. My other one is about 4 years old, also works great, I only paid $50 for it at Tractor Supply. I can get 22-24 goose eggs in each of them. I have seen them at some places, priced at $100. If you have a Tractor Supply in your area try finding one there. Recently ours had their Little Giant incubators on sale for $38 and they were digital now.

 

[ace12978]

Set 2 Pilgrim goose eggs and 5 Rouen duck eggs 29 days ago - this is our very first time incubating anything! Last night, two of the ducklings hatched, and this morning, one of the goose eggs has piped! Soooo excited!

 

[GeeGi]

How old is the gander? I don't remember if you told us the age, sorry. If he's young it might take him a few tries. To know for sure, you can crack one of the eggs and look for a small bullseye on the yolk, that means they are fertilized. Knowing would save a lot of time, would be a shame if they started sitting and the eggs weren't fertile.
You don't have to spend hundreds on an incubator. I have 2 Little Giant incubators, one is almost 20 years old & is still working like a new one. My other one is about 4 years old, also works great, I only paid $50 for it at Tractor Supply. I can get 22-24 goose eggs in each of them. I have seen them at some places, priced at $100. If you have a Tractor Supply in your area try finding one there. Recently ours had their Little Giant incubators on sale for $38 and they were digital now.

I'm not sure how old they are but they were grown in September when I bought them, cheap. Thank you for letting me know about the incubators, I was thinking I would need a high dollar one. I saw a few for around 50 so I'll be getting one of those!

 

[GeeGi]

Well I bought some little ones, ducks, not sure what kind but one has a mohawk and is too cute!

 

[pomnovice]

Well I bought some little ones, ducks, not sure what kind but one has a mohawk and is too cute!

The brown ducklings seem like Mallards or Rouens, and the yellow are much harder to tell. They are adorable, though!

 

[GeeGi]

The brown ducklings seem like Mallards or Rouens, and the yellow are much harder to tell. They are adorable, though!

Thank you. Does the one with the little mohawk help with the breed or maybe the sex? The other little one doesn't have one but it's a little smaller. I get chickens, then geese, now ducks! I guess swan or peacock is next!!

 

[pomnovice]

Thank you. Does the one with the little mohawk help with the breed or maybe the sex? The other little one doesn't have one but it's a little smaller. I get chickens, then geese, now ducks! I guess swan or peacock is next!!

The crest can help differentiate breed, but not by much, and definitely not gender. Gender is much easier when they're grown, because males have a curled feather on the tail. Your ducklings remind me of my American Pekin and my Snowy Mallard, since they're both yellow as ducklings.

 

[Pyxis]

Well I bought some little ones, ducks, not sure what kind but one has a mohawk and is too cute!

Very cute! My guess on breed would be pekin and rouen, but you will be able to tell better when they feather out.

Keep an eye on that crested one. Cresting is a lethal gene if they get more than one copy, and it can cause all kinds of neurological issues, so just keep your eye on her. It is also is covering a gap in the skull (being crested causes the gap), meaning she is very susceptible to brain damage, so if she ends up being a female you'll probably want to set her up her own separate pen with just other girls if you end up with a drake or two. They can really injure her if they grabbed it and yanked on it while mating with her.