BREEDING FOR PRODUCTION...EGGS AND OR MEAT.

[bramblefir]

The first of my goose eggs will be going into lockdown on Thursday. One of the four was a quitter, so hopefully the others will hatch. There's 3 under a broody that are just behind these and another 5 started in the 'bator for an end of April hatch. Two of the Muscovy eggs hatched; 1 died after a few days and the other is hanging with the ducklings and goslings.

In the garden we have potatoes, lettuce, cabbage, and broccoli growing well. There are lots of volunteer tomatoes, potatoes, and lettuce coming up in some of the beds. We'll have to start seeds for the main season crops soon. I think we're keeping the summer garden fairly simple this year - a few tomato plants for fresh eating, corn, and maybe some pumpkins.

Miner's lettuce is coming up all over the woods and I have been having salads of it for my lunches. No scurvy around here with all of that Vitamin C! I've been pulling up a bunch of it to give to the ducklings, goslings, and chicks too. The chickens are apparently getting a lot of forage because they are barely eating any of the food we provide.

 

[NanaKat]

The first of my goose eggs will be going into lockdown on Thursday. One of the four was a quitter, so hopefully the others will hatch. There's 3 under a broody that are just behind these and another 5 started in the 'bator for an end of April hatch.

So glad you have geese! I need advice....We have a goose egg that was laid by accident in the middle of the cow pasture filled with mother cows and new calves. Several pair of Canadian geese frequent the pond there but do not nest there. It was only there a few hours when we found it between calving checks.

What is the incubation period for goose eggs? Do you incubate at 100 degrees? What humidity considerations should I set? Will a goose accept an orphan?

By "under a broody" I'm assuming she is a goose or duck. Hubby said when they were children, he and his brother put duck eggs under a hen. The eggs hatched and the hen was flustered when her babies went for a swim in the water pan.
I have hens going broody almost daily this time of year and could slip the goose egg under one of them along with regular eggs...a few of these hens will sit on golf balls, light bulbs and rocks...so a goose egg would be accepted.

We have a pair of wild geese that have raised young on our farm for the past 15 years. They frequent a feeder in the pasture near our barn and will signal us when the feeder is empty. We can get within a few feet of them. Lucy is on her nest in the neighbor's woods. When the goslings hatch, Lucy and Goosey bring them to our ponds to raise them. If possible I could place the orphan with them.....or deliver the gosling to a local re-habber.

 

[CanadianBuckeye]

Well I received my long- awaited Buckeye and Buckeye/production red cross eggs via courier yesterday. My 2.5 dozen Buckeye eggs were well scrambled, almost all the air sacs are detached and one egg was broken, but the Buckeye/ production cross eggs arrived in perfect shape. This bodes poorly for my Buckeyes bred to SOP project, but very well for the Production Buckeye project. Those production red eggs, bred by True North Hatchery in British Columbia are amazing. They are huge ( almost all in the 60-70 gram range), have great shells and are a nice dark brown. I'm very impressed. The chicks that hatch from those eggs will have hybrid pea/single combs which is good, I had frostbite issues this winter and I'm well on my way to breeding out single combs from my flock.
The eggs are in the ICU hopefully the air sacs are healing, and they will be going in the incubator today along with some of my Buckeye, Buckeye/dark cornish cross and Buckeye/ sex link cross eggs.
I'm astonished at how pale the Buckeye eggs I got yesterday- some are almost white. I'm really hoping that some of those eggs hatch, as this will be very good for my pea combed white eggshell layer project. The dark Cornish I have lay very pale eggs too. I'm crossing the Cornish in with the Buckeyes to get a better shaped egg, and then I'll be crossing those offspring with either a Barred Holland (If I get any) or some other white eggshell layer (I was thinking Ancona, or Andalusian, but that's not for a couple of years so I can decide then). Then I'll be very busy breeding up egg production and getting rid of those single combs again.

