It's Complicated

[livininbrazil]

Hi,

Thanks for the reply, as a matter of interest it is 9pm here right now and I have just been to see the birds. It is surprising at night they are silent I talk to them and they are making murmuring sounds not like the shouting and carry on the do during the day. She still has not laid but she is not venturing far from the site and when I left just now she was sitting back in the same place so I guess yes she has her spot. I will do as you say tomorrow and deepen the depression a bit then pull some hay and dry grass into the place. We have the whole yard surrounded with double layer heavy fencing but the monitors can get in if they want to so I think natural brooding may not be possible. I hope she lays tomorrow, keeping geese is quite exciting and a totally new experience for us.

Stephen

What about an electric fence for the monitors? Well, whatever you decide, have fun. And even if you do decide to use an incubator, you always have the option of letting her adopt them back when they´ on their feet. I´ve done this 3 times for various reasons. Just read up as much as you can, and have fun!

 

[Wild1]

Hi,

We tried the electric fence already, but don't know why it didn't work. We had 2 motor lizards get in, however have not had any for a little while.
Last night my goose laid again, this morning when I went to feed up the chickens had found the egg and were rolling it around like a football. The goose did nothing to protect it, but the good thing was they did not break it.
back to the drawing board so to speak.

Thanks again for the advice.

 

[livininbrazil]

Hi,

We tried the electric fence already, but don't know why it didn't work. We had 2 motor lizards get in, however have not had any for a little while.
Last night my goose laid again, this morning when I went to feed up the chickens had found the egg and were rolling it around like a football. The goose did nothing to protect it, but the good thing was they did not break it.
back to the drawing board so to speak.

Thanks again for the advice.

Lets hope the lizards stay away. Did you put the nest that you made in the space she likes? If it has higher sides the other birds won´t be able to get them out. As the egg´s been rolled around abit, I´d say the best thing to do with that is eat it.

 

[Wild1]

Hi all.

I thought I would update everyone on the latest, I have been away for 3 weeks and my 8 year old son has been in charge haha actually he is very proud to take care with his mans supervision while I am away with my work. When I left my new young Chinese goose started to lay but not very frequent with almost 1 week between eggs. She laid 3 eggs which I collected and whilst I was away she laid one more but then started to sit on it and my son did not dare to remove it, since that time she has not laid anymore but because her nest is still as before and under the chicken house on the ground it seems the chickens have muscled in and laid in her nest so now we have 1 goose egg and 5 chicken eggs at last count. She is now sitting quite happy but i am a little worried, I know the chicken should hatch earlier depending on actually they were laid. should I remove the chicks as they hatch? or should I leave them with her? Will she continue to sit the other eggs that do not hatch if I leave the early chicks with her? I am not sure if the goose egg is fertile but I do not want to loose it because of chicken chicks. Does anyone have any advice on this?

Stephen

 

[subhanalah]

The chicken eggs should be removed. If you wish to hatch them, put them in your incubator. Geese incubate at a higher humidity level than chicken eggs (think wet butts after a nice swim).

 

[Wild1]

Well for those who are interested, disaster has struck. We had a family of monkeys shelter under the chicken house during a storm this afternoon and they completely destroyed the goos nest and upset the goose and gander big time. When I arrived the goose egg was there and only 2 chicken eggs from an original total of 9 eggs. All eggs were stone cold and scattered across the floor. I collected them up and broke them because being cold and wet I figured they were finished, the 2 chicken eggs were almost mature ready to hatch, the goose egg has been there for 3 weeks under the goose but still looked fresh. It was not fertile but I had thought the egg should have been rotten but it seemed ok, no smell and quite firm, very odd to me.
Will the goose resume laying after this or will this now be finished for the year?
If she tries to continue to sit on nothing how do I stop this?

Stephen

 

[livininbrazil]

Well for those who are interested, disaster has struck. We had a family of monkeys shelter under the chicken house during a storm this afternoon and they completely destroyed the goos nest and upset the goose and gander big time. When I arrived the goose egg was there and only 2 chicken eggs from an original total of 9 eggs. All eggs were stone cold and scattered across the floor. I collected them up and broke them because being cold and wet I figured they were finished, the 2 chicken eggs were almost mature ready to hatch, the goose egg has been there for 3 weeks under the goose but still looked fresh. It was not fertile but I had thought the egg should have been rotten but it seemed ok, no smell and quite firm, very odd to me.
Will the goose resume laying after this or will this now be finished for the year?
If she tries to continue to sit on nothing how do I stop this?

Stephen

wow, it´s all happening to you, then! Shame about your little chicks. Could you fix up some chain-link or something over the top of the enclosure next time to keep the monkeys out?
As subhanalah said, chicken eggs under a goose isn´t too ideal, but if that should ever happen, take the chicks away asap so the goose stays put on her own eggs. As regards goose eggs, they´re very often infertile first time around. When they´re infertile they won´t go off...that´s only if they´re fertile and then die.
It´s only March...she may start laying again after a short while, maybe not...but next year should be much better as she´ll be fully mature. I don´t let my geese raise anything the first year anyway.

 

[Wild1]

Hi to all interested people, My story continues, after loosing the last nest to monkeys my goose started to let the gander mount her again in the water so I figured maybe she would lay again, So now almost 3 weeks since disaster struck she has again today laid another egg. This egg I have removed and have it at the house. My question is will this second round be any more fertile than the first attempt? This is still this gooses first season and she is not yet 1 year old, the gander is also the same age. If there is a good chance they may be fertile I will save them and put them in the incubator. If you experienced people think the eggs will be same as before then no point waste the eggs. Second question is how long can I keep the eggs before putting them in the incubator?

Stephen

 

[subhanalah]

Stephen,
It's good to hear your goose is laying again. If it were me, I would sacrifice that egg to check for fertility. There are threads on BYC instructing how to do so, if you don't already know. We can also help you here if you can get a good picture of the white spot on the yolk.
If this egg is fertile there is a good likelihood that the rest of the eggs she will lay will also be fertile.
The egg doesn't have to go to waste, you can always eat it or cook it and feed it back to the animals.

 

[Wild1]

Can you tell from this pic?