Female goose brooding?

[lastangryman]

Hi,

I recently moved to a house in the country and inherited 3 geese from the previous owner, 1 male and 2 females. They have a shelter, a fenced off area, and access to a larger field. They are very aggressive, but up to now we are usually able to get in and clean their water, bedding, top up food and collect eggs when they are out wandering in the field.

However, in the last few days one of the females has taken to staying in the shelter. I wondered if she is brooding, and is there anything we should be doing? I thought this would only happen once she had managed to accumulate quite a few eggs, but this can't be the case as we've been checking every day.

It's making things practically difficult as the food bucket is in the shelter. The other 2 also seem more reluctant to go in to the field and seem to stay a lot closer. Last night we managed to quickly top up the food when the other two were far enough away, but this seemed to stress her out quite a bit, lots of hissing etc.

If she is brooding and eggs hatch, do we need to provide any alternative food for the goslings, or have them checked out from a vet or anything like that?

The only other possibility is that she is unwell or injured in some way?

Quite a few questions in there - any help appreciated.

Thanks

 

[livininbrazil]

Hi,

I recently moved to a house in the country and inherited 3 geese from the previous owner, 1 male and 2 females. They have a shelter, a fenced off area, and access to a larger field. They are very aggressive, but up to now we are usually able to get in and clean their water, bedding, top up food and collect eggs when they are out wandering in the field.

However, in the last few days one of the females has taken to staying in the shelter. I wondered if she is brooding, and is there anything we should be doing? I thought this would only happen once she had managed to accumulate quite a few eggs, but this can't be the case as we've been checking every day.

It's making things practically difficult as the food bucket is in the shelter. The other 2 also seem more reluctant to go in to the field and seem to stay a lot closer. Last night we managed to quickly top up the food when the other two were far enough away, but this seemed to stress her out quite a bit, lots of hissing etc.

If she is brooding and eggs hatch, do we need to provide any alternative food for the goslings, or have them checked out from a vet or anything like that?

The only other possibility is that she is unwell or injured in some way?

Quite a few questions in there - any help appreciated.

Thanks

Hi Lastangryman. Shame you can´t get near to have a look at the goose.
Geese will lay eggs, like you were collecting, then will go broody. So, maybe she just decided she´d laid enough, and now is the time to brood. she may even have just a few there. Or none. You should be able to move around the geese ok if you take a pole or broomhandle with you. You don´t need to do anything with it. Geese will usually stay away from it. A little lad can herd geese with just a long stick.
If she has any eggs, and if any hatch, then the most important thing for them to eat is grass, but you could always help them along by getting some crumble for waterbirds. Or, if none available, some chick crumb, but it must be non-medicated, as geese can develop a problem with a particular medication in medicated feed.
I wouldn´t worry about disturbing her when you go in the barn to top up food, as it´ll help her to get used to you. That way she´ll learn that you´re not going to harm her or her babies, and it´ll be just that little bit easier to deal with any goslings if you choose to. She´ll learn that you provide food, and she may even let any goslings she hatches come closer to get the crumble. But don´t give them too much of it, as grass is best. I give mine crumble mixed with a small amount of cracked corn morning and evening for the first 3 weeks, thereabouts, then I give them a little cracked corn only, then they go onto a little whole corn, but mostly it´s greens they eat. Lettuce is good, also soft fruits like melon and pears. Giving them treats is good, because they get used to you and it´s easier to see then if they´re well.
I expect others will have more to add to this, but at least it´s a start... hope it helps.

 

[lastangryman]

Hi Lastangryman. Shame you can´t get near to have a look at the goose.
Geese will lay eggs, like you were collecting, then will go broody. So, maybe she just decided she´d laid enough, and now is the time to brood. she may even have just a few there. Or none. You should be able to move around the geese ok if you take a pole or broomhandle with you. You don´t need to do anything with it. Geese will usually stay away from it. A little lad can herd geese with just a long stick.
If she has any eggs, and if any hatch, then the most important thing for them to eat is grass, but you could always help them along by getting some crumble for waterbirds. Or, if none available, some chick crumb, but it must be non-medicated, as geese can develop a problem with a particular medication in medicated feed.
I wouldn´t worry about disturbing her when you go in the barn to top up food, as it´ll help her to get used to you. That way she´ll learn that you´re not going to harm her or her babies, and it´ll be just that little bit easier to deal with any goslings if you choose to. She´ll learn that you provide food, and she may even let any goslings she hatches come closer to get the crumble. But don´t give them too much of it, as grass is best. I give mine crumble mixed with a small amount of cracked corn morning and evening for the first 3 weeks, thereabouts, then I give them a little cracked corn only, then they go onto a little whole corn, but mostly it´s greens they eat. Lettuce is good, also soft fruits like melon and pears. Giving them treats is good, because they get used to you and it´s easier to see then if they´re well.
I expect others will have more to add to this, but at least it´s a start... hope it helps.

Hi

Thanks for the feedback, that's really helpful. They have access to plenty of grass, so that's not a problem. I have never heard about the broom handle - that sounds like a very useful tip! We'll try that next time we need to get in with them to top up water and food.