American Buff Geese

[bluemerle]

@Callender Girl Oh, I hope I have your luck! Two females is actually what I'm hoping for - ganders can always come later. Sorry to hear about your breeding pair, though! Do you have plans on trying to find a gander? I know on fb a lot of people are selling theirs right now.

 

[Callender Girl]

I'm only a bit disappointed. When I got Gussie and Golly, they were the last two goslings in the brooder at the farm store. I gave them gender-neutral names and just hoped they wouldn't both be ganders. I certainly don't need and don't have room for a bunch of goslings. So, I won't be looking for a gander. but it was exciting when Gussie started building her nest. Hope your luck pans out, too.

 

[Miss Lydia]

@Callender Girl Oh, I hope I have your luck! Two females is actually what I'm hoping for - ganders can always come later. Sorry to hear about your breeding pair, though! Do you have plans on trying to find a gander? I know on fb a lot of people are selling theirs right now.

Did you get your gosling yet?

 

[bluemerle]

Did you get your gosling yet?

Not yet! I'm on a waiting list for a couple of different people who have geese sitting, but no word yet.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Hope you here soon

 

[ColtHandorf]

We have another egg! Of course it was laid in her nest that looks like a swamp right now because we got something like five inches of rain from Friday night through Saturday. I picked up a jumbo litter pan and I'm going to clear the wet stuff away when I get home from work and give her some new dry bedding and hope the nest stays drier that way.

I knew she must have laid yesterday when Golly was extra talkative and hissed a few times at me when I was near the fence. He's really gentle so I just walked in there and took a peek and sure enough there was an egg. Apparently when my roommate let them out into the fenced back yard this morning to graze he "escorted" her from the gate to the back door hissing gently, neck down and wings out. She wasn't impressed. lol

 

[ColtHandorf]

@Pyxis, @Miss Lydia, and anyone else who may know...

Do geese breed year round, like actually copulate? I know hens generally lay only in the early to mid-spring. I'd been concerned she would stop since it was getting warmer and I'd lost the few eggs I'd saved. However, when I was mowing Friday evening I noticed Golly actually mating with her several times which is why the question even popped into my head. I'd hoped maybe that was a precursor to her laying again as we had a nice cool front come through. Is there any sort of correlation between mating and laying for geese or do they just do it all the time like other poultry? lol

 

[Miss Lydia]

Mating season is late winter through late spring once breeding begins laying is shortly after. They lay through breeding season unless one goes broody then she will stop laying and brood and hatch molting comes after breeding season. They don’t breed year round.

 

[ColtHandorf]

Thank you! So as long as I see him breeding her, she should be laying then. That's good to know. I'd thought she'd hidden a nest somewhere in the backyard, but I hadn't found so much as an eggshell when I mowed so I gave up. Now that she's laying again, I'll be interested to see how large a clutch she'll produce. Do they generally lay every day, or every other day? I just don't want her to stop again and me just be waiting for her to go broody and the eggs go bad.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Every other day. And until she lays enough to suit her to go broody she would continue to lay.