American Buff Geese

[Miss Lydia]

Well for a while you will enjoy watch mama and papa with their babies but as they get older hopefully they won't become a gang of thugs like happened here. But that's for later for now just love them and enjoy them. When is hatch day? @Callender Girl

 

[ColtHandorf]

Fingers crossed she lays today then. I have a friend bringing me a square bale of hay that she can use for nesting this evening in her truck. So I guess she can skip until tomorrow. I'm also not really sure what to offer to encourage her to nest. I'd actually prefer she not do it in the hen house only because I don't want Golly keeping the chickens (and me) out of it. I wonder if I could find like a Little Tyke playhouse or something that she could nest in? I'm not sure I can get something cobbled together before the weekend.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I’ve seen members using those for coops only problem is safety? Geese maybe large but they have no defense from a predator who is looking for a meal. Some use large igloo dog houses too then again safety has to be a priority.

 

[Callender Girl]

If I have properly counted -- because we had a couple of false starts -- I think Gussie and Golly may be parents by the 25th. I will be looking to build a much bigger, better house before then.

Good luck ColtHandorf with getting your geese housed! Let us know what you devise for yours.

 

[Miss Lydia]

When you candle let us know what you see!!

 

[ColtHandorf]

Poodles waiting for me to let the geese and chickens out of their house this morning.

It looked like a bomb went off in the hen house when I got home. Golly was super annoyed and hissing and being generally obnoxious. Then he started going after the Orpington rooster, Sterling. I refilled their pool, moved their water bowl and feed bowl to the same side of the pen as the pool, righted and filled the poultry waterer that had been knocked over and run dry before delicately peeking my head into the hen house to see both nest boxes overturned and all the hay in a great lovely pile in the corner opposite where the Orpington hen lays. I gently shuffled through the bedding and low and behold there was an egg. I had assumed as much from the gander’s behavior. I loved the chicken waterer to the opposite side of the pen in hopes the chickens can steer a bit clear of them. I’ve elected not to lock them up so they aren’t trapped in the house with the geese before I let them out in the morning. After moving stuff they seemed to calm down a bit and I didn’t witness anymore confrontations. I’ve fixed the gate as well so they will have the run of the huge fenced in backyard tomorrow as well so they can spread out a bit. I pulled her two large eggs out of the house, leaving the one smaller one. I’ll bet it doesn’t have a yolk but I’ll put in in the incubator and see if it starts to develop. If it does I may try to sneak it under her. I felt like Amanda Kirby in Jurassic Park III giving them back the two eggs. Lol

Any idea how many eggs she’ll lay before she starts the incubation process? And how old will the goslings be before Golly’s paternal instincts begin to settle? (Provided they are fertile of course.) I wonder if I should let them raise all of them or just a few and me rear the rest inside? I’m not sure how well socialized they’ll be with the parents raising them. What is y’all’s opinion on that?

Also what are the odds the chicken hen gets to lay eggs in the house for the next month and a half? Lol it’s only 8x4 so there’s not much room for me to move things around where they won’t foul their nestboxes.

 

[Callender Girl]

Let me start by saying, this is clearly my first experience with nesting geese. Miss Lydia mentioned candling the eggs, and I'm not doing that. First, I've never done it, and second, I'm lucky to be able to get either goose up long enough to count eggs. My sweet goose, Gussie, has transformed into super-protective mom-to-be.

As it turns out, there are two adjacent nests in the goose house. Gussy has eight eggs under her, and Golly, the gander, has at least that many. Since I am completely in the dark on this, is there any chance they are both girls, and the eggs aren't fertile? Is it normal for a gander to sit on eggs? I have always assumed it was a goose and a gander because of their totally different physiques, with one being bigger with a longer neck and the other being lower slung.

I am much better figuring out genders on chickens, whose offspring are still on the premises, and genders on runner ducks, who have never shown the least interest in brooding but are heavily interested in breeding.

I suppose if no eggs hatch by the end of the month, it was just an exercise in futility for all of us.

Loved the photo and the Amanda Kirby reference, ColtHandorf. I'm eager to hear how your hatching adventure proceeds, and give my sympathy to your poor Orp hen!

 

[Miss Lydia]

I would not have geese and chickens in the same house where a female is nesting it's a wonder you didn't come home to a dead rooster and possibly some others. Ganders are just too over the top when it comes to protection of their mates and goslings it's best to just leave it to them. No one else in close proximity..It's okay for my chickens and ducks to be out and about around their fenced in property but it's off limits for them to be where Missy might be nesting or thinking of laying an egg. She will most likely lay 8 or more before she goes broody. When she does go broody you decide how many your comfortable with if you only want her to have 8 or less then take all the other eggs and get rid of them until she begins to sit 24/7 they haven't begun to live.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Let me start by saying, this is clearly my first experience with nesting geese. Miss Lydia mentioned candling the eggs, and I'm not doing that. First, I've never done it, and second, I'm lucky to be able to get either goose up long enough to count eggs. My sweet goose, Gussie, has transformed into super-protective mom-to-be.

As it turns out, there are two adjacent nests in the goose house. Gussy has eight eggs under her, and Golly, the gander, has at least that many. Since I am completely in the dark on this, is there any chance they are both girls, and the eggs aren't fertile? Is it normal for a gander to sit on eggs? I have always assumed it was a goose and a gander because of their totally different physiques, with one being bigger with a longer neck and the other being lower slung.

I am much better figuring out genders on chickens, whose offspring are still on the premises, and genders on runner ducks, who have never shown the least interest in brooding but are heavily interested in breeding.

I suppose if no eggs hatch by the end of the month, it was just an exercise in futility for all of us.

Loved the photo and the Amanda Kirby reference, ColtHandorf. I'm eager to hear how your hatching adventure proceeds, and give my sympathy to your poor Orp hen!

Ive heard of ganders laying next to their mate while she is brooding never heard of a gander actually sitting on eggs and hatching them . Did you ever see them actually mating and the gander give the I hit the mark call very obvious.

 

[Callender Girl]

Although I have been witness to a lot of chicken and duck mating lately, I did not see or hear any goose mating (not that I would know what it sounds like). So, maybe all my concerns about a boatload of goslings may be for naught. And. since I over-acquired chicks this spring, I am more than a little relieved if that's the case.

When do you think I should give up and remove the eggs? I worry that neither of them is eating well because they rarely leave the nests. Gussie will come out, but only for grapes, and Golly just stays inside and yells at me (I throw grapes in Golly's direction).