Goslings of 2014 Hatch-a-long

[ChickDancer]

You must have some really nice temps to be letting those Little's swim already. Jealous

Shyeah! It hit 82 degrees yesterday although the forecast said 76. Today's forecasted high was supposed to be 85.

 

[servpolice]

8 why didnt you let stormy brood :/

 

[8GeeseALaying]

I want more eggs from her, if all goes well this batch in the bator wont be the last. I will try a second setting when these are done. I may allow her to brood in a few weeks but not with many, i dont trust first years.

 

[CaptainPyrata]

I have two first years brooding right now. One is a very dedicated mommy and rarely leaves the nest and when she does it is like clockwork, she has a schedule in her head and she's sticking to it. The other not so much. She randomly wanders throughout the day though she does remember to cover her eggs. So far when I snuck a peak and candled a few they were viable so we will see how she does. Considering how wet it is here right now that may be too much of a temptation for both of my girls, but I hope not!

 

[CaptainPyrata]

The eggs in the incubator are still going strong too. Since this is the first batch in the homemade cooler incubator I've been worried the whole time (who am I kidding? I would've been worried the whole time even if it was the most expensive incubator on the market.). Right now I'm counting down the days until they hatch. I'm still undecided on what to increase the humidity to and when since I've seen varying ideas on this for geese eggs. Does anyone have any suggestions or have you had better luck with one method over another?

 

[livininbrazil]

I want more eggs from her, if all goes well this batch in the bator wont be the last. I will try a second setting when these are done. I may allow her to brood in a few weeks but not with many, i dont trust first years.

Crazy lady! Do you sell them as tinies, or let them grow a bit? What a food bill that would be for all those!

 

[DaisyMeadow]

And it has a little tuff on its head

i always get atleast one gosling with a tuff from all my flock each year atleast one

I think the knob is from the half chinese mother. I felt around for a tuft (as there is a chance she is 1/4 tufted roman) but didn't feel anything. Then again, she was so squirmy that it was hard to feel anything.

Thanks fort the input, though!

This morning I was walking past a completely hidden nest and I got hissed at. I thought it was a toulouse nest, but when I walked back to investigate the hissing, I saw a white one in the bushes. There's no telling!

 

[RURU]

I have a question on how long it takes the goose to hatch her eggs if fertile. I forget it has been so long since I let the girls incubate their own eggs. Do they go over the 30-32 days?

 

[livininbrazil]

I have a question on how long it takes the goose to hatch her eggs if fertile. I forget it has been so long since I let the girls incubate their own eggs. Do they go over the 30-32 days?

Hi ruru, I´d imagine it´s the same with goose or incubator. As regards the 32 days, I believe some bigger breed geese go to 32, but mine do 28 or 29, being little ones.

 

[8GeeseALaying]

Crazy lady!  Do you sell them as tinies, or let them grow a bit?  What a food bill that would be for all those! 

I know i am Nuts! I will probably sell some young ones when they hatch and grow a few. Last year i grew all of them then sold a trio of tufted chinese. I was trying to build up my flock. I had 20 this year but now i have 19, i rehomed a young gander to a friend of mine who lost hers to a dog. Mickey(brown chinese) now has a 13 yr old Toulouse goose for a girlfriend. So with that, in my mind when one leaves five more can take its place and if my quad of white chinese doesnt stop escaping through brand new fences and going to neighbors houses they will be getting rehomed also.

It is a big feed bill for sure especially with 3 elderly horses, 1 dog(for now), 17 chickens, 2 guineas, and soon to be 2 donkeys. Thats just counting the ones that eat from 50 pound bags. I have accumulated alot over the years. The way i see it its my hobby. Some women like to shop i like taking care of my animals.