First goose egg!! (Mine & my goose's!)

[Going Bhonkers]

Totally unexpected!! April, my almost 7 month old Chinese goose, laid her first egg 2 days ago - we discovered it yesterday. As some of you may know, this is my first experience with geese, so I'm very excited!!

I dont think my goose knew what happened, as apparently she laid it and then went on her way. ...Although she did lay it in a semi-secluded area... I dont know. Anyway, I wanted to share this with you all

This being said, I do have some egg questions that I'll post in a bit... some that might be common knowledge, but that I dont know yet!!

 

[Iain Utah]

Congrats!! It is a beautiful egg.

I may have to go egg hunting in my pasture now.

 

[CelticOaksFarm]

GB congrats! The chinese geese lay the most eggs of the various breeds.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Beautiful egg, Congrats

 

[The goose girl]

 

[Going Bhonkers]

Thanks, everyone! I was going to expect eggs next year, around Jan - Feb, since thats when mating season starts, but I guess mating season is different than egg laying season.

Since she laid her 1st egg now, should I be looking for more that could be around? I know that Chinese can lay every other day (which seems like a lot!) but I dont know when she'll get on a schedule, especially since its new to her.

Also, I picked up her egg with no problem, as I mentioned, she wasnt laying on it and seemed like she forgot about it. She hasnt made any sort of nest or anything, but what happens once she's got a couple of eggs together, can I just take them away? I thought I read somewhere that you have to replace eggs with golf balls????

We'd like to have our goose's eggs for eating, but someone told me that it isnt good to eat fertilized eggs. Is this true?

 

[CelticOaksFarm]

take the eggs as you find them, you CAN eat fertilized eggs. You DONT have to replace them with golf balls. Since you are here in FL our breeding season is MUCH different than other parts. Our Africans start giving eggs in December, Sebbies in January.

 

[Cciprnancy]

My ducks and geese free range during the day. Where can I expect them to lay their eggs? Should I provide a nest area for them?

 

[Going Bhonkers]

Thanks for the answers, Celtic. After I wash them, I can just put them in the fridge, right?

Also, after this egg, I'm assuming that I should probably be feeding my geese layer feed soon, as opposed to doing that in January like I planned. 2 questions here:
Any problems if my gander eats it too?
And do I need to go out and buy some right now, or is it okay to wait a little bit - I just went to the feed store this weekend and stocked up on their food

And Nancy,

My ducks and geese free range during the day. Where can I expect them to lay their eggs? Should I provide a nest area for them?

My 2 geese also free range during the day (our property is fenced in). My mom found the goose's egg under some bushes, by accident really. It was in a spot near our house where they usually dont go, and I had made a comment to my mom about the goose being around there the day before (that's how we knew how long it had been there, otherwise we wouldn't have known). So I'm GUESSING that they'll lay eggs in places that arent out in the open. I've read that ducks sometimes lay eggs in their ponds/pools, so geese might do that too.

I think that it would be a good idea to provide a nesting place, though they may not use it.

 

[The goose girl]

I used my goose eggs for baking and cooking - they tasted great! I washed them and stored them in the fridge. If I didn't use them right away (i.e. within a couple of weeks), I wrapped them individually in a plastic bag. They will keep for months in the fridge, but moisture will slowly evaporate through the shell if they're not wrapped, causing the insides to dry out.

When my goose built a nest in a good location (sheltered from weather and predators), I put a golf ball in it to encourage her to keep laying there. I've read that some geese might find another spot if the nest keeps being emptied (which is a healthy instinct, I guess). Also I read that they can't count, so as long as there's one "egg" in the nest, they don't wonder where the rest of them went. Maybe you can build a nest for her and put a golf ball in it to help her pick a good spot? Once when I was cleaning out my goose's nest, she found the golf ball on the grass and immediately started building a nest around it.

My goose was a single goose, so her eggs weren't fertilized. But all the chicken eggs I eat are from a farm with roosters, so they're fertilized. Back when eggs didn't come from factories, all eggs were fertilized. The only difference is that there might be a tiny reddish/blackish spot inside the egg. They taste exactly the same as non-fertilized eggs.