Hatching goose - something weird has happened ....

[MotherGoose 777]

Not having a good hatching year.

My Pilgrim goose just gave up on her second clutch, and I believe she's beginning a third. Not sure why they are not hatching. There are more infertiles than there should be. My Toulouse decided to nest in a woodpile, and I shouldn't have let her. Something got her. My older embden geese are crazy as usual, they are too flighty early in the season, set sometimes, but not tight enough to hatch anything, and they tend to "lose" eggs.

I have a FANTASTIC pair setting that are under a year old (pair of geese setting). Unfortunately, their gander is too young and their eggs have been infertile. I finally put some of the crazy goose eggs under them, and one hatched today. (Anyway, I may just get rid of all my older Emdens and keep these two girls, they are SO much better.)

The one gosling that hatched today was earlier than I'd expected. I can't figure out HOW it happened. The geese in this pen are a trio of Emdens. The eggs I put under them SHOULD HAVE BEEN from an Emden pair, freshly laid, about two weeks ago. My Pilgrims are separate, and while the gander got in with the Emdens for a few minutes a couple of months ago, I don't think anything happened (especially with the Emden gander there, and he HATES the Pilgrim gander during breeding season). The toulouse has been gone since March 9th, and her eggs were gathered and never set, since no one went broody soon enough.

The dead gosling, and it IS a gosling, has a black beak, black feet, and is yellow with heavy black markings. The marking pattern is more like my muscovies. I DO keep muscovies, but I have never seen them breed or even attempt to or think about breeding with a goose. Or vice-versa. The interbreed with my ducks, but not the geese. In fact, my emden gander that shares yard space with the muscovies sometimes refuses to let them breed anything in his sight or hearing.

Maybe my Emdens are not pure emdens. It's just I said to myself "oh, a dead gosling" (first hatch so far this year - dangit!) and it was a good five minutes before I realized -- hey, she should have had yellow fuzz and a pink beak and feet!

Weird.

I don't care what breed at this point. I just hope I get SOME gosling hatches this year! With as many pairs as I have, I expect SOMEthing to show for it!

 

[Goose and Fig]

I've had an awful time hatching this year too. BUT- I do have a gander/scovie pair. Never thought to try and incubate her eggs becase I didn't think they'd be genetically compatible, but they do breed. Hmmm.

 

[MotherGoose 777]

I haven't heard much, but somewhere along the way I heard they can produce mules. I know the scovies and ducks can produce mules. I have three or four more ducks setting on clutches than may be highly mules. My one drake tries to keep the scovy drakes away, but he's no match for them.

I don't know what a scovy x emden would look like. Maybe that's what it is ... but I really doubt it, since they never seem to try. And I can see them all day, and I get to watch them ambush various duck hens all day long, and never once saw them go after a goose.

My scovies are hatching like champs. My original plan was to let them incubate goose eggs for me so I'd get two clutches a year from each goose. I may just decide I like the scovies better. Most of their babies are alive and scooting all over the property, and forage all day long. No cost, no trouble babies. The geese are fairly trouble free, but the scovies are even easier.

We shall see. I suspect I'll always keep a few pairs of geese though, no matter what. I have some super-sweet ones in the front right now (the ones that are setting very well, with the too-young-gander).