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

[Miss Lydia]

Eeyore I hope your gozzies is doing good this morning.

 

[EeyoreD]

It probably has something srong with it anyway, hence the head thing....Geese are tougher than we are, eh? We try to save them, and they die slowly. Geese push them out, and they´re gone overnight....
Just pop a little mirror in there with it so it feels it has company, and keep it warm....

Yeah I think I knew that on some level but I live in foolish hope sometimes. It didn't make it through the night. I probably just prolonged any pain it might have been in but you're right, geese are definitely tougher than me!

Eeyore I hope your gozzies is doing good this morning.

The healthy ones are! So fat and happy. I had to laugh last night: It was pretty cool but goose moms are pretty warm. I went out to check on them with a flashlight before bed and found the mom and the little fuzzy butts hanging out but it was almost like one of those movie pans where one of these things was not like the other. In addition to all of her new brood, that crafty little gosling that hatched a week or so ago was taking advantage and was tucked up in there with everyone else! I have no idea why he didn't go to his mom, but maybe he just wants friends close to his own age.

It was pretty funny, though. Little butt, little butt, huge butt, little butt.

 

[subhanalah]

Yeah I think I knew that on some level but I live in foolish hope sometimes.  It didn't make it through the night.  I probably just prolonged any pain it might have been in but you're right, geese are definitely tougher than me!


The healthy ones are!  So fat and happy.  I had to laugh last night:  It was pretty cool but goose moms are pretty warm.  I went out to check on them with a flashlight before bed and found the mom and the little fuzzy butts hanging out but it was almost like one of those movie pans where one of these things was not like the other.  In addition to all of her new brood, that crafty little gosling that hatched a week or so ago was taking advantage and was tucked up in there with everyone else!  I have no idea why he didn't go to his mom, but maybe he just wants friends close to his own age. 

It was pretty funny, though.  Little butt, little butt, huge butt, little butt.

probably a survival thing. I would imagine the reason WHY geese are so willing and eager to accept other babies is because this helps ensure orphaned babies won't die abandoned.
This probably happens in nature as a way to evade predators. There is safety in numbers and this may allow the original parents to brood another clutch before the season is over? Or is it too hot now?

 

[EeyoreD]

probably a survival thing. I would imagine the reason WHY geese are so willing and eager to accept other babies is because this helps ensure orphaned babies won't die abandoned.
This probably happens in nature as a way to evade predators. There is safety in numbers and this may allow the original parents to brood another clutch before the season is over? Or is it too hot now?

Yeah it makes sense that it's a survival thing. I think it might be more of a social thing but in line with the safety in numbers. I'm just guessing here but to them non-goose babies are just babies. There's no species or flock awareness or allegiance there yet. Goose babies are definitely part of the flock and whoever is closest is the one who warms them. The older gosling seems to drift back and forth between the new parents and the rest of the adults. And the adults seem to drift near and away from the new guys.

As for brooding another clutch, I don't know about that. It might just be my type of geese (American Buff) or what I'm feeding them, but brooding seems to take a ton out of them. When they emerge from the nest, their ordinarily robust (to the point where some trip over them) fat lobes are just folds of skin, their feathers are rough and their eyes show obvious weariness. And it pretty much takes them the rest of the summer to sort themselves out and prepare for winter. I don't know if my geese could safely try to brood another clutch without it killing them.

My turkeys, while they may look a bit thin/wan seem able to occasionally try to resit if their first nest didn't produce, but if they have babies that's what their focus is on. It seems like only my scovies are willing, and more importantly able, to brood twice (or more) in the summer. Their caruncles and feet get paler as they sit but they rebound pretty quickly and are raring to go even while their kids are immature. Not totally helpless, but certainly not of adult size.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Yeah I think I knew that on some level but I live in foolish hope sometimes. It didn't make it through the night. I probably just prolonged any pain it might have been in but you're right, geese are definitely tougher than me!


The healthy ones are! So fat and happy. I had to laugh last night: It was pretty cool but goose moms are pretty warm. I went out to check on them with a flashlight before bed and found the mom and the little fuzzy butts hanging out but it was almost like one of those movie pans where one of these things was not like the other. In addition to all of her new brood, that crafty little gosling that hatched a week or so ago was taking advantage and was tucked up in there with everyone else! I have no idea why he didn't go to his mom, but maybe he just wants friends close to his own age.

It was pretty funny, though. Little butt, little butt, huge butt, little butt.

I'm sorry the little one didn't make it. Happy to hear the rest are doing so well. I would love to have seen a pic of that little butt, little butt, huge butt, little butt. What a sweet pic.

 

[EeyoreD]

I'm sorry the little one didn't make it. Happy to hear the rest are doing so well. I would love to have seen a pic of that little butt, little butt, huge butt, little butt. What a sweet pic.

