Park Goose Nest Found

[barnwife]

My daughter and I went to the park yesterday, and we found something we never expected to find. There is a pond, and LOADS of geese and ducks (mostly drop-offs) but 98% are males. Well, we found a nest with a HUGE goose egg in it!

Of COURSE we took it home since the geese that were hanging around it werre in no way protective of it...

they looked to be africans (dark with dark knobs?) and white with orange beaks, no knobs. HUGE geese though! Very mellow.

Could have been one of the other 4,682 geese that live there, though, of all sundry breeds.

Went back today and found # 2 in the same nest....but the other we set yesterday.

In ya'lls opinions, should we keep collecting and set them all at once, or visiting every day and setting them as we get them.... or leave them alone?

I just have no idea, and my daughter is THRILLED beyond recognition about this find.

Let us know what you think!

 

[onthespot]

How cool! I would just collect them every day for ten days or so and set them. I wish the geese near me would nest and lay me a free goose egg every day!

 

[barnwife]

I can't wait to see how they turn out!

Worst case scenario is that we eat GOOD all winter long!

Roast goose every day might get a bit boring, though...who knows?

Maybe I won't ahve to worry so much about coyotes anymore with a flock of these monstrous-sized babies around!

Seriously...ojne of the geese was shoulder-height when it stoddd tip-toe and did the flappy wing thing...SHOULDER HEIGHT!

and one SCARY lookign beak!!

But they'll eat bread out of your hands lol.

 

[newdock]

I'm not sure what the laws are in Texas, but up here you can get in trouble for what you're doing....I'd hate for you to get into trouble!

Good luck on your hatching

 

[barnwife]

This is why I love Texas...home of the truly free!

these are NOT wild geese, by ANY stretch of the imagination.

They are ALL domestic breeds that folks drop off...sometimes there are babies since geese do not stop laying eggs just b/c there's noone there to house them...and they are all VERY familiar with people and will come within touching distances.


There ARE laws that deal with specific wild breeds, such as those declared endangered, threatened, and whatnot

...but none for these domestic non-migratory birds.

Thank-yoyu fro your concern!

 

[mjjobbins]

That's one reason I can't see ever leaving the South. Not so many useless laws. I'm a Tennessee boy but God bless Texas!

 

[barnwife]

Thank God for a place where the government doesn't control everything!

This week was Santa Ana day... anyone outside of Texas know what that is?


The day Texans (not americans) caught the Mexican rebel leader and WON TEXAN independence from Mexico!

 

[barnwife]

SOOOO went back to the lovely nest this afternoon...

guess how many eggies there were?


10!!!!

TEN eggs, in TWO days! Granted, there are about 30 geese that live at this pond, all are dropoffs, no wild geese in the mix...and the nest, I have found out, is technically on the corner lot of someone's yard that they didn't fence in due to the little creek and the trouble fencing in a creek that floods every time it rains....

SO not a single thing illegal, and a big thank-you to local park and rec , & wildlife departments!


SO the eggs are FREE as long as the owner of the property does not mind. They don't want geese on their property since city code forbids it...so.......

MORE EGGS!

We left two in the nest, due to limited bator space. I think I will let them hatch some of their own, as well.

Just to be nice, I took a poster out and looked the geese over the best I could, and here are the few (out of 30+ geese) I could identify for sure


Dewlap toulouse geese, about 7 maybe more since they don't sit still much (some were too far away to see just how dewlapped they were, but three VERY nice dewlaps),

seven medium sized random white geese with no knobs/bumps (could be three different breeds or mixes)

five white chinese (big knobs)

six HUGE african monster geese with black knobs

1 saddleback pair (i think)

1 VERY mixed looking goose.

many many more random gray/brown/white geese that I do not have a clue about.

Since I cannot tell goose from gander, yet, I have NO clue what else I am looking at. Other than a JACKPOT. And since about half of the geese were sitting within 50 feet of the nest today, and the eggs are varying colors of white and cream, I think it is a communal nest.

I am thinking about buying a fourth incubator, just for this special bounty.

Tell me, what would you do?

 

[greenfamilyfarms]

Cool!

 

[mjjobbins]

Cool! That's a lot of little potential geese for you. Are you going to keep all that hatch?