how often do geese lay??

[spish]

juust wondering are they seasonal layers or can they lay year round?
in march all three of my ladies laid everyday for 2 weeks before sitting (or me collecting eggs)
out of all those eggs only 3 hatched, and those goslings stayed with one hen.
i presumed we'd maybe get afew more eggs out of them afte leaving the nests but we've since had nothing...i didnt expect that geese would lay all year round but i thought id get more than 14 eggs a year from them?
the summer will soon be over and doubt they gonna lay in the autumn/winter...so was that it....14 eggs per goose?

 

[pete55]

Hi there. Yes geese are usually seasonal layers usually from March to May. Once they lay their eggs and then incubate then that can be it. Some will re-clutch if the nest fails. With our Dewlaps we leave an egg in the nest to encourage laying and females can lay between 12 to 30 depending on age and bloodline. By June many geese have started the moult and this usually indicates and end to the egg laying season. Hope that helps you. Pete

 

[spish]

that is fantastic, thanks for the wonderfully informative answer...so thats why my field is also covered in big goose feathers..lol!

 

[crj]

Ok, so geese lay just enough to have a group of goslings. At what age do geese start laying? Or is it based on spring time only? Curious to know when geese begin to mate as well. I have 2 geese that are 4 months old and look like adults already. Amazing to me. Are they at there mature size?

 

[goosedragon]

Quote:
The age can vary, mostly late hatched aren't mature enough to reproduce when the days start to get longer the next winter. Remember in the wild the sun tells them when to migrate and in the longer days in the north they get to it, mate, lay eggs, set eggs, hatch eggs, molt while the goslings are too small to fly, grow new feathers and store fuel as fat for the trip back. Any goose that is late at any step may be trapped by winter.

 

[birdboy508]

they can lay in autumn/winter depending on the breed but you probably dont want them to lay then because if it is to cold they can get egg bound.

 

[crj]

Quote:
The age can vary, mostly late hatched aren't mature enough to reproduce when the days start to get longer the next winter. Remember in the wild the sun tells them when to migrate and in the longer days in the north they get to it, mate, lay eggs, set eggs, hatch eggs, molt while the goslings are too small to fly, grow new feathers and store fuel as fat for the trip back. Any goose that is late at any step may be trapped by winter.

That makes sense. What would be considered a late hatch and does this go for all geese? I have 2 sebbies and I'm getting a 3 month old American buff and a super dewlap african. The buff is a female but I don't know what the Dewlap is. I pick them up on Wed. I don't know if I'm crazy for adding 2 more or if I'm just a sucker for birds that need a home........ lol. I'm learning about geese as I go. I do have chickens, ducks and turkeys. They are all fascinating.

 

[crj]

Quote:
Lucky for me it doesn't get that cold here. Well, normally but he weather has been so odd who knows anymore........

 

[Oregon Blues]

I wouldn't count on more than 30 eggs from a goose and many won't lay that many eggs.

I take the first eggs for the incubator and then let my goose hatch a clutch on her own. After she starts brooding, she is done for the year.

My goose lays every other day and this year she didn't set until she had collected 9 eggs.

Goose eggs are delicious, but you don't keep geese as egg producers for the family table. They just don't lay enough.

 

[Goose and Fig]

My may 3rd hatch from last year started laying around the winter solstice, but apparently the eggs were not fertile until around February. Well- we didn't get anything to fully develop til then, anyway. One goose went broody in March, and the others kept laying until they started to molt in June, but they did slow down toward the end.