First time incubating goose eggs

[AliciaM]

I am going to be getting some Pilgrim goose eggs next week and then some sebastapol eggs a bit later.
My incubators are the little giant still air.

First question.. How many goose eggs can I fit in one of those comfortably without over crowding?

....Do I "need" the fan kit? Is it essential? Ive done great without one with my pet quality call ducks. Id say my hatch rate on them is about 90%. I can get one if needed.

.. In general, are pilgrims easy to hatch? Are there any problems I should look for?

.....Any advice is greatly appreciated..

 

[ThebigE]

I figured 24 in mine, depending on size ofcourse so 20-24

 

[poultryfan73]

I posted a thread about the same thing awhile back ill see if i can find it.

 

[JordanFamily]

I was told Sebastopol eggs are to large for the LG because they are to close to the heat element... Do you guys have different experiances???

 

[critterranch]

was also wondering getting 12 goose eggs this weekend. was wondering how they fit in the LG height wise because of heating element.

 

[fourwindgsd]

I have to agree with Jordan Family" on the Little Giant. Duck, Turkey and smaller eggs are fine and you can have a great hatch. Setting goose eggs, you are asking for trouble with the heating element being too close to the top of the egg.
If you are going to set goose eggs, the Hovabator by GQF is a better choice. 12 eggs max and circulated air for the incubation period is far superior for any type hatching egg.
You will not be able to use an auto turner in either incubator with goose eggs. Do you know someone that has a cabinet type incubator that can set the eggs for you? This would be your best bet.
Hope this helps and I didn't come across to "gruff"

Liz

 

[cracking up]

I ordered the goose egg turner from GQF - you can see it's just a regular turner with hardware cloth added. They say you can put four eggs per channel on their sides, so it holds 16 eggs. I'm going to try it. Will let you know how it goes.

 

[shelleyd2008]

Goose eggs are fine in an LG if you hand turn them. If they are on a turner they will be too close to the heat element.

My page (part of the incubation stickies) tells all about hatching goose eggs. I have had my best goose egg hatches using a still-air LG.

 

[banter]

I'm on my sixth year hatching Seb eggs. I've had great luck with the Little Giant still air incubator. I also have a Brower Top Hatch, which I've had mixed results with. The Brower I have has fluctuated in temp.
What I like about the Lg is that it is very quiet and the eggs can be incubated in darkness like under the goose.This because it uses a heating element (unlike the Brower, which uses a light bulb, and is noisy with it's turner and forced air). With a forced air incubater you must watch the humidity closer. Goose eggs must dry out at 32-38% humidity until closer to the hatch. If the air space is not a third of the egg at that time, the gosling has to much liquid, and can drown. I've had eggs do well and then quit, a week before hatch due to being too "wet". The Lg has a plug on top to help regulate the temp, which conveniently you can position the probe of a Thermometer/Hygometer right above the eggs and replace the plug. I also use a mercury thermometer inside UPRIGHT on a stand at least 1/2 inch off the floor. The book "The Domestic Goose", by Chris Ashton goes in depth about types of incubators and how to use them to your advantage, when hatching goose eggs.
Climate is a contributing factor; I'm in Maine which has a cold, wet spring with lots of humidity at hatching time.

 

[cracking up]

Do you think I shouldn't use the turner? Never mind. I tried putting them in the turner and they are too big - I could put them in on end but then I think they would be too high. They won't fit on their sides and these are White Chinese so I think their eggs are smallish. She's three years old and her eggs get bigger every year. They're quite a bit bigger than my first year layer, but hers aren't viable.