Needing Info regarding Embden Geese, esp Nesting & Breeding Req's

[Elwood Lightfoot]

I need some suggestions for making places for the geese to nest I have plastic 55 gal drums and a pile of old tires I have some ideas but not sure whats the norm for them as in where to put it? and how large it needs to be? does it need to be covered? ect..

I have a Trio now I had two females and thought they were a pair but they didn't lay and this would have been thier first season so after sexing them I bought a Gander to be with them,

Will they start breeding and lay this late in the year having a male now since they haven't done so already?

I have them in a 10'X30' pen that is right next to a quarter acre pond I'm putting in a door on the pond side of the pen so they will soon have access to the pond all day every day,
The pen doesn't have a coop I used a large plastic dog house that the roof can be lifted on full of hay, the girls did fine using it all winter and I thought it might make a good place to nest for them,

I would of course prefer that they lay in the pens but I figure being out and on the pond they may look for places around it to nest if they are going to so any help or ideas on placing the best sort of nesting (boxes,enclosures) devices, would be most welcomed, Thanks a million

Here are my Girls I need to get a pic of my new Gander I'll post it later

This is thier pen and the pond in the background

 

[Elwood Lightfoot]

I took the camera to the yard to get a pic of the Gander and ended up forgetting to take the pictures cause I caught a copperhead in a trap I'd set, will get and post it tomorrow LOL

 

[Alas]

My goose started laying her eggs out in the open under a tree. I made her a nest in a corner of my chicken coop, kind of boxed it in for her, and moved the eggs. She started laying there afterwards. If you want them to lay in a certain place, you can try making a nest for them and see if they'll take it. This is only my first year hatching geese though, so its possible I just lucked out.

 

[2468Chickensrgr8]

Beautiful geese ! I also have a pair of Embden geese that I hatched out last June....this past March/ April the female started laying in a old blue drum I had placed in their coop. I also have three muscovey hens that hatched out at the same time in the coop also and when they decided to be broody and lay on eggs they were ALL started so the Embden female layed on the eggs also .I didnt let them out of their yard just so they could figure it out . and they did between the Muscoveys and the embden goose they hatched out four eggs. I had a swimming pool in their yard . I was throwing out goose eggs because I never seen the geese doing the " wild thing" so I thought the eggs were all duds until I gave up and let them lay on them. In the blue drum I cut a square hole in the top so I could easily check for the eggs under the mom's ...and I stuffed it with straw. I now let them wander the yard and go to the pond and they all return at night to there coop and yard ..Hope that helps ...she'll let you know ...good luck !

 

[Elwood Lightfoot]

Thanks for posting, I am making two more different options for nest boxes one from a 55 gal plastic drum and one from an old tire I flipped to make a flower pot years ago to go along with the old dog house for them I hope they like a couple of them at least LOL I haven't seen any intrerest in breeding so far but he's not been with the girls a full week yet I just hope to avoid finding eggs on the ground somewhere and want to be prepaired when they do lay even if it's next season. I enjoy the geese they seem to almost like me LOL They don't like anyone else that comes over to see them and they really don't like chickens, I thought I had some sort of preditor coming over the fence and killing chickens turned out to be the two geese doing it not sure why but they killed one rooster and five hens before I figured it out, they are seperate from any chickens now but will bite at the fence and shake it when the chickens get close to it.

 

[Elwood Lightfoot]

SO I renewed my newfound education on sexing aldult geese and it seems I was wrong about the two I already had so now I have a lovely trio of Ganders LOL Not much I can do except try to do some trading and hope for better results next season, I suppose this thread can be closed if a mod happens by, thanks for the responses I wish you all the best with your geese