Lead-up to goose being broody?

[jwcarlson]

We have a roughly 11 month old goose who has been laying for a bit over a week. She's laid five eggs in the last eight days. Both of our geese have been being bred by our gander, seemingly successfully. He gets very boisterous and does a little jig when he's done at least. Which I assume means the mission was accomplished.

Anyway, one goose that's laying... for the first couple of eggs, she didn't seem to be on the nest long. But the last few times she has been on the nest for many hours. She's also no covering the eggs with many inches of hay when she's done. I pulled an egg out from under her fairly late last night (she's fighting me and biting and hissing, etc). She must have laid it around 8 PM or so. She's been on the nest for over four hours. She was off of it this morning, but either I missed a chicken egg, or a chicken laid an egg next to her. Anyway, she'd buried a chicken egg at some point after she laid her egg. Is it possible she's hovering over the egg since it's still quite cold?

It feels a little bit like escalating broody behavior, but I have never had a laying goose before. I intend to incubate some of her eggs, so I've got them saved on the counter. I'm just wondering if anyone more experienced can tell me if she might go broody on her own? I guess if I start incubating, I can just swap in the incubating eggs and let her raise those the rest of the way.

Unfortunately, she's laying where all the chickens like to lay, so some are braving her antics and laying eggs near her and some are hopping the fence and finding other locations. This isn't a big problem at all, I actually find it kind of funny. I'd like to get her to nest in a different location, or at least rework the one she's using behind all the rabbit hay. Maybe I'll do that tonight. She shouldn't be on the nest tonight since she just laid less than 24 hours ago. Pic of eggs... for no real reason. I guess it's been five eggs in seven days.

 

[Goosebaby]

Geese will lay until they have hoard of eggs and then go broody, sometimes they burry their eggs bust sometimes they’ll forget which isn’t too big of an issue unless the cold is extreme. I wouldn’t doubt that a hen laid next to her and she stole the egg, geese love snatching eggs.

You can move the next by making her a new nest in the desired location and putting her eggs into it, it doesn’t always work in every case but it’s the best method. Geese like a lot of birds like to lay in an established nest because they assume it must be a safe spot if there’s already a bunch of eggs in it.

 

[jwcarlson]

Geese will lay until they have hoard of eggs and then go broody, sometimes they burry their eggs bust sometimes they’ll forget which isn’t too big of an issue unless the cold is extreme. I wouldn’t doubt that a hen laid next to her and she stole the egg, geese love snatching eggs.

You can move the next by making her a new nest in the desired location and putting her eggs into it, it doesn’t always work in every case but it’s the best method. Geese like a lot of birds like to lay in an established nest because they assume it must be a safe spot if there’s already a bunch of eggs in it.

Thanks! I figured she'd go until she had a decent clutch. What's extreme cold? Our lows have been down to about 10 recently. Certainly, egg freezing weather. Will taking her eggs delay her broodiness or prevent it? I have no issue letting her do the whole thing. I actually would rather as it's a lot less work for me. Plus, I like watching the chickens be moms, so I assume I'd also enjoy the geese.

I know whenever I'm messing with the nest area, she comes over and watches what I'm doing. She's fairly gentle, at least for now.

 

[Goosebaby]

Thanks! I figured she'd go until she had a decent clutch. What's extreme cold? Our lows have been down to about 10 recently. Certainly, egg freezing weather. Will taking her eggs delay her broodiness or prevent it? I have no issue letting her do the whole thing. I actually would rather as it's a lot less work for me. Plus, I like watching the chickens be moms, so I assume I'd also enjoy the geese.

I know whenever I'm messing with the nest area, she comes over and watches what I'm doing. She's fairly gentle, at least for now.

The temps are probably fine as long as she’s covering the eggs. Removing the eggs will prevent her going broody unfortunately.

 

[jwcarlson]

The temps are probably fine as long as she’s covering the eggs. Removing the eggs will prevent her going broody unfortunately.

She's not covering them, she eventually hops off. Though I will say that she was still on it last night when I pulled it out from under her. But thus far she's laid the egg and then (eventually) gotten off. She was on a pile of chicken eggs the other day until she eventually laid her own.

Maybe I'll let her start piling them up. Or try giving her the eggs I've been collecting when it's nice out here in a couple days and see if she sits them.

Thanks for your help!

 

[jwcarlson]

You can move the next by making her a new nest in the desired location and putting her eggs into it, it doesn’t always work in every case but it’s the best method.

I'll admit to thinking this was unlikely to be successful. But I did it a couple of days ago... and I was shocked to find that not only did the goose take to the nest. But so did the other goose. And now most of the chickens as well.

But... mission accomplished, I guess.

I just pulled the eggs out from under her, put them where I wanted them. And then picked her up and showed her where they were. She crawled onto them, laid an egg at some point shortly thereafter, and there tucked them back in. And then later that afternoon the other goose laid her egg there.
Pretty cool!

She's still not broody, but I've only let the eggs accumulate up to seven now. So... we'll see. She was on the empty nest this morning (it's still cold at night on/off). So this morning I gave her back the eggs and she tucked them all in and got them situated.

Her egg flaps where darn near dragging on the ground a couple of days ago. Noticeably lower than normal. Thought maybe that meant she was going to sit, but not yet.

If she sets, I'm considering swapping her the eggs we have in the incubator (about 7-8 days along). And then possibly selectively incubating the ones from her nest that I want to hatch (the roman tufted eggs rather than the Toulouse/roman ones that she's laying).