Yup, I learned the whole hatchery lesson the hard way. Although my goslings are fine, and I LOVE them, I had awful experiences with the chicks and turkey poults that I ordered from Murray McMurray, and lost 2 of my ducklings from them as well. Lesson -- hatcheries are for large, commercial enterprises who are looking for a commodity, not a pet. It's a volume business, and if a person is fine with getting a "box o'death" and getting a full refund, it works out. Me, I'd rather get live, high quality, healthy birds.
Of course the exceptions to the hatchery rule would be Holderreads, which doesn't sell any eggs as far as I can see, and Metzers Farms, which gets lots and lots of positive feedback here. And, even more impressive to me, John Metzer himself is a member of the Pasture Poultry Yahoo group, and I thought it was so cool to see a message from him - taking the time to advise someone with an incubating question. The other cool thing about Metzer Farms is that you can find a TON of helpful information on the website:
http://www.metzerfarms.com/FAQ.cfm?CustID=49937 plus multiple articles via the "Care & Management" tab.
That said, neither Holderreads nor Metzer Farms sell hatching eggs
From Metzer Farms:
"We do not sell goose hatching eggs as they are difficult to ship and do not hatch as well as duck eggs."
So, I am hoping to find a breeder w/ high quality goose eggs...
Leah