HELP Goose lovers

[gigglssmls]

I am a novice as this is my first pair of geese. My goose has been mated NUMEROUS times by the gander and in total she laid 11 eggs over two and 1/2 weeks (maybe just under that) and she went Broody and has now been sitting on them for three days. I need help :

1) How long do they take to hatch?
2) Why does she only lay on a few at a time and then move them to lay on different ones instead of piling them together?
3) Will the goslings survive this time of year?

I am sooooo confused.
She wont even take a break from her nest.
Please help God Bless

Michelle

 

[Iain Utah]

1) 30 days, give or take, depending on breed.
2) No clue, but geese know how to keep their eggs evenly heated and rotated instinctively
3) Not without heat. Mom will try to keep them warm, but it would be best to have her inside a shelter, preferably heated.

Be sure to candle eggs at 7 days to see if even fertile. Also provide food/water for Mom close, as she will not want to stray far from her nest.

Good luck!

 

[gigglssmls]

I do have her in a shelter and in a separate area in the building with water and food back right near her. I also have a heat lamp going but it still seems a bit cold to me sometimes. But I blocked off the Northern facing run door in order that the northern cold wind does not blow into the coop building.

I know the thick shells are difficult to candle and being a novice I will do my best. If any of them are not fertile should I take them away?

I am sooo excited. I have chickens and a rooster but this is the first time I have ever had geese so I sincerely appreciate the help.

 

[CelticOaksFarm]

She is covered in very thick down, dont turn on a heat lamp. She will be warm enough if you provide a draft free shelter. Deep bedding (straw, hay, shavings) so she can nestle down in.

Be sure you encourage her to come off the nest if you dont see evidence of her getting up (once broody they will sit tight and often not get up at all) this way she can poo (broody poo is nasty lol)and stretch and return to the nest. Keeping food and water within reach is important again because if she sits tight she wont get up for either.

Winter (if you live where it is cold) is not prime time to let a goose sit. Most take the eggs because the females need to eat to keep warm and be healthy over the long winter months. If she is a first time layer there are high chances she could sit and then abandon the nest, she could get to hatch and be a bad mom. Both are additional reason those who live in cold climates discourage sitting going into winter.

We are rolling into our breeding season here in FL, so we do things sooner than northern gaggle owners.


Goose eggs candle just fine since they are a white shell.

freshly set egg candled before going into the incubator



Beginning of growth, clear veins and embryo in the center



Internally pipping into air cell, checked and moved to hatcher and left alone until all eggs are hatched from here

 

[gigglssmls]

Ty very much for the specifics. I appreciate it. The building does is drafty but the heat lamp is in the building not on her or in her area,,,,,, it gets very cold here about the end of Jan into Feb. Last night 23 which is unusually cold for this time of year. We don't get snow usually until Jan. But due to a couple days of unusual low temps I have been careful to track weather and check the building often. My chickens seem to be doing fine as does the Rooster and Gander which are all kept in the same building.

I WAS concerned about her laying this time of year but every time I took an egg she would lay another and then she started hiding them under straw and I found four when I was doing a full coop strip cleaning. Now she has 11.

I really just want to do things right so I have been asking questions and reading all I can. I am terminally ill and the geese and chickens and rooster were given to me to give me something I can do because I needed something since I am on oxygen 24/7, can't drive, etc. etc. I have to have help with the care but I spoil all of my birds like crazy. I love them all sooooo much. I am only 43 and these birds keep me going every day. They are my own personal therapy for my soul My nurse who comes m-f helps with them too lol. She is a sheep farmer and a nurse so she loves helping me with the birds.

Anyhow, one more question then............ what is the best way to get her to get off her nest for a while?

Thanks again for all of your help. It is sincerely appreciated. I am learning daily more and more.

Michelle

 

[CelticOaksFarm]

Michelle, so sorry about your illness. Glad the birds bring you joy and give you something to do to as well. If you dont want her sitting take every egg and every future egg she lays. Most geese lay every other to every third day.

What breed is your goose and gander?

For the drafts, if your help can do it ask them to stack straw bales to provide additional wind breaks inside the building for you and the birds for the winter. They insulate, add wind break and make good nesting material/bedding too. Even stapling feed sacks that have been cut open to the insides of the walls will help cut the drafts.

 

[gigglssmls]

I think maybe the female is an embden(?) maybe. She is large and solid white she nor he have the bump on their heads so they are not chinese and I do not know what the gander is. My husband bought them as a surprise for me from a farmer about a mile or so from us that gave us our rooster who is exceptionally sweet and two more hens to add to the few I had gotten from another farmer a week prior. Anyhow, We have some pieces of tarp cut to cover the north run door. Normally my birds all free range until evening where they all walk themselves back to the coop building and I go out and talk to them.... sing to them all and then close up the coop to protect them from predators. We have a LOT of coons, Bobcats, Hawks, Possums, Armadillos, and Foxes on and around our land.

Anyhow, I would like to wait and candle them in a few days before I decide what I want to do. I do NOT have the money for an incubator yet as my illness has pretty much flipped us financially. Being terminal is expensive lol. Sad but true. Anyhow, my husband said he will take her off her nest tomorrow and put her by the small pond my son and husband built for my goose and gander so she will bath and stretch a little. She has not been off her nest at all for two days!!!!!! I did put food and water back next to her but I think I am going to have to force her to take a break. I guess I am afraid that she will decide to not go back to her nest. She has had goslings before he said ........
Juliet my goose Romeo my gander

 

[CelticOaksFarm]

They look great! Romeo appears to be a standard toulouse goose. Does he have an odd lower bill, or is it the angle of the picture?

If she has sat for two days straight, if you wait until next Friday/Saturday to candle (if she continues to sit) you will defiantly have a better chance of seeing or not seeing anything then. Small sized flash lights, I believe ours is about the same size as a quarter and another the size of a half dollar. This way the light goes into the egg, not leak out around the edge of the light. Hold the egg in your hand and place the light on the top (fat end) shining the light down into the egg. The veining spreads around the eggs as they grow, so be sure you look around the egg while the light is on it. This way you dont happen to miss one that is just starting to show signs of growth. The darker the better when trying to candle so you can see easily.

 

[Iain Utah]

giggles, your geese are beautiful!! Hope your eggs are fertile and you have a few adorable babies to love on next month!!

 

[Marty1876]

I hope you have great success. Your in good hands.