confused!!!

[couponsaver47]

Ok! I'm an idiot about geese. I bought these creatures for my wife. They intimadate my (BIG) dogs. They don't bite me MUCH!! Only when I'm getting water for the other birds & when I try to build other coops. THEY DON'T BITE MY WIFE!!!

List of ??????????????????SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS:

#1)How do you sex an African goose?

#2)Will 2 females (UH HUM) with each other?
I spotted both of mine on top of each other so I'm trying to figure out which is the male. At least 1 is laying eggs & I'm trying to figure out if they are even fertile.

Will the eggs hatch, if they are fertile?
This is the first batch of eggs for her/s. We live in NM. & it'snot cold here for another 2-3mo. They are 5mo. old.

#3) Should the nest be covered?
She layed them in a thick weed patch, in the middle of my yard. As we are expecting severe thunder storms today, & I had a 4ft.x4ft. sq. box, I covered the nest with both geese watching. The goose laying on them had come out for some food but now she has not gone back to the eggs. Did I do wrong by covering them?

Thanks for any &all help this site is giving us!!

 

[Puddle Foot Farm]

Welcome to the world of goose!

1. You can usually sex by size and noise. Males will typically be bigger and make a screechy sound, while females have a lower honk.

2. Yes. They will. They're fighting for dominance - I have four chinese females who "do it" all the time. I've hatched eggs from them - definitely females.

Eggs need to be hatched by a broody or incubator. There is no guarantee they'll hatch either way, even if they're fertile.. Hatching goose eggs is difficult for first timers in both the human and goose world.

3. If she wants the eggs, she'll go back. She may not be broody. Sometimes first-timers will try it and get distracted. A broody will typically spend about 30 minutes away from her eggs a day to eat, poop, swim, etc.. Mine would spend up to an hour. (but her eggs didn't hatch.)

Hope I was clear enough.. Good luck!!

 

[couponsaver47]

Thanks so much!! I guess this will be a watch & wait thing. Hopefully we will get some goslings in the next month.

 

[goosedragon]

Quote:
I won't say that you will not have goslings in October but it is very unlikely!

 

[shelleyd2008]

Africans can be sexed by the size of their knobs, the males knob (the thing on the top of their beaks) will be much bigger than females.