seem to be having lots of early death with goose egg incubation

[Pyxis]

I will do that for sure. I did spray down the incubator with hydrogen peroxide as well.

Now that they were washed, do you guys think I should mist and cool them?

Have you read Pete's guide to hatching goose eggs? It's in the Stickies section in the goose forum, and it's very good. I definitely recommend reading it.

I always wash the muck off my goose eggs, and I've always misted and cooled them even when doing that. I've never washed them with anything other than water, though.

 

[Mellowmalt]

What are you talking about only two eggs didn't make in it? Are you talking about your own hatch?

At the start of this thread it was two eggs. Since then:

3 of them stopped developing veins then the veins receded so I removed them after a few days. Since I could start seeing movement within the egg I've now lost 2 more.

 

[shawluvsbirds]

I haven't hatched geese.
But I'll tell you that broody ducks don't have peroxide or a scrub brush.
They do leave the nest daily sometimes a lot longer than 10 or 15 minutes.
And they pretty much always come back to their eggs wet.
Thats how mama ducks do it I assume geese do the same.
Sounds like cooling and misting to me. And with poopy pond water even.

 

[josiegirl]

Sorry for the misunderstanding. To clarify I set 25 and now I am down to 9 still viable.

Yes I did read pete's thread it's awesome!! I guess that's why I was so disappointed that I've lost so many because I thought I was doing everything right.

I really think the main factor is the eggs being too dirty. We should have provided more clean hay for them to nest, and the chickens like to lay and sit on the goose nest too.

I've got a fresh batch of 15 in another incubator that were washed from the start so I'm excited to see the difference!

I will continue misting and spraying and just maybe wear gloves or something when handling since they don't have that protective coating.

 

[josiegirl]

Oh but the reason I was thinking maybe I shouldnt keep misting and cooling is because hatcheries who wash with hydrogen peroxide(instead of formaldehyde) don't mist and cool but still have a good hatch rate. So they think it's cuz the main goal is to remove the cuticle for air exhancge. Ugh I can't find the article I read to link it tho! Lots of stuff out there on cleaning eggs with hydrogen peroxide tho.

 

[josiegirl]

Well here's an update, after washing all the eggs already in the bator I have not had anymore losses! Just candled all of the two batches, 9 total and all have moving embryos. I'm really hoping that was the solution. Before I was removing eggs almost daily.

I'll keep updating this thread for other people who may be experiencing this problem. I do think moral of the story is don't incubate dirty eggs!

 

[josiegirl]

another update!! so far theyre all doing great except one from the second batch which i removed due to nomovement and cloudiness for a couple of days. i think tho for the most part the problem was solved.

will update in a few days when batch #1 hatches!

 

[josiegirl]

One final update!! Since I cleaned the eggs with hydrogen peroxide I had very few deaths. Batch number one had 4 remaining after cleaning, one died shortly before lockdown he didn't move much for a few days before. 3 goslings hatched but one had something wrong with him,possibly because I stupidly assisted him too early. Batch number two is hatching as we speak and I think maybe I threw one egg out since cleaning, which for that batch was pretty early on.

so I'd say the hydrogen peroxide cleaning was a total success, and saved these chicks. I only wish I had done it sooner! The first couple batches were far more fertile, my gander got lzy and the girls layed more during winter. I've been cleaning only dirty eggs for subsequent batches too. But unfortunately fewer are fertile. I'm all ready for a great hatch next year! I'd like to hatch enough goslings to sell some to pay for poultry feed throughout the year. Knowing what I know now, and with pete55s guide I think I can!