I wondered where a lot of you guys went. You're over here! Lots of cute pics - too many to comment on them all! I have three internal pips in my Seb eggs tonight. Looks like I will have my first batch of goslings soon! I'm hoping all goes well.Hey Christine!
It's about time you joined in on the fun.
Thank you for the information, I've got another bator with 22 eggs in it and I put one of my thermometers on a single egg carton cup cut down so the thermometer is placed at the middle of the goose egg. I also have ones one both ends to get temps. I hope I get more stable temps this time.R4Eboxer.....................
I have the same ones. I was following Storeys guide too. I had some problems last year, mostly 3 power outages, not raising humidity at hatch, and low incubation temp. I use 3 thermometers and my husband meter and the accurite temp/hygrometers are correct for me. I am not getting 8-10 differences between top and bottom. First we hd to find out where the accurites intakes were (where they were pulling in temp). One is newer and has its intake grill near top, the other has it on wholeside. So I placed them on a plastic spool so the intakes were at top of eggs. I then try for 101-102 at top of eggs. (I am incubating duck and goose eggs together). I have discovered 2 important Stablizing facts for my Hovabators. 1) fill with eggs or put in jars of water same temp as "heat storage units" 2) keep room above 70 away from vents, doors etc.
I just read about dry incubating ...but am in the middle....so not sure I want to mess with this group. I do wash my eggs, and am misting some...both of which Holderreads says seem to help with dyhydration....
At this point , I am contemplating getting another bator with fan and turner....or building my own....For backup I do have a 2 yr. old goose setting 3 eggs (not hers, ones I wanted)... and 3 silky ducks sitting theirs and a runner or hookbill egg, (put what I had clean under them, as they are less than a year old).
I lost a Shetland baby this morning , pipped wrong end...dead...It's my yearling geese eggs so was just trying
Meet Igor!
This my first gosling hatch. I don't know what kind it is supposed to be. Someone gave the eggs to my husband. They don't know what they have. Is it an 'African' goose?
I have one goose with a very large pip, she has been this way for 18 hrs. How long should it be taking her to zip out and should I help her at this point? Here is a photo of how she has been for almost a day now. She is breathing but doesn't seem to be able to zip out.
I came home from work and three goslings went from just a pip to fully hatched and almost dried, the one in the photo is still the same, should I help it out now?What a Cute little baby
Egg looks fine and many of ours are 24 to 30 hours after external pipping before rotation. Not long now!!
This weekend, I noticed that one of the birds had either pecked the egg open or stepped on the egg which made the baby hatch out partially. It looks like the gosling is probably about 1- 2 days early. I brought it in and put it under the heat lamp and tried to keep it warm. The egg was not fully absorbed and it's eyes were still closed. It's still alive and it's making noise when I talk to it but I don't know if it will survive being pre-mature. Does anyone have any experience with a pre-mature gosling? What do you all think it's survival chances are?
