goose drama and egg laying

[RisingSpring]

i have 4 geese; an african gander, an african goose, a white chinese goose and a pomeranian-x goose. i am wondering about their behavior lately. clearly, it is mating season. the gander has been very busy with all 3 ladies. but it seems the chinese goose is his favorite. she often seems to attack the other geese in the pond, will get on top of them and almost look like she is trying to drown them? no one seems to get hurt in the end, but this goes on almost daily and they cause a big ruckus when this happens!

we only got them last summer and we kinda missed mating season so i have never seen this do this before. is this behavior normal?

furthermore, the geese usually go in the barn and lay in a corner in some hay. they have yet to go broody, and i am hoping that they do. but they have been laying pretty consistently. the other day, i noticed several eggs at the bottom of the pond! it is only 4 feet deep in some parts. why would they be laying while they are on the water? i wouldn't even have thought that it was possible for some reason. thoughts?

 

[Buxton Ducks]

This is my first mating season as well and my geese have gone cuckoo as well. From what I have read, this is all completely normal. Waterfowl like to mate in the water and it looks aweful when they do it. I swear my ducks were trying to kill each other the first time I saw it. My buff goose is the most dominant female and she regularly mounts the other females when they go to the water dish. If mine can't find a secure spot to lay eggs, they will "hold it" and then it will just pop out when they are out in the pen. My pilgrim girl took the best spot this year so I am finding eggs outside regularly. It all might have to do with their age and inexperience as well.

 

[RisingSpring]

This is my first mating season as well and my geese have gone cuckoo as well. From what I have read, this is all completely normal. Waterfowl like to mate in the water and it looks aweful when they do it. I swear my ducks were trying to kill each other the first time I saw it. My buff goose is the most dominant female and she regularly mounts the other females when they go to the water dish. If mine can't find a secure spot to lay eggs, they will "hold it" and then it will just pop out when they are out in the pen. My pilgrim girl took the best spot this year so I am finding eggs outside regularly. It all might have to do with their age and inexperience as well.

thanks for your reply! you are confirming what i thought. although these geese are not young - a friend gave them to me when she could no longer care for them. so they are several years old, i don't know their actual age.