Sebastopol Geese Thread !!!!!!!!!! SHOW YOUR PICS !!!!!!!!!!

[RURU]

Goose and fig you named your goose after my daughter Suzette.

 

[jen85]

Thanks! I have done some reading on here about hatching them. I usually hatch my ducks with the chicks and they do really well. One of the goose eggs is too small to incubate. I just can't make myself eat the big egg when there is that little possibility that it will hatch

 

[CelticOaksFarm]

we have incubated duck and goose together in our cabinets all season last year and this year as well with no bad effects ever. The ducks need no different set up from the geese (we dry incubate only raising humidity at lockdown). The ONLY real difference is you want to incubate the goose eggs on their side the entire time no matter what.

 

[Mrs. Fluffy Puffy]

hey Aspen, nope no GQF cabinets here sorry. We have two antique redwoods, a dickey(mainly duck and chicken eggs), and a custom made 5 drawer cabinet hatcher for the goose eggs. I dry incubate all the eggs until lockdown with 98% over all hatch rate.
Oh Okay! Thanks for the info. I have three older model Sportsmans, each tray can hold aprox. 9 dozen+ chicken eggs...or something like that...so what I may do is use one for the goose eggs only.

What day do you start misting them, and how many times do you turn them daily? I have auto turners, but you said it was a lot better to hand turn them. That won't be a problem for me, as I'm here pretty much all day 24/7.

Hi guys... are we all ready for egg season?... I usually get my first eggs mid Feb.
I have my birds all seperated in breeding pens, White, buff, blue, and spotted....
I will have eggs available soon, and I have adults available now...
[email protected]

happy hatching!

We are ready for egg season! I would love to see pictures of your setup, peachick. I'm always looking for new ideas for pens. Don't ever tell me you have adults available....you'll make me cave in and get some!

Hi Shellie, haven't talked in a while! I love the sebbies I got from you last year! The gray girls are noisy, boisterous and very demanding of attention. =} The white boy in second shipment is all white and beautiful. He is big and has nice straight wings. I will post some pics soon.

I have a couple of questions for you;
1) I separated my geese into trios about 10 days ago. How much run space do you give a trio?
2) I use a home made cabinet bator to hatch and have had pretty good luck with the sebbie eggs. I spray them with water every 3 or 4 days and have had good luck with this method.
3) You talked about a 5 drawer hatcher, do you then hand turn them? I am trying to figure out how to fit more goose eggs in my cabinet bator and/or my small fridge hatcher.

Thanks for your expertise!

Two of my goose yards are 12' x 16'..I have a trio in one, a quad in another, and the third yard is a lil bigger. Like 12-14' x 16' or something. I have two other goose yard in the backyard, and they are something like 15+' x 15+' each. A trio is housed in each of those. The bigger the better!

I recommend everyone follow Pete's hatching guide (found at the top of the goose area in the stickies) it covers EVERYTHING! Yes the 5 drawer is a hand turn deal, but worth it for the extra room I get by doing it that way.

we try 30x30 and 20x40 or 20x50 and rotate who free ranges out of the pen for any given day. About to move the main goose house this weekend and rebuild fencing. (I want their yard for garden space lol) So re-working the runs coming off the front of it for maximum space.

So glad you enjoy everyone! Hard to not love a sebastopol though.

Shellie, I'm dying to see what your 'main goose house' looks like!

30 eggs per tray maximum, sometimes (because of size of eggs only 24)

First and second turn of the day_
Open the cabinet, pull all the trays set on the table, close cabinet door. Turn all the eggs. Place back in the bator.

Last tun of the day:
Open the cabinet, pull all the trays set on the table, close cabinet door. Trun all the eggs, mist them and allow them to cool for 10 + minutes. Place back in the bator. (this is also when we candle eggs once a week (Sundays) to check air cells)

whites since November, pastels just about to start

Still waiting for all of mine to start....

The expectant parents...I hope!

I LOVE the way lav shows up in the snow!!!




Beautiful!

And one of Suzette...



If Suzette turns up missing....you know where to look!

Hi everyone! I just bought a trio of 10 month old Sebastopol geese this week. They are still not too sure about us but they are beautiful and so fun to watch. They are breeding already and I have gotten two eggs so far. Going to wait for one more egg and put them in with some of my duck eggs in the incubator. The picture is of them right after I unloaded them from the truck. Need to get a better one now that they've played in the water a couple times.
Congratulations on your trio of Sebs!!

we have incubated duck and goose together in our cabinets all season last year and this year as well with no bad effects ever. The ducks need no different set up from the geese (we dry incubate only raising humidity at lockdown). The ONLY real difference is you want to incubate the goose eggs on their side the entire time no matter what.

I'm storing all this info.....

~ Aspen

 

[CelticOaksFarm]

Aspen, I use auto turners in some of bators, not the new one though its all hand turned. Everything gets hand turned once a day each day if in an auto turner, three times a day every day if not in auto turners. Misting and cooling done per Petes guide and weighing of the eggs. Some get more some get less. Its a full time job that I wont get much rest or a break from until June. Well worth it though when we have some of the highest, if not the highest hatch rates to go with our high fertility rates.

 

[Mrs. Fluffy Puffy]

Aspen, I use auto turners in some of bators, not the new one though its all hand turned. Everything gets hand turned once a day each day if in an auto turner, three times a day every day if not in auto turners. Misting and cooling done per Petes guide and weighing of the eggs. Some get more some get less. Its a full time job that I wont get much rest or a break from until June. Well worth it though when we have some of the highest, if not the highest hatch rates to go with our high fertility rates.

Awesome thank you!

I have bad new and good news: I'll tell you the bad news first...I found one of my Sebastopol project females was missing this morning...I found a blood and feather trail...and a huge clump of bloodied feathers....I feel like an awful goose momma!

What ever it was must have been pretty big to carry a 15+ lb. goose for quite a ways. I'm just sick over it. Of course it took the best looking goose...as they always seem to do. We are redoing all the goose houses today..it is not going to happen again if I can help it.

On a happier note...Shellie I found my 1st Goose egg EVER this morning! It came from the pen with the two girls I got from you, who are paired with Caspian. I think Ashely (smooth grey) laid it, but Penny (smooth lilac) was acting like her rear was sore...so not certain.

It weighs 132 grams. I'll post a picture in a bit.

Earlier this morning, after I'd let them out, Ashley had gone back in their house and made a nest...so not sure if she was looking for her egg..or she is getting ready to lay? Either way I'm excited!!

I would like some advice tho, should I go ahead and set it today..or wait a couple of days and see if I get more eggs? I want to give this egg the best chance of hatching possible.

~ Aspen

 

[Goose and Fig]

Oh so sorry about your girl!

That is awful.

Congrats on the egg though! I would wait a few days to see if you get more. I got one the day before yesterday and have been stalking the lavs all day waiting to get the next one before it freezes. Maybe there will be 2 days in between....

 

[pips&peeps]

edited, wrong person....I was confused.

 

[corancher]

Aspen so sorry about the loss of your girl.

I had two come up missing last year but I believe mine was taken by a human predator. Never ever had a goose disappear and then in one week two female Sebastopols (Lavender & Splash) and the nicest looking ones. Weird thing was they were taken on different days. There were no feathers anywhere and they disappeared during the day.

 

[CelticOaksFarm]

Aspen, so sorry about the girl going missing.

As Amy said wait it out for a few more eggs, better to set a few than have a solo gosling hatch out.