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

[goosedragon]

Quote:
What is your track record in hatching eggs in an incubator? if it is good you might want to try that but geese are hard. Personally I always let the parents do the hatching, it really ties the family together. If they were mine I would keep Norman away from the nest. Ten eggs are more than enough for one mother to cover to try to hatch. She should set pretty soon or consider taking half her eggs for the incubator.

 

[redtailross]

Never ever hatched in an incubator these are my first geese, first eggs, first everything!

I think I will try keeping norman away... I will buy an incubator just in case.
As it is a good excuse to tell my husband why I have one... he loves his geese...although when he left 5 motnhs ago they were alot nicer...lol

Looks like ill be building some kind of pen for the nest... I have some really cool camo nettting that will help make it look a little more natural...

what do you think?

 

[goosedragon]

Quote:
Sounds good unless the mesh is big enough to let the baby geese out.

 

[redtailross]

Ok, so it looks like she may be setting, if so, how long do they take from setting to hatching.
Im hoping she does set, and we will ahve goslings by the time my husband returns from Iraq.

What a nice welcome home from four large embdens and goslings...although he is a little worred what we will do with them, I say a large Christmas dinner lol.

And by the way I had 13 eggs, as of last night...making a pen this weekend...to keep Norman/a out.

thank you for your advice, I really appricate it!

 

[RubberChickenLubber]

Just wondering, since you thought one was a male, and wasn't. Are you sure you have a male? If not, then there is not point in them sitting on the eggs.

 

[redtailross]

yup im sure,

saw courtship behaviour and copulation, marked difference in size tooalso I now know what Im looking at where as when we names Norman/a we had no idea! But thanks for the thought, and I guess all i can do is wait and see if she decides to go ahead and do this?

Disaster stuck today, I think my male trousers has ran away...Im hoping not eaten but that is a good possibility...

We will see, had a neighbours dog visit but this dog is ancient and can hardly walk, let alone chase geese? But I guess we have to expect the worse

thanks guys...

 

[goosedragon]

Quote:
Don't give up hope unless you have found feathers or blood. I have had geese that were lost for as long as six days before I found them.
Once I took a three week vacation leaving a neighbor kid to feed and water them. The one goose took his vacation on a neighbors farm where he lived with their horses. When I came home I spotted him taking a bath in their water tank. I stopped and called to him and he came to the fence but couldn't get out. I went to the house and the neighbor said he got in by himself but he would go out with me to control the horses while I got him out. He was waiting for me at the foot of the steps to the house. One of the gates to the horse enclosure was just a strand of electric fence that he could duck easily but the fence near the road was a 4 board fence that he couldn't.
One hint if the rest of the flock is doing a lot of 'calling' he is probably within earshot. (Geese hear better than we do) listen carefully after a call as he is probably answering his girls. That is how I found one of my lost ganders. My place is connected to the next farm by a drive which is the only opening in the 'woody fencerow' I followed my ears down the lane and there he was chewing on their lawn! He came running to me but would not approach that fence row, nor could he be herded down the lane toward home. I had to carry him through the gap, once thru and on my own land he excaped and ran as fast as a goose can to rejoin the flock and a reunion party was held! My theory is that something chased him down the road and disappeared into the fence row, it scared him and he wouldn't go past that point again.
Do some looking around that ancient dog might have run him off. On their own they don't like ground cover that they can't see over and once the panic ended he might not come back through such cover.
On the bad side a gander might well be killed trying to protect the flock but feathers are usually lost in the struggle. Don't give up hope unless you find feathers! He can feed off the land for quite some time but will need water so look around any water sources first and often. Good Luck!

 

[redtailross]

I think Its official, she has been on the nest for 36 hours and the other geese are leavng her alone, she can't sit on them all.
I went out and bought an incubator today, so I will try to get the others.

Also still no trousers, been out looking for him, calling etc...nothing. The other girls are calling at night too...

I hope he is just really scared... If not looks like I'm in the market for a male to lead the group? they seem a little lost without him...

is that a good idea, or even possible?

 

[goosedragon]

Quote:
From Last to First and Remember this is JMO. Is it possible to get another male in your area at this time of year? Usually it is better in the Fall beause people don't want to over winter birds that they don't need. Your geese can get along without a gander just as you are getting along without your mate? One of the ladies is already dominate and will take over running the flock for a while. I have had flocks where the gander was just a figerhead (sp) while his mate was the real boss!
I think you are giving up too soon on trousers, If the ladies are calling at night there is probably a reason. I know my ladies grieved (sp) where their car-chasing gander finally caught one and I had to put him down because of his injuries. They would look around for him (I assume) but did not call out for him.
What happens if you get a new gander and trousers does return?
Finally with all those eggs, a brooding goose and your new incubator, there is a good chance that you will hatch a new gander. The big breeds mature more slowly than the ones I really know so he may not be mature enough to be fruitfull next spring but I'll bet he tries!
If I were you, my first priority would be to protect the goose on the nest, Set up and try the incubator. (leave her at least half the eggs, she is your best bet). What about the goose that was laying in the nest, has she made her own nest? Worry about trousers when the ladies quit calling then you might assume he is dead. and put out some feelers about a new gander if you want, with any luck you will have several more geese to worry about!
Again JMO and good Luck

 

[redtailross]

I will not give up on trousers, the other two girls do not really leave the pond which makes me think he has to be somewhere near the pond? But I can't hear him... I hope they can. Still no feathers or Ravens, they are great for alerting you to a kill.

Norman/a has decided that laying eggs was quite enough for montherhood, and does not even approach the nest?

I did think I was going to have some trouble with no name #2, shd is my thirs goose and she came to sit on the nest with no name #1 (original mother goose) (confused yet?)

But she left after a few minutes...I am in the process of contrsucting a hide for the nest.
Question, will the mother leave the nest for short periods to feed, stretch her legs?

I know that is a silly question...sorry

I took three eggs to try, whist she was having a break swimming.

I hope Trousers comes home, I miss him chasing around the garden trying to bite me. He liked people as much as a biting goose can lol. I was even teaching him to catch food in the air! Nornman/a is not so good at that. And now Trousers has gone they don't even visit the house?

I think I will be setting up more hides for the geese to run into if they are in toruble...

Thanks again!