Embden Mum? How do you keep her on her nest? **UPDATE PG3**

[redtailross]

one of my Embdens, laid an edd in the flower bed outside the front door today, she made a lovely nest, and did a great job of covering her nest when I inadvertantly disturbed her...but she has not returned to the nest since then, How long can the egg "survive" without her?


Also I put them up at night, but what now should I keep them out so she can lay on the nest?

should I put some feed near the nest?
This is my first nesting goose! I am very excited!!


Thanks All
Laura

 

[goosedragon]

Quote:
She is nesting NOT setting. Since they lay one egg every other day it will take a while to fill the nest or to lay a "clutch" The egg has not been activated yet so It really hasn't started to develop. When/If her hormones tell her it is time she will start to 'set' full time and all the eggs will start to develop at once so they will all hatch about the same time. The countdown starts at that point, not when the first egg is laid. Do NOT put the food close to the nest it will only attract winged egg-eaters like crows. That is why she carefully covers them when she leaves.
What you should do with her at night is a problem but if you let them out early in the morning I think you will find that she will make a fast trip to the nest first thing to lay her next egg since that is when they usually do it. You might want to start thinking about how to protect her and her nest once she starts seting.

 

[redtailross]

thank you Goosedragon.

Your advice was excellent, I really appreicate you help. I will let you know how we get on!

Thanks again
laura

 

[redtailross]

She is on Three eggs!

Im so excited...I left her out last night and had to keep the blind closed on the front door so the dogs would not disturb her, she lay on the nest all night.

Just have to figure out a way to portect her now!

 

[goosedragon]

Did she stay on the nest during the day? sometimes they will stay on the nest overnight without really "setting" They will stay slightly above or to one side so the eggs remain warm but not up to brooding temperature. This often takes place in the spring when the nights are really cold but the days are only cool.
Another sign that she is getting down to business is when they pluck feathers and down from their 'brood patch' and use them to line the nest. The patch area lets her body heat transfer to the eggs easier as a goose is very well insulated with her feathers and down intact. Good Luck!

 

[redtailross]

Ah I see, no plucking of feathers yet, and she is on the nest at night...not the day!

So I guess we will wait and see...

 

[goosedragon]

Quote:
I hate to keep dashing your hopes! That is not my intent, I am just sharing my experience to help you understand what is going on with your goose. BTW the feather thing isn't done by all geese, it is however a very good sign that she is going to set. This whole nesting/setting thing is done by instinct and hormone production. The farther they are from the wild the less instinct drives their behavior and the less likely that they will reproduce naturally.

 

[redtailross]

OK seven eggs and counting, also i think I have two females visiting the same nest! Still night sitting though...

Im hoping with all my heart that they take to setting!

My husband is in Iraq and its all thats keeping him sane right now is knowing that his girls might be showing him their goslings when he gets home!!!

Wish with me
Laura
x

 

[goosedragon]

Quote:
Ok if you have 7 eggs in 7 days you have two geese laying in the same nest since they lay every other day. Are 2 geese staying with the nest at night? or only one? If only 1 she is more likely to go broody first. She will be trying to set and the other goose will want to use the nest to lay. This could be trouble! If the broody goose is higher in the pecking order than the other she may refuse the use of the nest to the junior bird and get away with it. If however the jr. bird is the broody one she may let the sr. bird continue to lay eggs in her nest. This is the problem, remember in my first post I said that the egg hadn't been 'activated' yet. Once she starts setting all the eggs in the nest will be activated, any egg added later will also be activated but as of the later date and would hatch later according to the same delay. this makes a big problem for the mother when they hatch. Does she take care of her live goslings or try to hatch the other eggs that she knows are alive? Two broody geese on the same nest is often a disaster also as they usually end up fighting.
I would suggest that you make plans to isolate the nest as soon as you notice one bird spending the day on the nest. The goose that is shut out usually will start a new nest elsewhere and you will end up with two mamas and two clutches of goslings. I hope this was clear enough to understand.

 

[redtailross]

OK this count is going up I really have 10 eggs now, and am keeping a close eye on the geese. As it does seem like the first mother goose is the one that mostly sits on the eggs at night. Then the other goose comes on once in a while, i think just to lay? His name was Norman until he started laying eggs! lol

Do you think I should just put them in an incubator instead?

Goodness, nature is nowhere near as simpe as it seems!