Goose Egg !!!

[2468Chickensrgr8]

I am down to two Embden geese .....and 5 muscovies and a male runner duck...all of them I hatched out in bator last spring ....first time also ...
Today I checked the barrel nest box in the waterfowl coop and I got my first Goose egg !!!!

Yeeee ha!!!!!!
Do you think it could be fertile ...from reading on here I do have a male and female ....well I know I have a male because he loves me ..

so do geese lay every other day ...? for how long ?
Is there any chance my female could go broody at a year old ?
How long can I keep an egg before its to old to put under her if she does go broody?

Right now I have it dated and in the basement ...
It was funny because when I came running up to the house with it this morning and showed my family my daughter said Mom crack it open like you did your first chicken egg way back when ......I said are you nuts !!! were keeping it for when she goes broody ... thanks guys !

 

[shelleyd2008]

They lay about every other day though it varies. My embden (whichever one it is that's laying...still haven't figured it out) laid 1 egg, waited 2 days and laid another, then another the next day, then waited 3 more days and laid another...that's all I've gotten so far.

I don't know about fertility in 'young' geese, I had a pair of geese last season. The goose was 10 months old and the gander was 9 months old when she started laying. She laid for probably a month before my dad's stupid dog killed her and none of her eggs were fertile. I guess the 'young' gander just didn't know what he was supposed to do.

I assume the 'for how long' question is regarding for the season laying. I don't know how long time-wise but she should lay 40-50 eggs if you take them away. As for brooding her own eggs, she should, but she won't if you keep taking her eggs away. If you want her to go broody leave the eggs in the nest. If it's too cold you can take them out at night and put them back the next day (if daytime temps are above freezing), that's what I did with mine. Though I did decide to put the 3 eggs in the bator when i thought she'd abandoned the nest...of course that was yesterday and today she laid another egg

Geese will usually 'collect' about a dozen eggs before setting them so don't worry if you think they are 'old'. I would seriously consider leaving the eggs in the nest and letting her take care of them if you are able, you can always mark dates on the eggs and start removing the oldest one each time she lays after she has 5 or 6 eggs in the nest.

 

[Olive Hill]

I'm thinking in Ontario, Canada it's colder than it is here in Michigan and here in Michigan, if left in the nest overnight right now, the eggs freeze and break. I've got mine collecting in the kitchen...

 

[shelleyd2008]

Quote:
I always hit reply before thinking to look to see if there's a location...I didn't go back and look after posting

 

[2468Chickensrgr8]

We have such unpredictable weather right now all day Saturday it rained and rained an d then over night it snowed ....now the sun is shining ....
I talked to the couple that gave me the eggs to hatch out last spring ( Joan and Bruce who there named after lol !) and he said if the snow melts again put them in the nest and then bring them in at night unless she's laying on them during the night ...but if it should get colder to leave them inside .
Right now he's collecting his Emu eggs and will do the same thing ...I am going to try some fake plastic easter eggs right now ... thanks guys ...