My broody goose is not feeding itself

[adamspop]

Hi,
My gander Tutti and goose Frutti had been behaving indifferently for the past few days, when on a fine morning (3 days ago), I found that Frutti had laid two eggs in her nest. She wasn't yet sitting on them and used to forage as usual. I could occassionally notice her coming back to sit on those eggs. 2 days back, one of those eggs went missing (I don't know if it were the crows or any occasional backyard rats). Ever since then, Frutti has been continually sitting on the remaining egg, without even getting off to feed herself. The gander, Tutti is keeping close watch, guarding his mate. I'm not sure if Frutti is till continuing laying more eggs as she has not got out of her nest.

I didn't keep the feeds near her nest and it was kept in the usual spot where they used to be fed normally. The problem is, neither tutti nor frutti is now feeding themselves for the past two days. I tried taking it to tutti and he turned away

( ! ) from it after dipping it's beak into the feeding tub. I didn't want to keep the tub close to the sitting Frutti to avoid apprehending her and to avoid presence of crows and rats near her nest.

I'm really worried why they have stopped feeding themselves. Is this normal behaviour during this period? I searched the internet and many forums and couldn't really find an answer.

Somebody please help ASAP, I fear they are going to starve themselves to death

 

[ChickenDreamer]

Hi Adamspop, welcome to BYC. I don't know about geese myself but hopefully someone here can help. There's a lot of smart guys n gals hanging around here

 

[TennesseeTruly]

Actually we had to literally take our Caressa off her nest to eat and drink once a day last breeding season. She just would not get off her nest. She lost quite a bit of weight while brooding. Our gander didn't stop eating. Actually none of our ganders did. Our other geese would get up off their nest once a day to eat, drink, and to jump in the pool to get wet and then get back on their nests. Only Caressa had to be dragged off, kicking and screaming.

Laurie

 

[adamspop]

That was comforting

Now comes the real problem.... force feeding

Thanks a lot for your response

 

[Judy]

Quote:
I've never owned a goose, only chickens, but the above is how it goes with chickens. I've never had one stop eating entirely, but have read that some do. Usually they wait til no one is around to get up and do their once a day business. Is there any poop in her nest (if you can get near it enough to tell?) With a chicken they will make one huge "broody poop" once a day, while they are up eating and drinking and getting just a little exercise.

Before I found BYC I used to try to hand feed them while they were on the nest. They might take one bite if I was lucky.

 

[goosedragon]

ddawn's post above pretty much describes normal goose behavior in reasonable weather. If you are having extremely cold weather a goose might stick close to the nest to be sure the egg(s) don't freeze or become too chilled to survive. How are you determineing that neither bird is feeding? Not seeing them feed means nothing but nothing out of the food dish or feeder is meaningfull. Frankly with the amount of fat that most birds have this time of the year I would not worry about them starving to death but not drinking is serious! give them 2 more days and if they are not eating or drinking I would break up the nest (Actually in a cold climate I would break up the nest anyway goslings in a cold Jan. is going to be a disaster anyway) Catch and confine the gander elsewhere first, nobody can handle two stuborn geese at the same time. Then grab the goose off the nest and confine her with the gander while you remove the eggs, the nest, and completely change the beding. you may find other eggs hidden in there. Feed and water the pair under confinement and don't return them to their old home until they both are eating and drinking. With any luck they will delay starting a new family until very late winter or early spring(the normal time for geese) I suppose you could resort to force feeding but I know nothing about how to do that.

 

[adamspop]

i live in tropical climate (India) and temperature varies between 20-25 deg. Celsius from Dec. to Feb. I came to my conclusion as the quantity in the feeding tub was more or less the same. I think I'll take the mama goose away from her nest tomorrow and try giving her water and routine feeds. (by the way, is calcium supplementation necessary for brooding geese? if so, any idea about the recommended dosage?).

What are the chances for her to abandon her nest if I take her away for feeding? Will she resume sitting?

 

[Miss Lydia]

If this is her first time to be broodie could be a factor also, I keep oyster shell out for my ducks, chickens year round.