 

[NanaKat]

Well I received my long- awaited Buckeye and Buckeye/production red cross eggs via courier yesterday. My 2.5 dozen Buckeye eggs were well scrambled, almost all the air sacs are detached and one egg was broken, but the Buckeye/ production cross eggs arrived in perfect shape. This bodes poorly for my Buckeyes bred to SOP project, but very well for the Production Buckeye project. Those production red eggs, bred by True North Hatchery in British Columbia are amazing. They are huge ( almost all in the 60-70 gram range), have great shells and are a nice dark brown. I'm very impressed. The chicks that hatch from those eggs will have hybrid pea/single combs which is good, I had frostbite issues this winter and I'm well on my way to breeding out single combs from my flock. 
The eggs are in the ICU hopefully the air sacs are healing, and they will be going in the incubator today along with some of my  Buckeye, Buckeye/dark cornish cross and Buckeye/ sex link cross eggs.
I'm astonished at how pale the Buckeye eggs I got yesterday- some are almost white. I'm really hoping that some of those eggs hatch, as this will be very good for my pea combed white eggshell layer project. The dark Cornish I have lay very pale eggs too. I'm crossing the Cornish in with the Buckeyes to get a better shaped egg, and then I'll be crossing those offspring with either a Barred Holland (If I get any) or some other white eggshell layer (I was thinking Ancona, or Andalusian, but that's not for a couple of years so I can decide then).  Then I'll be very busy breeding up egg production and getting rid of those single combs again.

Let thos detached air cell eggs sit for 7 days in the incubator without turning them to all the cell to possible reattach...should give the embryo time to gain strength too.

 

[bramblefir]

So glad you have geese! I need advice....We have a goose egg that was laid by accident in the middle of the cow pasture filled with mother cows and new calves. Several pair of Canadian geese frequent the pond there but do not nest there. It was only there a few hours when we found it between calving checks.

What is the incubation period for goose eggs? Do you incubate at 100 degrees? What humidity considerations should I set? Will a goose accept an orphan?

By "under a broody" I'm assuming she is a goose or duck. Hubby said when they were children, he and his brother put duck eggs under a hen. The eggs hatched and the hen was flustered when her babies went for a swim in the water pan.
I have hens going broody almost daily this time of year and could slip the goose egg under one of them along with regular eggs...a few of these hens will sit on golf balls, light bulbs and rocks...so a goose egg would be accepted.

We have a pair of wild geese that have raised young on our farm for the past 15 years. They frequent a feeder in the pasture near our barn and will signal us when the feeder is empty. We can get within a few feet of them. Lucy is on her nest in the neighbor's woods. When the goslings hatch, Lucy and Goosey bring them to our ponds to raise them. If possible I could place the orphan with them.....or deliver the gosling to a local re-habber.

Goose eggs incubate for 28-32 days. I do mine at 99.5F (forced air) and due to the high ambient humidity here I dry incubate. I typically run humidity around 30% during incubation and around 50% for hatching. Any higher and most of my eggs drown. It's also recommended to cool and mist the eggs, but I haven't bothered with that with this batch.

The broody is a hen. A big Langshan x Speckled Sussex that can sit 18 chicken eggs. I gave her 3 goose eggs and she's managing them very well. If she doesn't like her "children" when they hatch then they can go in the brooder with the other young waterfowl.

You could definitely try placing the singleton with the wild parents if everything hatches close together. I don't think geese are much better at counting than chickens and probably won't notice that they have an extra. I would be more concerned about the gosling grafting on successfully than the parents accepting it.

 

[hellbender]

My dad, hellbender will be out of circulation for a while
due to unfortunate circumstances. he has given me
permission to use his pc at will and for the first time,
except very early in the history of this thread.

Jason....#1Son

 

[Kusanar]

My dad, hellbender will be out of circulation for a while
due to unfortunate circumstances. he has given me
permission to use his pc at will and for the first time,
except very early in the history of this thread.

Jason....#1Son

Not good! I hope that whatever is going on, that everyone is ok and he'll be back soon.

 

[CanadianBuckeye]

Let thos detached air cell eggs sit for 7 days in the incubator without turning them to all the cell to possible reattach...should give the embryo time to gain strength too.

Thanks. I'll put them upright in egg cartons in the hatcher at the bottom of the incubator for now, where they won't be turned.

 

[CanadianBuckeye]

Not good! I hope that whatever is going on, that everyone is ok and he'll be back soon.

My dad, hellbender will be out of circulation for a while
due to unfortunate circumstances. he has given me
permission to use his pc at will and for the first time,
except very early in the history of this thread.

Jason....#1Son

Hope everything will be OK, and hope to see him soon.

 

[holm25]

[COLOR=0000CD]My dad, hellbender will be out of circulation for a while[/COLOR] [COLOR=0000CD]due to unfortunate circumstances. he has given me [/COLOR] [COLOR=0000CD]permission to use his pc at will and for the first time,[/COLOR] [COLOR=0000CD]except very early in the history of this thread.[/COLOR] [COLOR=0000CD]Jason....#1Son[/COLOR]

Hope everything gets better and he's back soon!!