First goose egg!!!

[txcarl1258]

Today my 10 month old embden female laid her first egg! I have seen them mating a lot so I figured it wouldn't be long. If I keep taking them away will she keep laying?

 

[The goose girl]

Congratulations!

She'll keep laying for a while, but not forever. Usually they only lay in spring, but some may go through a second laying in fall.

My goose started laying in October when she was six months old and laid 44 eggs before stopping. I think she's about to start again soon; she's getting interested in hay and nesting areas again.

She's my only goose and the eggs are not fertilized, so there's no idea in her sitting on them. Most geese lay 6-20 eggs before sitting, but some decide three eggs are enough and start sitting on them.

If you want her to hatch out goslings, you can take away her eggs until you have the desired amount. Let her continue laying until she starts sitting and then give the rest of the eggs back to her. Geese can't really count, so she'll not wonder where the eggs went in the meantime or how they suddenly turned back up. Let her keep one (marked) egg - or a golf ball - in her nest, otherwise she may start a new nest in a different location. Just keep in mind that there's a limit on how many eggs she can effectively sit on. 15-20 is usually the maximum.

Young geese may need a trial season to fully master mating, fertilizing, nestbuilding, and sitting, so don't despair if it doesn't work out this year. They'll be much better at it next year.

 

[subhanalah]

The first few eggs are typically infertile from what I've gathered. You can crack one open and inspect for signs of fertility. I recommend marking each egg with the date it was collected that way when/if she sits you can give her the freshest eggs and eat the rest if they get older than a week or two. Don't wash the eggs. If they have poop on them you can gently wipe it with a damp cloth but try not to rub off the thin film that protects and seals the egg.

Congratulations by the way! Also a baseball or softball may be a good idea to keep in her nest so she thinks there's an egg in there and doesn't move the nest.

 

[txcarl1258]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I am about to move them to a new pen. Currently they are living in my garden area and with spring about to be here they are about to get evicted. I am going to let her lay a few more and pop them in the bator to check fertility.