GOOSE BREEDING THREAD - for breeding, incubating, hatching and rearing.

[livininbrazil]

This never ceases to amaze me. Even just now I went to check on everyone and toss some scratch grains out. One of the little poults somehow got separated from the hen and ended up right in the thick of the eating goose flock. It wanted to eat but also was scared so appeared to opt for both eating and running in random directions. Mostly between (very large) gander legs. The hen was smart enough to not wade in there herself, what with the little gozzer in there. But was calling to it.

For the most part the ganders just watched it. Occasionally tried to nose/beak it towards its mom. When it wasn't getting the hint a gander gently but firmly gave it a bit of a squeeze along with a push in the right direction. But, even though it could have easily seriously hurt or killed the little poult it just gave it a goose-spanking and sent it on its way.

They can be so harsh and yet so astonishingly gentle. I love to watch the one gander touch beaks and stroke the little gosling. Not just gentle, tender!

I have 26 geese free-ranging with a lot of chickens and muscovies. At feed time, the muscovy hens bring their week-old little ones up to the gate with the rest of the flock. Sometimes the chickens tread on them, but the geese never do. Never shoo them off, just look and nosey at them. Geese are my favourites for sure. Even when the ganders are fired up with hormones, the ducklings and chicks are always safe from harm. Then, as they get to about a month old, things slowly start to change............

 

[EeyoreD]

geese are the parents of the water fauna. Have you guys seen "my life as a Turkey?" I think animals have much more complex relationships with each other than we give them credit for.

I haven't seen that but I know what I'm watching tonight! I'd never heard of it, thanks for the link!

(I realize this is the wrong forum but... much of my birds I raise for meat. My least favorite to cull are turkeys. Everything else will freak out when you herd/catch what you're dealing with but then wander away. My turkeys are terrible - for me and them. The entire flock will follow until the end, calling to each other. I'm selling them this year. I can't do the culling anymore and they don't do well with the predators around here in the way I raise my birds anyway. But I agree on the complexities of the birds. And each species is complex in its own way. I was never a big bird person until I almost accidentally ended up with a ton of different ones.)

 

[EeyoreD]

Even when the ganders are fired up with hormones, the ducklings and chicks are always safe from harm. Then, as they get to about a month old, things slowly start to change............

Maybe safe from harm with your geese. With mine, they won't attack them but there's always trample danger - even their own kids! But I agree, even at their most feisty, ganders are huge softies when it comes to babies of any kind.

And I completely agree with the change at a month or so. Honestly, that's just as fun to watch as the entire flock reconfigures itself again and again.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Very nice

X2 they are lovely.

 

[livininbrazil]

Maybe safe from harm with your geese. With mine, they won't attack them but there's always trample danger - even their own kids! But I agree, even at their most feisty, ganders are huge softies when it comes to babies of any kind.

And I completely agree with the change at a month or so. Honestly, that's just as fun to watch as the entire flock reconfigures itself again and again.

Yep,at a few months of age my muscovy hens discover they can actually 'quack'! The geese no longer view them as dear little fluff-balls, but something to have its butt pinched!

 

[seminolewind]

Quote:
They get greens every day. Yes it's a male , and he is usually the one that is too busy to notice that everyone has moved on, he always looks like he's not doing what every one else is doing. If they are in the water, he's eating.

Maybe Eeyore has a sort of point. Maybe he will be the up and coming leader of the flock. It will be interesting to see how this plays out. Brazil, I can't separate him - it would be too hard on ME

 

[tillyita]

 

 
Brazil, they are on a 1/2 acre with lots of grass and weeds.  There's lot's to nibble on.  They also have access to hay.

Well, goodness knows, then.  Usually they do this because they have the urge to graze, but can´t for whatever reason. Are you giving them extra greens too?  Hanging a cabbage up?   If so, then it must just be a particular thing with that gosling.  Probably a male!  He should be a good forager, though!  Are they mostly in a fenced run, where you can separate them with wire netting, but so that he´s not feeling alone?  Maybe try to break the habit a bit?

They get greens every day.  Yes it's a male , and he is usually the one that is too busy to notice that everyone has moved on, he always looks like he's not doing what every one else is doing.  If they are in the water, he's eating.

Maybe Eeyore has a sort of point.  Maybe he will be the up and coming leader of the flock.  It will be interesting to see how this plays out.  Brazil, I can't separate him - it would be too hard on ME 

When baby chickens do this they are generally lacking in protein. If he is eating incessantly it could back this theory up he is probably "hungry" for a particular nutruient that he is missing. Do you suppliment with anything else or do they just have grazing and the greens?

 

[seminolewind]

They get chick /layer feed, grass , lettuce, and some nutritional yeast . I will try the protein. I imagine they get between 16-18% as I am slowly weaning them off the chick feed. What should I give for protein?

Oh, I have to say that they have all been feather eaters since 2 weeks old. I've even seen them down Sebastopol feathers.

 

[Hungarylife]

My geese are 2 years old and Geraldine laid 23 eggs. I removed about 10 when she started sitting as when they were laid the weather was cold and she had not been on them and I was sure they would not hatch. I was right there was nothing in them.

I left her the rest and she did a good job but none hatched, one by one they started exploding. I had been candling them from 2 weeks and thought there were several eggs that looked promising, but it was not to be.

Eventually after 40 days she was looking dreadful so I thought enough is enough. I removed the eggs and destroyed the nest. So, I've thinking about where we went wrong as I'm sure it is probably our fault.

I have managed to buy them a stay of execution for another year but after that, if they do have goslings, they will become food. I love the geese and would like to avoid this if possible.

We have built them a new coop, in their own area, although they can still range freely during the day. They adapted well to this new environment. I thought it would help their stress levels at breeding time if they did not have to tolerate the chickens going through where the nest was to get to their coop.

My question is.... how much water do they need for successful mating?

They have a very big plastic bowl that I keep full with fresh water daily, is this enough? It is about 20cm deep.

I really want to get it right for them for next year, but it is not feasible to put in a pond.

 

[Anna6]

Our geese. toulouse, have a small kiddie pool that is filled daily to the rim. When we bought them it was their second year laying eggs and the goose had already started laying for that season.

We tried to hatch two of the eggs, the lady selling the geese gave to us, when we pick up the pair. The eggs were both fertile but did not hatch in the incubator partially because we were also trying to hatch chicken eggs in the same incubator at that time.

We ate several of the next eggs the goose laid. Then it became hard to get the eggs as the goose was sitting, so we added several back under her that we had in the house. She laid a couple more eggs and ended up sitting on 9 eggs.

Eight hatched, we removed the goslings to be hand raised, and she left the nest.

For another 2 or more days the 9th egg laid unattended in the nest. Fearing a stink bomb I asked my son to remove that one too. He walked around playing with it like any teen boy would. Fearing it would break and stink up the place, I asked him to lay it in the garage for his dad to dispose of it.

He laid it on his dad's work bench in the garage. Another day later it was still laying there.

When he came into the garage the next day he noticed an external pip. He and my husband took a look and low and behold there was a life gosling in there. They quickly sprayed it and plopped it back into the incubator that was standing out still to be cleaned from hatching some chicks. My husband ended up peeling the gosling out by that night as there had been no progress.

The gosling looked miserable but amazingly survived. At first it looked like one leg was longer and the gosling kept flipping on its back but now it is happily running with his much larger siblings in the yard. The kids called the little runt Pip Squeak. I think it will catch up in size with the other ones over time.