canada geese

[ElevenD]

Hi i am currently hatching four Candian geese eggs that were given to me from a friend whos dog got a hold on the mother. i put the eggs in my incubator which is at 99.5 and my humidity is at 55% ive been keeping up with turning (four times a day) and i have been candling them and they look pretty far long. they are taking up most of the egg making it really dark with only a few lighter areas by the air sack where u can see veins and the occasional movement when candled. unfortantly, i do not how old these eggs are. i have had them for four days and they continue to look good and move when candled but none of them have internally pipped. so how do you guys suggest i go about hatching them? i know absoultly nothing about hatching geese because i have only done chickens and ducks. also do i increase the humidity when hatching them? and when should i stop turning them since i do not knowhow old they are??? any help is MUCH appreciated

 

[BunkyB]

As you are saying when you candle the eggs there is movement...awesome sign. It must be close to that time to hatch. Just keep an eye for the pipping and maybe you can back off the turning to 3 times a day, spray a little mist on the eggs to moisten the shell to aid in the pipping.

You say there is little you can see in the egg since they grow so big and take up the space of the egg. Just for the heck of it take 1 egg at a time and put it to your ear and you should be able to hear the pipping rather easily. If you do hear the pipping stop the egg turning and give them a couple of days to break through the shell. If you are a couple of days early it shouldn't matter too much about the egg turning being stopped, just try to mist the egg with water once a day.

You mentioned you did ducks before so treat the eggs the same as a duck egg. It can be nerve racking but have confidence and things should work out OK. I repeat myself but since the age of the unhatched egg is unknown keep a good ear out for the pipping sounds, as it will be recognizable. Relax, enjoy and soon enough you should be a goose mamma....
There are others here who can give you further help as well if they read the thread. I am just one of many who can help you troubleshoot till they hatch. Steve

 

[Eggaholic]

Hi Steve! Thanks for all ur help the eggs started shaking last night so I stopped turning them ... Would it be okay for me to open the incubator and listen for pipping??? Also I have never misted them will they be okay ??? And one more thing, since they started shaking last night how long do you think it will be before they hatch

 

[BunkyB]

Sure, you can open up the incubator and take a listen to the eggs. Just put them against your better ear and listen. That is awesome that there is activity in the eggs. Just don't keep the eggs out too long and things will be fine.

It is a practice of some or maybe most breeders to spray the eggs with mist to help soften the pipping stage. The inner membrane of the egg is pretty tough but 95% of the time the birds can pip through OK without issues. Just keep an eye out for the pipping hole and hopefully within a day or two they break free of the egg.

It wouldn't hurt to listen to the eggs once a day until the pipping starts. A few minutes at room temperature is fine. If the activity stops and no visible signs of pipping then you should recandle the eggs to see if there is movement. So far everything sounds real good and you are doing a good thing not knowing the age of the eggs. I will be a frequent visitor to your thread just to be here for moral support. I love my geese and will do anything I can for them and of course others...

In one of my threads"Theyre Baaaack" I have a returning pair of Canada Geese to my pond and I believe they are nesting along my ponds edge. I can't even find the nest but I have confidence their hatch will be OK. I am counting down the days on my calendar to see if I am right about the nesting and hope I see some goslings swimming around the pond with their parents.. Kinda intense but fun at the same time..

Steve