Incubating goose eggs under a chicken??

[goldeaglenest]

im not even sure if I have a broody hen, so I’m working on seeing if I do, but let’s say I do. I understand the process but I live in Maine and it’s still frosty out here! We had one bird not make it back to the coop one night and she froze! So sad! So I’m not sure about separating the broody hen from everyone else. I don’t think she would be warm enough! The eggs come today, and I do have an incubator, but the power supply was missing from the box so I can’t start incubating until I get that sorted out. It struck me that perhaps I could use a broody hen to do th Rhonda way better than me, and just turn the eggs twice a day and mist them for extra humidity. But is it too cold to do that right now? Thanks!

 

[R2elk]

im not even sure if I have a broody hen, so I’m working on seeing if I do, but let’s say I do. I understand the process but I live in Maine and it’s still frosty out here! We had one bird not make it back to the coop one night and she froze! So sad! So I’m not sure about separating the broody hen from everyone else. I don’t think she would be warm enough! The eggs come today, and I do have an incubator, but the power supply was missing from the box so I can’t start incubating until I get that sorted out. It struck me that perhaps I could use a broody hen to do the Rhonda way better than me, and just turn the eggs twice a day and mist them for extra humidity. But is it too cold to do that right now? Thanks!

If you stick goose eggs under a broody hen, just leave them alone and let the hen do her thing. Years ago I gave goose eggs to a broody turkey and she had no problem hatching them without any assistance from me. The hen will turn the eggs without you interfering and my experience shows that you do not need to be misting eggs that are under a hen.

 

[goldeaglenest]

I can see a turkey being able to turn a goose egg, but these goose eggs are 3 times the size of a chicken egg, are chickens big enough to handle that? Also, geese are wetter birds, the humidity is naturally higher, right?

 

[R2elk]

I can see a turkey being able to turn a goose egg, but these goose eggs are 3 times the size of a chicken egg, are chickens big enough to handle that? Also, geese are wetter birds, the humidity is naturally higher, right?

I have had bantams hatch turkey eggs without any problems so no a chicken is not going to have a problem turning a goose egg. Birds control humidity in a different way than an incubator does. In an incubator the eggs are directly exposed to the air. Eggs under a bird of any kind are only directly exposed to the air during the brief daily intermission when the hen is off the nest. I would not worry about.