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Thats right! Another bit of info is that having food too close to the nest can bring attention from other pests. After I learned to have geese nest in a protected run,(see post #11) I thought it would be nice to have food and water that they could reach with their long necks (China goose). I would often find mice dead in the water bucket, since it had flared sides I thought it was odd that they could climb in but not out, then I caught her in the act! You know that broody trance like state where you wonder where her mind is? Well some at least are perfectly aware of what is going on around them. This four year old would see a mouse in her food dish, That long neck strikes as fast as a snake, then into the water bucket until the mouse quits struggling.
I didn't learn from that and another food dish brought on disaster when it attracted a mob of crows, the goose tried to protect her food so they mobbed her. I didn't see this but I heard it and came tearing out of the house. She had knocked down three but had to retreat and they had gotten two of her eggs. She had nasty peck marks on her head and one had just missed her eye. She wasn't about to let me do first aid until I let her back on her nest. She sat quietly while I stopped the bleeding and put antibiotic cream on her wounds.
Lessons learned, no more breakfast in bed, and any goose that insists on nesting out of doors (seems like there is always at least one) gets a overhead cover to protect her and the nest from the weather (Rain and sometimes blazing sun) and from other birds that might want the eggs. Over the years I have noticed that some geese use the same spot year after year and they get something better than four bales of straw with plywood tied down over it which is my usual temp. housing.~gd
