Goslings of 2014 Hatch-a-long

[Miss Lydia]

Building is moving along fast now and we are scheduled to be in our new home by Thanksgiving. Yay!

The little one is only just getting his juvenile feathers so still has a ways before he can attempt flying. I'll try to remember to take a new picture of him this afternoon.

Very exciting time for you and dh, look forward to seeing pics of the lil one.

 

[servpolice]

That sounds good that the house could be finished before Thanksgiving.

 

[servpolice]

I think i know the answer but just to be sure Q:what food or grain is the fastest way to fatten up a goose?! Oats,maize,barley etc.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I think i know the answer but just to be sure Q:what food or grain is the fastest way to fatten up a goose?! Oats,maize,barley etc.

Maize?

 

[servpolice]

Thats what thought too and cooked potato's also?

 

[Miss Lydia]

Thats what thought too and cooked potato's also?

Never heard of geese eating cooked potatoes. Hey serv will you listen to my video It has both Toots and Babes voices on it, I don't think either one sound feamle but maybe since they are not quite 6 months old it takes a while for the voices to get deeper.

 

[andreacroyle]

Your birds should all be fine with temps in the 50's.

I have the sneezers (which stopped sneezing, but i am still keeping them separate) in the garage. My silkie roo and his three OBE hens inside in our living room, Forest spends the day outside with everyone else and inside at night in my son's room, and the ducks (and Ollie gander) are out in their run. We tarped the run and put a heat light in the middle (so they could get out of the light if wanted) for the few days it went down below 50. We dont have the extra funds to build something more permanent, but my mom gave us a 10x20 portable green house that we are going to turn into duck house for the 4 months it is cold here.

I have a friend[member] who lives in Canada with Silkies, she doesn't use supplemental heat just keeps them inside on really rough days and gives plenty of food and fresh water. All my ducks/geese have access to any house during winter months but prefer to be outside they find a place to hunker down and even swim on days when they can have water in their pools. They are built to take the cold just make sure when it Really gets cold they are out of drafts. I have found a feed store tha has Non GMO corn so I am supplementing their afternoon snack with whole corn and BOSS. plus dried meal worms, spoiled rotten things.
Just perfect weather for the flocks. We have about 2" on everything but the ground still too warm yet for it to lay but suppose to keep falling through out the day with high winds and lowering temps so well see, Babes and Toots will see snow for the first time this morning.

I havent reqad up on what treats to give the chickens yet, but i am still feeding the waterfowl mazuri and the chickens a complete feed.

So far we have about 4" on everything but the ground, since its not frozen it will take away for it to lay on it.


I took a short video of the geese when they came outside first thing will upload it. course it would have been beter if the ground had been covered but you can tell they are trying to figure out what that white stuff is.

it is soo pretty!! I enjoy looking at it from the web! I lived in Ohio for 2.5 years and thought I was going to die from the gray cold days. I dont like the cold at all. Will you post the video link again. I didnt get to see the video.

On a non-goose issue. Remember my 3 adult female ducks. They stopped laying for a day when one of the drakes acted up. then between the three of them there were 5 eggs in one day. Well then everything went back to normal. One egg each until this a.m.

My 6 mth old muscovy is still laying an egg a day. she isnt broody. I separated her at night (same area, but in a crate) just to make sure it is her laying. she ignores the egg. we keep feeding the eggs back to them and the chickens. maybe she thinks she is a chicken?

So CUTE!!

(one is Elsa, she´s doing great) and I was so worried about how they´d be, especially Elsa being so young, but today I drove past them in their new place, happy as anything out in the middle of a field. They´re fine.

I am glad she ended up doing good!

this one is soo fluffy! I would love to hold it!

Have they become the terrors of the barn yard? Boy my 4 rule the roost over here.

Yesterday we were putting up the greenhouse duck run and my dog kept barking from her dog run area. Every time the dog barked or whined, Ollie would run over the gate that leads to the back yard where the dog run is and honk loudly. He did it over and over. I kept chasing him into the yard away from the gate and he kept running back. It was almost like he was egging my dog on to bark more!. I finally had to put him up because it was so noisy with the dog barking and him honking. The rest of the birds couldnt figure out what was going on!

I have alway said that livin is a miracle worker. All female babies, selling them like hotcakes, uses desk lamps for incubators, what's next? Seriously though, I can't even give away my drakes or roosters and you are selling hand over fist. That is great! Wish I was close enough to buy from you.

Me too! She is a miracle worker!

I love this pic and how all the birds want to use the box.

That is very interesting Theory because the very first gosling i raise (born first in the year) have always been males.
This year i incubated 2 eggs that were laid extra early and i incubated both and one was the first egg of the year and both were males ( Chip and his brother) but this is just a Theory but very interesting theory.

What a great subject to research!

It does make sense now .
So now i know fox season has started :S.

Just to add exciting news my AfricanXEmbden female is developing a dewelp :-D
None of the males have one so far only my one female XD

Pics?

By the way, our mini duckling is thriving but still a mini compared to his hatchmates. I'm thinking it will only get to call duck size.

PIC? I would love to see the mini duck!

My two geese dont make the water nasty, but the ducks do for sure! The first pic it looks like the eyes of your gosie are green. how pretty! I love the second pic! that head snake thing they do is so cute!

Never heard of geese eating cooked potatoes. Hey serv will you listen to my video It has both Toots and Babes voices on it, I don't think either one sound feamle but maybe since they are not quite 6 months old it takes a while for the voices to get deeper.

Lydia! I think I finally heard Ollie do that "victory mating honk" he likes to chase around the cayuga. she is a ...well she seems to throw herself at all the boys including Ollie. she gets in the water with the boys! the sound was very different..almost deranged sounding LOL

 

[Miss Lydia]

That mating call is very distinct so that's probably what you heard lol..

Sounds like Forest is settling in real good with everyone that's great. That's great news about your sneezers too. and Andrea they don't need a heat lamp at teens -50 degrees it can actually hurt more than help. they acclimate honest. They have down under those feathers.

 

[andreacroyle]

Here's one I just did Andrea the others I deleted https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/14994878504656c0 That mating call is very distinct so that's probably what you heard lol..

Sounds like Forest is settling in real good with everyone that's great. That's great news about your sneezers too. and Andrea they don't need a heat lamp at teens -50 degrees it can actually hurt more than help. they acclimate honest. They have down under those feathers.

okay, thanks for telling me about the temps. they didnt seem phased at all about the weather! it was neat to watch their actions with the light though!. they had a party! I always thought they went to sleep after i turned the lights off! THEY HAVE A NIGHT LIFE LOL!

 

[jtn42248]

Lydia! I think I finally heard Ollie do that "victory mating honk" he likes to chase around the cayuga. she is a ...well she seems to throw herself at all the boys including Ollie. she gets in the water with the boys! the sound was very different..almost deranged sounding LOL

Go ahead and say it. She is a TRAMP!!!!! All of my Cayuga females are tramps as well. My two drakes are not at all interested, it is after all cold out, but the 14 females are all ready to pretend they are in the tropics and go to town...maybe it is a Cayuga thing but I am almost at the point of taking the drakes to a pen of their own so they can stop running away from females.