How long are goose eggs good for……..

[Unruffled]

if the goose is still laying?
I have an American Buff goose that has been laying since mid February ( 1 egg about every other day the whole time). Now I have been removing the eggs up until 4/21 and she currently has 2 eggs. My first question is about when will she stop laying? How long are the eggs still viable for until she starts to sit on them?( 7 or 10 days? Or longer? Sorry so many questions but I have no clue what I’m doing. This is the first time I’ve let one of my birds( I also have ducks and chickens)sit on and hatch their own eggs.

 

[JRies]

Your ok. Early season eggs are not always fertile. some how the geese know that. Yearling girls will produce eggs that are even fertile but wouldn't make the whole hatch (shell is not perfect there bodies are practicing). I have a different way of working with them. I remove there eggs daily and keep 2 fake eggs in the nest. (I incubate the eggs which is very frustratin on a yearling early season eggs, since most of there eggs are ether not fertile or quite) Then as the season goes on if one goes broody I give her the weeks collection back. Just some thoughts but if its there first year its all iffy. But if they go truly broody the size of the nest dosent mater only hormones possession and I'm ready. When you offer eggs back she will take whatever you give her.

 

[Unruffled]

Your ok. Early season eggs are not always fertile. some how the geese know that. Yearling girls will produce eggs that are even fertile but wouldn't make the whole hatch (shell is not perfect there bodies are practicing). I have a different way of working with them. I remove there eggs daily and keep 2 fake eggs in the nest. (I incubate the eggs which is very frustratin on a yearling early season eggs, since most of there eggs are ether not fertile or quite) Then as the season goes on if one goes broody I give her the weeks collection back. Just some thoughts but if its there first year its all iffy. But if they go truly broody the size of the nest dosent mater only hormones possession and I'm ready. When you offer eggs back she will take whatever you give her.

I appreciate the advice and I’m going to try what you said about keeping her eggs and wait til she goes broody before giving 6 or 7 back to her. She is on her second year and although I incubated and hatched her and her 3 mates, I’ve not got the time or resources to incubate any of her eggs this year. I’m hoping she can incubate, hatch, and parent them with her mates( American Buffs supposedly are very maternal). We’ll see. But thanks again for your advice!

 

[JRies]

I appreciate the advice and I’m going to try what you said about keeping her eggs and wait til she goes broody before giving 6 or 7 back to her. She is on her second year and although I incubated and hatched her and her 3 mates, I’ve not got the time or resources to incubate any of her eggs this year. I’m hoping she can incubate, hatch, and parent them with her mates( American Buffs supposedly are very maternal). We’ll see. But thanks again for your advice!

I hope she gets it. Its been such a bad year with the weather everyone is off including my geese. Most geese have the broody in them even some ganders. Hang in there and fingers crossed....