Need advice on encouraging a nest location!

[Diamond Wire Farms]

Hi everyone,
I need some goose expert advice on encouraging a nesting location for a pair of Toulouse geese.
I have 6 geese. One pair constantly nest in inappropriate locations: The middle of the pig pen, the floor of the chicken coop, & once she tried to go broody in a hen nest box (She actually broke one of the dividers wedging herself in there.) This year I tried to pen the pair in a separate area, away from everything else but a large doghouse. This has caused much distress (screaming/honking) which I figured would eventually go away, but now its been a week and they won't settle down.
Any advice for these "inventive" nesters?

Thanks,
Shannon

 

[Cottage Rose]

One week is too soon for geese to settle in.
They are very sensitive to change.
How far removed from the community flock are they?
Do you have another pen closer to the other geese?
Has the goose or gander checked out the dog coop at all?
Is the dog coop big enough?
Geese need big.
You could try putting a large amount of fresh straw in the dog coop...
form a bowl/nest in the center of the straw and put some dummy eggs in the nest.
Put a little bit of the straw at the entrance of the coop to catch her attention
if shes ignoring the coop.
Put their food and water dishes by the coop so they get use to the coop.
Also provide them with a breeding pool with fresh water as you are able.
Give them some time...the breeding season isn't in full swing yet and they need more time to settle in.
You have time to be patient.
Good luck!

 

[Diamond Wire Farms]

Rose- Thank you for the advice. I don't have a picture of the set up, but it is a large plywood structure (like a horse run-in but about 4x5x5ft.) It is full of straw.
The geese are penned in a corner of what used to be their larger area, but I was trying to control the nesting of this pair this year. The other geese are just on the other side of the fence. Each side has access to a large kids baby pool. (I know it is shallow for large geese, but I did not have fertility problems last year.)

I am not expecting them to nest in a week. I was just hoping the excessive noise would stop by now. Normally they are only noisy when someone or something is going on in their area. These 2 have been noisy since I separated them. DH is about done with it. He just wants them to shut up, and is about ready to let them out again. I really don't want them in my coop again, because it upsets the chicken laying for MONTHS!

I will try to hold him off for a few more days, and hope that they settle down.

What can I use for goose dummy eggs when the time comes? I have wooden chickens eggs, but they seem too small. Would baseballs work?

 

[Cottage Rose]

Oh didn't know they were being that loud! LOL
I bet that's a pain.

You could try the chicken dummies or even the baseball.
I don't know if size matters.
The whole idea is to prick their interest but it may be too soon for that.
Maybe others here will have some tips for you.

 

[Diamond Wire Farms]

Thanks Rose. And I wanted to say you have beautiful geese. I just added two Seb ganders last night.
The poor woman ordered 12 from Holderread last year and got 8 ganders. She was trying to avoid WW3 in her pond.
So we have some new boys.

I will try some more time and some dummy eggs....
Maybe a jumbo dog crate? This goose is picky so maybe she needs a choice?

 

[goosedragon]

Quote:
Are you planning on stealing their eggs? that is what nesteggs are usually for, to leave in the nest that you stold the egg from so she doesn't give up and move her nest.

 

[Diamond Wire Farms]

The dummy eggs. She stole a hen's nest last year, so I thought it maybe eggs "mean" nest to her. I put out 2 wooden eggs yesterday, but she is still not interested in the straw. My other pairs are both defending an area with straw in their sheds and mating ALOT. Won't be expecting eggs for a few more weeks...

Last year was this female's first nest season and she never sat her nest for more than 4 days at a time. The last time she abandoned it, I gave 3 of the freshest eggs to our broody Ameracauna, who hatched them. If she chooses a reasonable location and sits on her nest, I will leave it up to her.

 

[Goose and Fig]

The geese are penned in a corner of what used to be their larger area, but I was trying to control the nesting of this pair this year. The other geese are just on the other side of the fence. Each side has access to a large kids baby pool. (I know it is shallow for large geese, but I did not have fertility problems last year.)

I think this is your problem. As long as they can see & hear the rest of their flock they are going to be upset about being away from them. I can just imagine what the noise is like- I have 6 toulouse here as well. Oy!​

 

[Diamond Wire Farms]

Everyone warned me about moving her too far. Maybe the pair is too close.

I will give her a few more days to settle. It will either work out by Saturday, or she will be released.

I am sure she will nest smack-dab in the center of the chicken coop this year (for revenge.)
Last year was a mess, bald chickens, smashed eggs, screaming goose and gander biting my legs every time I had to check on the HIGH nest boxes.
Poor hens running around "holding it" for days trying to avoid the chaos.

On a brighter note, one of my new Sebbies is IN LOVE with the lowest ranked Toulouse girl. She will finally get to have a pair, instead of being kicked out of the harem at the last moment. They're a bit of an odd couple though.

 

[goosedragon]

Quote:
Just because a goose is not sitting on a nest does not mean she has abandoned it. you have to consider the weather and other factors. They usually nest in the spring when the weather can be quite changable. If the weather is warm she might only visit the nest to lay a new egg. If nights are cold she might stay on the nest all night and be out and about when it warms up. The same holds true for cold days. In other words sitting a nest is NOT the same as Brooding a nest. Until she is truly brooding a nest she is not abandoning it because she left it even for days. If you are experienced with geese I am sorry about the lecture, we have all levels of people on here. The fact that a chicken hatched the eggs suggests that you broke up the nest. The important thing is how long did the broody take to hatch them 30 days or so indicate you broke up the nest too soon because the goose hadn't started brooding. anything much less than 30 days indicate that you did the right thing!