I actually tried to take one but I couldn't get very close. The flashlight wasn't bright enough and the flash from the camera didn't reach far enough It really was a sweet and priceless image though.

 

[livininbrazil]

Yeah I think I knew that on some level but I live in foolish hope sometimes. It didn't make it through the night. I probably just prolonged any pain it might have been in but you're right, geese are definitely tougher than me!


The healthy ones are! So fat and happy. I had to laugh last night: It was pretty cool but goose moms are pretty warm. I went out to check on them with a flashlight before bed and found the mom and the little fuzzy butts hanging out but it was almost like one of those movie pans where one of these things was not like the other. In addition to all of her new brood, that crafty little gosling that hatched a week or so ago was taking advantage and was tucked up in there with everyone else! I have no idea why he didn't go to his mom, but maybe he just wants friends close to his own age.

It was pretty funny, though. Little butt, little butt, huge butt, little butt.

Most of us try to beat nature! But sorry to hear you lost it anyway. I doubt it was in pain, it just wasn´t right.
Funny about the other gosling. Out of interest, how many ganders and geese are involved here? If you have more geese than ganders, then which goose is the gander´s favourite? I´ve found that my gander will take any goslings to his favourite goose, whether she´s sitting on eggs, or with youngsters. They´ll all end up one family anyway. (This one reason why I´m planning to have just pairs from this year.)
And my geese will only rear one brood per year, keeps them busy right round until the following season...unless something goes wrong with the first lot, then they´ll try again.

 

[EeyoreD]

Most of us try to beat nature! But sorry to hear you lost it anyway. I doubt it was in pain, it just wasn´t right.
Funny about the other gosling. Out of interest, how many ganders and geese are involved here? If you have more geese than ganders, then which goose is the gander´s favourite? I´ve found that my gander will take any goslings to his favourite goose, whether she´s sitting on eggs, or with youngsters. They´ll all end up one family anyway. (This one reason why I´m planning to have just pairs from this year.)

Thanks. I'm a little sad for the one but ecstatic for the ones I have!

As for the flock composition - I have 4 geese and 3 ganders. However, one of the geese and one of the ganders are yearlings. The yearling gander is the father (best I can tell) of the early, lonely gosling. The yearling goose just seems... confused. She didn't nest this year. I'd find goose eggs in the weirdest places (middle of the driveway, in a turkey nest, etc) that I'm sure were hers. She just never could reconcile what was happening with her fundament and hung out with the ganders while everyone else was brooding. So I get what you're saying but, while I do have more geese than ganders, that's probably not it.

I am considering keeping/getting another gander so everyone's paired up. I know it's just going to make for more fighting come spring but there's going to be spring fighting as long as there's more than one gander anyway. And maybe everyone will be happier in the long run if they can kind of work it out and pair off?

Big gozzer, little gozzers

 

[livininbrazil]

Thanks. I'm a little sad for the one but ecstatic for the ones I have!

As for the flock composition - I have 4 geese and 3 ganders. However, one of the geese and one of the ganders are yearlings. The yearling gander is the father (best I can tell) of the early, lonely gosling. The yearling goose just seems... confused. She didn't nest this year. I'd find goose eggs in the weirdest places (middle of the driveway, in a turkey nest, etc) that I'm sure were hers. She just never could reconcile what was happening with her fundament and hung out with the ganders while everyone else was brooding. So I get what you're saying but, while I do have more geese than ganders, that's probably not it.

I am considering keeping/getting another gander so everyone's paired up. I know it's just going to make for more fighting come spring but there's going to be spring fighting as long as there's more than one gander anyway. And maybe everyone will be happier in the long run if they can kind of work it out and pair off?

Big gozzer, little gozzers

Has he adopted them as his new family now then? And how many males and females do you have there?
The families seem to be happier with a mom and dad goose, that´s where I see the benefits of having pairs.
Oh, and in my opinion, first-year geese aren´t worth breeding anyway. So you basically have 3 pairs then. did they stay in their relative pairs once they´d sorted themselves out?

 

[EeyoreD]

Has he adopted them as his new family now then? And how many males and females do you have there?
The families seem to be happier with a mom and dad goose, that´s where I see the benefits of having pairs.
Oh, and in my opinion, first-year geese aren´t worth breeding anyway. So you basically have 3 pairs then. did they stay in their relative pairs once they´d sorted themselves out?

The older gosling splits his time between the young ones and the flock proper. It does seem to enjoy the goslings' company though. I haven't sexed any of the goslings so I don't know what I've got there.

As for the adults mating this spring, yeah. Once they sorted out who was with who they stuck together. The males (and the yearling female) would lounge around the yard together completely happy in each others' company once they sorted things out. And when it was time for the geese on the nests to do their daily business, they would call to the gander that paired with them and the two would go for a stroll together, him never leaving her side and chasing other birds away from the food so she could have it to herself. I love watching that because it seemed so sweet.