Broody goose with or without eggs - a habit to break, and how?

[LucyGoosey1]

Hello,

I have a single female white Chinese goose (along with some ducks and other fowl) who has gone broody for the past few days. She sits on the nest whether or not there are eggs. Two ducks are laying daily, and the goose was laying an egg every other day but has slowed down quite a bit this past week.

I lift her off the nest once a day so she eats, and there is water near the nest that she can reach.

Is this a habit I should try to break, and if so, how, since she doesn't have any eggs anyways?
Should I expect this to last 32 days???

Having her run around outside with the other birds helps while she is out, but when we put them back inside she just goes back up on the nest. Until this past week she has sat on her own eggs for an hour or two, then come down, but things have changed.

Thank you for your input from others more experienced.

 

[Pyxis]

So does she have infertile eggs in her nest? If so take them. She'll probably stop sitting pretty quickly if she has nothing to sit on. My females always do.

Are you looking for another goose? I hope so, because geese are flock animals and need a friend of their own species. Ducks or other poultry won't cut it. To keep a lone goose on purpose is cruel and mean.

Perhaps you can kill two birds with one stone here. Maybe you can find some fertile goose eggs that she can hatch and raise. That way she's not wasting her time brooding on nothing and she gets the geese friends that she needs.

 

[mickeymushroom]

My two females always sat on the eggs until i took the eggs away. I allow them to enjoy them for a few weeks then they get cooked in a frittata for the dogs. I agree, you should get another goose for your goose. No reason to have a gander if you don't want a flock, but she needs a companion.

 

[dianneS]

I've got a similar situation and no, they don't just stop at 32 days. I don't think geese can count. My female is sitting on fertile eggs, but I think they're dead. They are long past hatching and she's still sitting there. The rest of the flock has given up. The males are no longer guarding her. I think they understand that the eggs aren't going to hatch, but this girl isn't ready to throw in the towel yet. I'm going to try and candle her remaining eggs and if they look like they're no good, I'm going to pitch them and take away the plywood that I have set up to protect her nest. If that doesn't get her off the nest, I'll put a pony in that pasture with her, he'll chase her! I just hope she doesn't move to a new location and build another nest and start over again, because no one is laying any eggs anymore!

 

[Moments]

So does she have infertile eggs in her nest? If so take them. She'll probably stop sitting pretty quickly if she has nothing to sit on. My females always do.

Are you looking for another goose? I hope so, because geese are flock animals and need a friend of their own species. Ducks or other poultry won't cut it. To keep a lone goose on purpose is cruel and mean.

Perhaps you can kill two birds with one stone here. Maybe you can find some fertile goose eggs that she can hatch and raise. That way she's not wasting her time brooding on nothing and she gets the geese friends that she needs.

My goose (African) last year went broody and it lasted for weeks. Take the eggs, didn't matter. Take her outside, she heads back in. She's housed with ducks too so there's always an egg that's going to be there for her to add to her nest. Eventually she just broke it but it lasted a good while and she would not eat properly during this period of time. She's currently broody again and is he even less this time that she did last time.

 

[Moments]

So does she have infertile eggs in her nest? If so take them. She'll probably stop sitting pretty quickly if she has nothing to sit on. My females always do.

Are you looking for another goose? I hope so, because geese are flock animals and need a friend of their own species. Ducks or other poultry won't cut it. To keep a lone goose on purpose is cruel and mean.

Perhaps you can kill two birds with one stone here. Maybe you can find some fertile goose eggs that she can hatch and raise. That way she's not wasting her time brooding on nothing and she gets the geese friends that she needs.

Our goose was raised with her ducks and they are her flock. I agree another goose would be ideal, but I disagree that it's cruel not having one. She loves her ducks and does not like being separated from them. They've also adopted a lot of her behaviors growing up together which is quite comical