Miracle Egg Hatches Out Twins!

[jessi]

Some of you may remember my posting here a month ago under the post heading "Are 3-Week-Old Goose Eggs Fertile?" I had been given 4 American Buff eggs that were all at least 3 weeks old before I managed to get my goose to set and get them placed under the goose.

The concensus on the forum was that an egg over two weeks old probably would never hatch. The results of the 30 day brooding are: 1 egg started smelling after 3 weeks of being sat on, and got tossed; 2 eggs developed some but not all the way; and the 4th egg - a miracle egg. It hatched out twins!

That is not supposed to be possible, from what my farmer friends tell me. Imagine my surprise when I looked in on my Pearl to find two unhatched eggs under her, one opened egg, and two goslings! And of all things, from an "old" egg!

They are healthy, adorable, and doing fine, enjoying their first day out in the world with their proud mama and papa. Miracles never cease.

 

[Mrs. Glassman]

That is neat....I've always wondered if it were possible. Congrats!!

 

[jessi]

I had better add a P.S. - my farmer friends were amazed not that an older egg had hatched, but that any egg could hatch out twins. Apparently that is considered impossible (according to them).

 

[Windchyme]

Quote:
It isn't impossible, but highly unlikely. I have had them develop to a point but never hatch. Sure she wasn't hiding an egg somewhere????

 

[gocrow77]

Congrats!!!!

 

[chickenwhisperer123]

It is possible, but they are usually VERY week IF they even hatch.

 

[chixie]

we want pics... we want pics.. we want pics...
congrats

 

[crazy cat lady]

Yes, we need Pics.

 

[BluegrassSeramas]

Hi Jessi!

Im Jessi too!!!

 

[jessi]

Thanks for the kudos, everybody. No, she was not hiding an egg somewhere. The babies are absolutely identical, and these were "imported" American Buff eggs. She is another kind of goose entirely, and so the two babies would look different. If she were hiding an egg, it would have to have been one of her own, not one of the four American Buff eggs I gave her, all of which are accounted for. And if the babe was from one of her own supposedly "hidden" eggs, it would not be identical to the other American Buff baby, right down to every detail of the shading. I've seen a lot of goslings, and the breeds differ in appearance, even at day-old stage.

Also, the babes are not in the least weak or unhealthy, contrary to what someone here implied twins of a three-week-old starter egg would probably be. This is day three of their life, and they're having a wonderful time in the yard with Mama and Papa Goose, acting as normal as every other gosling we've ever hatched out here. But I have decided not to give a goose a three-week-old again to sit on, based on what I picked up here in this forum. The odds are too great that the embryos will develop but not live to hatch.

For those who asked for pictures - sorry, I don't own a camera!

Jessi