Imprinted gosling and lonely goose conundrum...

[Free Feather]

The goose decided today that she waited long enough for the eggs to hatch, so she took her adopted gosling out to play. I went in to candle the eggs, and four of them are hatching. I have them in a drawer under a lamp with wet paper towels because I currently have no incubator, and did not have time to rig up a proper one. Today is day 27. When are they supposed to hatch? I will try to give them to her when they hatch. They are peeping like mad right now and seem fine.

Yesterday, my first day of Summer break, the neighbor's dog killed three chicks, and last night, a 'possum killed another. I have never had a nocturnal predator before - two predators in 24 hours! Could this have contributed to her quitting? I figured that her instincts told her the 6 eggs were duds because she already has a baby and the rest were not hatching, even though the gosling is not from her egg...

 

[Miss Lydia]

The goose decided today that she waited long enough for the eggs to hatch, so she took her adopted gosling out to play. I went in to candle the eggs, and four of them are hatching. I have them in a drawer under a lamp with wet paper towels because I currently have no incubator, and did not have time to rig up a proper one. Today is day 27. When are they supposed to hatch? I will try to give them to her when they hatch. They are peeping like mad right now and seem fine.

Yesterday, my first day of Summer break, the neighbor's dog killed three chicks, and last night, a 'possum killed another. I have never had a nocturnal predator before - two predators in 24 hours! Could this have contributed to her quitting? I figured that her instincts told her the 6 eggs were duds because she already has a baby and the rest were not hatching, even though the gosling is not from her egg...

28-30 days for geese. put a couple bowls of water in the drawer to help with humidity. Maybe she'll go back to them once she goes in for the night. and please secure everything the preds will be back. Did you notify the neighbor about the dog? Something could have scared her off the nest. How secure are your coops? I would hate for you to come out of a morning to find your gosling and goose dead.

 

[Free Feather]

The coop the geese are in is predator proof. The chickens are in a hoop coop that I am not as sure about, but the possum went past it. It got a pullet that was sleeping in the greenhouse beside it. None of the chickens wanted in the coop, must be because the possum had been harassing them the night before.
The neighbor's dogs have killed before. The mother and daughter killed a dozen chicks and badly injured a dozen more last year, and the daughter killed an Icelandic pullet this Spring. The biggest male killed the three chicks yesterday. They have kennels on cement pads, but they are beagles that apparently are master escape artists. The minute they get out they sprint through the woods straight to my house because of the chickens. He got out again today, but I have been practically camping out at the coops because of this sudden plague of predators, and none of the dogs are brave enough to try anything with me around. The owner knows, but he is having difficulty keeping them in. I am pretty sure the possum will be back because I had scared him/her away a few hours before it killed the pullet. I have seen it before - it has lived nearby for awhile - but it never seemed interested. Dumb on my part.
And apparently there is a severe tornado watch for my house!

 

[Miss Lydia]

The coop the geese are in is predator proof. The chickens are in a hoop coop that I am not as sure about, but the possum went past it. It got a pullet that was sleeping in the greenhouse beside it. None of the chickens wanted in the coop, must be because the possum had been harassing them the night before.
The neighbor's dogs have killed before. The mother and daughter killed a dozen chicks and badly injured a dozen more last year, and the daughter killed an Icelandic pullet this Spring. The biggest male killed the three chicks yesterday. They have kennels on cement pads, but they are beagles that apparently are master escape artists. The minute they get out they sprint through the woods straight to my house because of the chickens. He got out again today, but I have been practically camping out at the coops because of this sudden plague of predators, and none of the dogs are brave enough to try anything with me around. The owner knows, but he is having difficulty keeping them in. I am pretty sure the possum will be back because I had scared him/her away a few hours before it killed the pullet. I have seen it before - it has lived nearby for awhile - but it never seemed interested. Dumb on my part.
And apparently there is a severe tornado watch for my house!

I know if i didn't lock all my flock up in secure housing they would be gone in a matter of days. We don't have many stray dogs anymore but we have lots of other predators lurking around just waiting for a chance to get them. I hope your neighbor is willing to replace the chicken you lost and he is very fortunate that you haven't killed his dogs many would not put up with that more than once. Raccoons are the worse for puling poultry through fencing opossums usually go for eggs, not saying they wouldn't kill if hungry enough.
Hope you all didn't get the tornado's predicted

 

[Free Feather]

Last night the possum pulled a porcelain D'Uccle cockerel and a Black Spanish turkey jake, both 4 weeks old, through the cage wire and killed them. I had set a live trap for the possum (I was not going to kill her) but she just ate the food in it. She was trapped, but it looks like she banged the cage around about ten feet from where it was until she got out somehow; left big ruts and smashed plants in her path. I went out at 2 am and saw this. I thought the turkey poult was just sleeping, but when I went back over at 3 am I saw that it was alive, but was laying down because one of its legs had been yanked off, hip and all cleanly. I put honey on the bared flesh and gave him electrolytes because he was minutes from dying anyways, and held him until he did die. I sat in the coop by the cage with a blanket until dawn.
I am spending today making everything entirely predator proof. I have the stuff to do it now. I intend to still free range in the day, but at night they will be secure.

On a brighter note, all the goose eggs have pipped and are in various stages of unzipping. The goose and one gander are brown Chinese and the other gander was white, and it looks like the majority of these babies are brown.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Last night the possum pulled a porcelain D'Uccle cockerel and a Black Spanish turkey jake, both 4 weeks old, through the cage wire and killed them. I had set a live trap for the possum (I was not going to kill her) but she just ate the food in it. She was trapped, but it looks like she banged the cage around about ten feet from where it was until she got out somehow; left big ruts and smashed plants in her path. I went out at 2 am and saw this. I thought the turkey poult was just sleeping, but when I went back over at 3 am I saw that it was alive, but was laying down because one of its legs had been yanked off, hip and all cleanly. I put honey on the bared flesh and gave him electrolytes because he was minutes from dying anyways, and held him until he did die. I sat in the coop by the cage with a blanket until dawn.
I am spending today making everything entirely predator proof. I have the stuff to do it now. I intend to still free range in the day, but at night they will be secure.

On a brighter note, all the goose eggs have pipped and are in various stages of unzipping. The goose and one gander are brown Chinese and the other gander was white, and it looks like the majority of these babies are brown.

Sounds exciting about the eggs I hope they all hatch with out difficulty.

Very sorry about your cockerel and jake. best to get them secure.

 

[Free Feather]

One has hatched and three are unzipping!

 

[Miss Lydia]

One has hatched and three are unzipping!

Pics when you can

 

[Free Feather]

One died while unzipping, and five hatched. The last on to hatch had a bleeding navel and died yesterday, and two seemingly healthy ones died last night. Down to two...

The two that died last night were odd. My mother thinks they ate food but did not drink so they choked to death. They wanted to eat a day after they hatched, while my chickens usually wait a couple days.

 

[Miss Lydia]

One died while unzipping, and five hatched. The last on to hatch had a bleeding navel and died yesterday, and two seemingly healthy ones died last night. Down to two...

The two that died last night were odd. My mother thinks they ate food but did not drink so they choked to death. They wanted to eat a day after they hatched, while my chickens usually wait a couple days.

Did you show them where the water was? I know they need to be shown where food and water is.
I'm so sorry it's been heartbreaking.

How is mama and newly adopted gosling doing?