Is my goose ready to lay eggs?

[GooseyMcGee]

I have a pair of eleven month old Chinese Geese. It's only the beginning of March (in a warm San Diego climate) but I think my goose maybe ready to lay.

Tonight I went outside to my pond. I noticed my goose, Mable, was up on the bank by herself and Steve, the gander, was in the water swimming around as if he was patrolling.

I heard geese are not completely mature until three but the person I got there geese from told me her geese (Steve and Mable's parents) laid withone on year.

Should I be expecting some goslings?

 

[larkflying]

You'll just have to watch her and see.

They do get very round in the rear when they are laying - kind of like the stern of a boat . . . thought it would be hard to tell, but I have an 18 month old goose and it is VERY obvious. Of course, I have several females to compare with. One of my 11 month olds looks the same, but we haven't caught her laying so I can't say for sure.

They'll build up a nest of 10 or more eggs, before they start sitting, so you should notice the nest before you miss the goose -- although my goose likes to check on her eggs and roll them around periodically. She's cute! I'm sure hoping for some cute goslings, even though I'll have to sell most of them.

Good luck!

 

[pete55]

Chinese do tend to mature a little earlier than other breeds so there is every possibility that they may breed.

Watch for mating and nesting behaviour when the female starts to pick up nest material for nest construction. However not all yearlings build a nest and you may find an egg laid in the pen but they usually get there.

 

[GooseyMcGee]

SHE LAID AN EGG!

I went out to check the spot where I saw her last night and there was an egg there.

What can I do now. She left it by its self. I'm assuming she doesn't want it.

Is there any chance she's going to go back and sit on it?

Does she even need to sit on it?

Could this just be a decoy egg?

Is it possible that I can take it and put it under a heat to incubate it?

Also, she picked an extremely unsafe spot to lay. If she were to sit on it, she be in an easy spot to get snatched up by a predator.

 

[pete55]

Congrarulations on your egg. You can store it in a cool room and wait for more then incubate them. In the meantime I'm sure she'll get the idea and start preparing a nest but there maybe a few more laid in random places. Her maternal instincts will kick in