Question for geese keepers out there?

[chickchickchiky]

Well i have a pair of white Chinese geese and they are for sure a pair cause they are mating and she was laying an egg every other day! I was taking the eggs from her and we were eating them. Well we like the eggs so much that i decided to buy 2 more female goslings from ideal along with 2 baby Peking ducklings male and female the 4 babies imprinted on me and think i am mom and follow me around like dogs well once i started walking the babies outside and the big geese saw them she has stopped laying eggs and it's been 4-5 days now since she layed any. So my question is has she gone broody? if so how can you tell? The pair was very interested in the new babies and want to be with them so should i just let them in with the geese? and if i do this how would i feed them the starter/grower without the bigger geese eating it all? and would i also have to add a heat lamp to the pen for the cold nights?

I know that's a lot of questions but i am at a loss on what to do here. HELP!!! Lol

 

[Kevin565]

Well i have a pair of white Chinese geese and they are for sure a pair cause they are mating and she was laying an egg every other day! I was taking the eggs from her and we were eating them. Well we like the eggs so much that i decided to buy 2 more female goslings from ideal along with 2 baby Peking ducklings male and female the 4 babies imprinted on me and think i am mom and follow me around like dogs well once i started walking the babies outside and the big geese saw them she has stopped laying eggs and it's been 4-5 days now since she layed any.




So my question is has she gone broody?

Not necciscarily broody but she does seem like she may want to raise them. How much contact have they had together?


if so how can you tell?

She should be sitting on a nest if she's broody

The pair was very interested in the new babies and want to be with them so should i just let them in with the geese

I'd suggest trying early in the morning where you can supervise. Do NOT leave them unattended. You could walk into a terrible scene

and if i do this how would i feed them the starter/grower without the bigger geese eating it all?

The bigger geese would get into it as long as it's in the open so I'd suggest flock raiser


and would i also have to add a heat lamp to the pen for the cold nights?

If the pair raises them then no

I know that's a lot of questions but i am at a loss on what to do here. HELP!!! Lol

 

[chickchickchiky]

Not necciscarily broody but she does seem like she may want to raise them. How much contact have they had together?

They have been together only when i let them out to eat grass and such and i am watching they get very protective of the babies with the dogs etc...


if so how can you tell?

She should be sitting on a nest if she's broody

No nest i have taken all her eggs she just quit laying like mating season is over i have not gotten any eggs in more than a week now.

The pair was very interested in the new babies and want to be with them so should i just let them in with the geese

I'd suggest trying early in the morning where you can supervise. Do NOT leave them unattended. You could walk into a terrible scene

This is what i have been doing

and if i do this how would i feed them the starter/grower without the bigger geese eating it all?

The bigger geese would get into it as long as it's in the open so I'd suggest flock raiser

I will check into this and see if my local TSC has it

and would i also have to add a heat lamp to the pen for the cold nights?

If the pair raises them then no

The problem with this is the babies are still kinda scared of them big ones and wont go near them like that they would rather snuggle with each other although they are getting used to them they prefer i put them in the coop at night and go and stand next to the door when they are ready. So will they eventually take to the big geese?

 

[chickchickchiky]

Here is a video of them interacting in the kiddy pool this is my female she nips at them a little but it seems like she is wanting them to go to her etc.. not in a bad way now the gander just loves the babies and will protect them at all costs.

http://s76.photobucket.com/albums/j23/ivette_a2004/?action=view&current=2012-04-15_16-54-27_630.mp4

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

i'm new to geese. We got three babies last April - one boy and two girls. We have 3 sets of babies now from purchased eggs. The oldest group turned 4 weeks old today. They're pretty big. We've been taking them out for the past week, first in a pen where the adults could see them, then out on the grass with the older geese. The older geese are very interested in them, but we couldn't tell their intention. Last night, one of the females got close and jumped on a baby. She got away quickly. But we've also seen one of the larger babies chasing the three adults off on several occasions. It's pretty clear we will have to closely supervise until the babies are the same size as the adults.

 

[chickchickchiky]

I bought the mated pair about 2 months ago and at first they would run off to my neighbors pond and we would have to go get them so we ended up having to pen them up and make a pond on our property lol. They had been seeing the babies with me walking around the yard and acting like they wanted out but like you i was not sure of their intentions so last week i took the babies into their pen and i was with them and the adults seemed to want to herd them but no beak action just moving them around and trying to get in between us and them. The babies were scared and would come back to me and get into my legs so i took them out. throughout the week i started letting them see each other more and more and finally this Sat i let out the adults and they just hung out and did not run off. Where ever the babies were they were and followed me around the place and i took them over to the new pond and when i left with the babies they followed as well it seems almost like i am part of their flock as a momma goose and they just want to be part of it. My dog made the mistake of coming to close and the gander bit him on the ear like a pit bull lol to get him away from me and the flock it crazy for a sec but the dog got the memo. He even tried to goose me when i got in the pond! Silly gander I am enjoying this introduction and i am awaiting another shipment of brown Chinese geese at the end of this month so all this will start over

 

[chickchickchiky]

So can anyone tell me why she stopped laying? Please

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

i suppose she could have stopped laying for any number of reasons. One of our geese started laying last month. She layed two eggs about a week apart, then nothing since. i think our issue is the weather. It got nice and warm and then turned into winter again. Our other issue is she doesn't have a really good spot to lay. They don't want to be in their pen during the day and i can't leave the pen open or the goats will go inside and make a mess. So she was laying in a corner of the goat pen. But if the goats are in there tussling around, that doesn't make for a safe environment.

Anyhow, those are my issues. Yours could be upset from adding new birds. i notice geese are very sensitive to any changes in their environment. Plus, they seem to be very territorial with other birds and animals. i have to keep my geese separate from my ducks and chickens as they will nip at them at any opportunity.

 

[chickchickchiky]

She was laying so good! Every other day and sometimes 2 eggs a day i think she layed a total of 12 eggs and that's it closed the shop since the moment she laid eyes on those babies blahhh