Geese stealing eggs

[jmprnfl]

Does anyone else have problems with geese stealing duck eggs? We went out the other day and there was one of my Toulouse geese rolling the Rouen duck eggs into her nest to sit on. I have heard of people placing duck eggs under geese but had not heard that the geese would actually steal the eggs. We decided to go ahead and let her keep them and she protects that nest like a good mama.

 

[The goose girl]

My goose treats anything vaguely egg-shaped like an egg. I always keep a golf ball in her nest, and she rolls it and covers it like it was an egg.

Geese can't count, so your goose probably just regarded the duck eggs as her own stray goose eggs, bringing them to safety in her nest.

I don't know the incubation time for duck eggs, but if it differs from that of goose eggs, there may be a problem if she's sittings on both kinds. She can't both take care of newly hatched babies and stay on the nest to incubate the rest of the eggs.

 

[jmprnfl]

Thankfully they are about the same time frame. Hopefully it will be a good hatch for her first hatching!

 

[jmprnfl]

Well the goose hatched her three Rouen eggs so we now have 3 rouen babies who think the goose is their mama. All the geese and ducks in the pen are very protective of them. Now for her to start actually laying eggs.