2021 Gosling Hatch-a-Long

[Iain Utah]

Congrats on an excellent hatch!!

 

[FoodFreedomNow]

Of my 8 eggs in lockdown, 2 hatched yesterday and 4 overnight. The last 2 are both externally pipped, with one zipping. It just never gets old.

 

[RLockhart68]

@FoodFreedomNow that's great news! The 4 that hatched yesterday/last night are doing well. I've dipped their beaks in water a couple times today. Don't expect much interest until tomorrow. Although they are starting to bite/chew anything that gets near their mouth
The last 4 are starting to make progress. Very slowly. So happy I found out that it's normal for it to take forever.
@Iain Utah thank you

 

[FoodFreedomNow]

Thanks, @RLockhart68! Glad to hear your hatchlings are doing well, too.

All 8 goslings hatched. No assistance needed, but I did pick a bit of the "cap" off the last one zipping because the membrane was sticky and it was a narrow-ish egg. Doing so also confirmed that the last hatcher wasn't far behind - veins were dried up, and it pushed itself out shortly afterward.

I also picked up my shipped eggs...all appeared intact during candling and it looks like the air cells were minimally damaged. They're resting upright and will go into the incubator tomorrow. Hoping this goes better than last time!

Pic is of the first to hatch yesterday - it's not pretty in the hatcher today. Always fun doing a post-hatch cleaning in a styrofoam unit. (Why don't they make the bottom pieces out of plastic for easier cleaning?? It'd be worth a bit more $, at least to me.)

 

[RLockhart68]

@FoodFreedomNow Fingers crossed for the shipped eggs
My pips aren't making any progress I just enlarged their pip holes a bit. I'm so afraid their membranes will shrink wrap them over night. So this will be another baby watch night. At least I have 4 adorable babies to keep me company. And it is only 6PM here, so there's still hope they will be done before too late.
Will update tomorrow.
Our Max babysitting the new quackers

 

[FoodFreedomNow]

Max and the babies... Wishing you a good night and hoping those last 4 hatch soon!!

 

[Pyxis]

Hatched another Tufted Roman yesterday This one and the Mother's Day one are likely going to a local farm where there is one lonely goose, so they can keep him company once they are older.

 

[FoodFreedomNow]

Set another group today - the ones from my gaggle are lovely and clean...not so much from the shipped eggs. Makes me wonder if the seller is providing cushy nesting areas at all - the shipped eggs look pretty muddy. Also, two have moving air cells - better than last time, but still not great. Am starting to think I should just not get eggs from that area at all.

The laying season is drawing to a close and another breeder who was supposed to ship me eggs (not a BYC member) flaked out. I guess I'll just have to baby these eggs and hope they can overcome the shipping damage this time.

 

[RLockhart68]

Sorry I didn't update this morning. Literally woke up and got busy working outside because it is a beautiful day today! Daughter and I went for breakfast and then to the greenhouse to get flowers to plant in the porch pots
Happy to report I have 8 happy healthy goslings If beak color means anything to sexing them, there are 3 blackish beaks (male?) and 5 light colored beaks (female?)

 

[RLockhart68]

The one on the right in the second picture is what I mean by a blackish beak.