Broody Sebastopol not eating or drinking

[Aridiva]

My seb female has layed her first set of eggs on the 2nd of January she is in a barn stall with hay and has made a beautiful nest I have been putting food and water next to the nest but I don’t think she is eating or drinking. I’m getting concerned for her well being. It’s going to be 5 degrees tonight. Should I put a blanket over her , and possibly at some point try to take her off the eggs see if she will eat or drink. She’s very protective and will definitely fight me getting her off the nest. Any help or insight would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Goosebaby]

My seb female has layed her first set of eggs on the 2nd of January she is in a barn stall with hay and has made a beautiful nest I have been putting food and water next to the nest but I don’t think she is eating or drinking. I’m getting concerned for her well being. It’s going to be 5 degrees tonight. Should I put a blanket over her , and possibly at some point try to take her off the eggs see if she will eat or drink. She’s very protective and will definitely fight me getting her off the nest. Any help or insight would be greatly appreciated.

It’s a good idea to scoot them off their nest once a day for food and water, if you have to physically pick them up and carry them away from the nest then that’s what you have to do. The eggs will be fine and it’s getting close to hatching, assuming any are fertile and have progressed.

They can be pretty vicious at defending their nests but the best way I’ve found to get a broody girl off her nest is by offering one of my feet as a sacrifice “please wear a good pair of boots as you’re doing this” and as soon as she grabs hold reach down as fast as you can and grab her by the neck just below her jaw and scoop her up with your other arm, or just drag her out of the nest.

 

[Goosebaby]

Geese are very cold hardy generally, but if they’re underweight not so much, she might not tolerate the blanket so another way to keep her warm is building up her nest material around her, straw or whatever, and build a little cave around her with bales or whatever else that can form a protective wall that will better insulate her.

Foods like cracked corn can warm her up, so can a little cinnamon in her water and B vitamins.

 

[ElGoose]

How old is she? Is this her first ever lay? Mine went through the same thing, they’re not as great at managing themselves when it’s their first brood and opt to sit on the eggs all day.
In my case I did scoot her off the eggs every day and she appreciated it as as soon as she was on her feet and saw the pond she’d go straight to it, get a wash, get some food and water, and then go back to her eggs when she was ready x
I must warn you though that first lays don’t always go too well, I’ve started recommending people take away the first clutch of eggs as complications are all too common - my lady hatched 2 and they never grew past newborn age and passed within a week and similar things have happened to my friends, I don’t mean to be cruel by saying this I just want you to be prepared for any scenarios like that!
But if you can get in a cycle of maybe picking her up and scooting her out of her broody zone once a day and encouraging her to eat and drink outside of that area she will appreciate it x

Adding onto this, maybe it’s just a personal thing but I don’t keep food next to broody geese, I keep it outside the hutch to encourage them to come out and eat, though I frequently offer water!