Goose egg questions

[The Sheriff]

Bonnie has been sitting on four eggs. She is the female part of a pair of mini Oregon geese I bought as a breeding pair from Holderreads. This is their first Spring. She started sitting on the eggs while we were away so i am really sure how many days it has been but I think they are several days overdue. If they are non-fertile or are dead in the shell will she know? Do I need to take them away? Will she lay again and sit on eggs this year or is it too late? Can you slip a day old gosling under one like you can with chickens? I am worried about rotting, exploding eggs. Any help appreciated.

Mary

Edited to add this pic of her taken this morning. Poor dear!

 

[jamesrm]

Does she get any calcium or other supplements?

 

[The Sheriff]

She eats the highest quality waterfowl feed from Mizuri. I took the nutritional analysis to my avian vet and she said it was an excellent feed and supplemented with grass it supplies all the nutrients the geese need. So, no, I do not supplement with calcium.

 

[goosedragon]

Quote:
Many geese know when their eggs are dead, with her being a first time setter she may not know. Can you candle or check them? if they are alive and close to hatch you can often hear them in the shells 2 days before they hatch. If they are dead do her the favor of taking them and disposing of them and break up the nest to get her back to a normal life. Some geese will sit on infertile (not died in the shell eggs) long after they should have hatched, up to the point that they stink or explode. I don't know of anybody that has experience with mini Oregons. Some light Chinas will start a new nest this late but the light Romans (and most other geese )are usually done for the year by now.

 

[The Sheriff]

Thanks. When DH is available to help I ill try to get her off the nest to candle the eggs. I am a tad scare to take her on without backup!

 

[Kim65]

you can definitely give her a gosling or two. You won't have to sneak it into her nest either, after this long of broodiness I'll bet she's ready for a baby. Just hand her the gosling and she'll mother it. I've had full grown ganders parent goslings they couldn't possibly have hatched

 

[The Sheriff]

Well we grabbed the eggs from under her and candled them and all four were clear. We discarded them as it is probably Day 34 or 35. We removed all the nest material. She is confused and keeps going in the shelter looking for her eggs. It is sad.

I decided against finding a gosling for her to raise. We only have a half acre parcel and that is why I bought the mini geese. I could probably only find big breeds and we don't have the room for that. Hopefully she will get over it soon.

Can anyone tell me if she will lay more eggs? Is that just an early Spring thing? Obviously Clyde isn't doing his part either since the eggs were not fertile. Maybe they are just too young.

 

[Goosehaven]

Chances are she won't lay a clutch of eggs again this year although I had one of my females lay and sit this past fall. I don't recommend letting that happen if you are in a cold climate in young inexperienced mothers because when the the first gosling hatched she didn't keep it warm enough and it was already dead when I found it in the morning and in the process she quit sitting on the rest of the eggs and they got too cold and died in the eggs. I had to break down a nest this year and take the eggs and the mother does go back a few times to the area, and you're right, it is sad but she'll be okay after a couple days. You should have good luck with fertility next spring so hang in there

At least you know you have a good broody sitter.

 

[The Sheriff]

Thanks goosehaven!