The African and Chinese goose thread!!

[Miss Lydia]

I was not home to lock them in.

And it terrifies me about my girl goose. I have no idea how she was able to be reached. Her barrel is very hard to get into from outside the run. My gander would have attacked, but there were no signs at all. I don't have money for another goose, and I don't know what he'd do with another female.

Your gander may have put up a good fight but he really has no way to protect him or his mate from a predator with teeth.
We have a rehoming section on BYC you might try that or go to your state thread at Where am I where are you and introduce yourself someone on that thread may know of someone wanting to re home a female.

My gander took sometime to get use to the female I bought for him but they are a bonded pair now.

I understand minks can get through a 1" hole.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

For some odd reason, this year none of my goslings are hatching. I honestly think I have been overfeeding. Last year, I had around 60 hatched by now! One brown chinese goose, she is just over a year old realized I have 14 muscovy ducklings in the grow up pen. She has claimed them. Please forgive my messy muddy picture, lol.


They were not too sure about her at first but she is definitely protecting them. This is my lowest flock member of 10. She flogged one of the more aggressive embden hens protecting her "new" babies The embden hen was reaching into the fence trying to pinch them. Since the grow up pen is positioned between my waterfowl and chicken coops, this new mama has been sleeping with the babies after that happened. Installing hardware cloth around a foot up along the fence so they can't do that again. Really disappointed with how aggressive embden act towards chicks and ducklings.

 

[macgro7]

That's so cool!
I have a bantam hen that hatched ducklings last week, as I only had duck eggs when she got broody, and now I have duck sitting on chicken eggs lol
I also had no luck with goose eggs this year... I bought 5 eggs from the market - 3 weren't fertile, 1 died two weeks before hatching and the last one just couple of days before due date (it broke the membrane too quick). Then my African goose got broody, when she was at mu uncles house, but the other one kept laying in her nest so at the end she had 25 eggs!!! None of them hatched.... The other goose kept laying so I put 8 of her eggs in the incubator, but two weeks later there was no sign of development inside the eggs and the incubator switched off over night...
Sad times... If I didn't buy the commercial Toulouse x Embden goslings then I wouldn't have any this year

 

[Miss Lydia]

For some odd reason, this year none of my goslings are hatching. I honestly think I have been overfeeding. Last year, I had around 60 hatched by now! One brown chinese goose, she is just over a year old realized I have 14 muscovy ducklings in the grow up pen. She has claimed them. Please forgive my messy muddy picture, lol.


They were not too sure about her at first but she is definitely protecting them. This is my lowest flock member of 10. She flogged one of the more aggressive embden hens protecting her "new" babies The embden hen was reaching into the fence trying to pinch them. Since the grow up pen is positioned between my waterfowl and chicken coops, this new mama has been sleeping with the babies after that happened. Installing hardware cloth around a foot up along the fence so they can't do that again. Really disappointed with how aggressive embden act towards chicks and ducklings.

I wonder if we need to look at the feed we're using. Most is Genetically modified corn and grains and from all I have read it causes sterility in humans and animals. Not to open a can of worms because this can do it. But my Embden is 8 yrs old and since 2013 has had a mate and of those 2 yrs they mated, they mated this year but she did not go broody she let the youngest one have a turn at it and I didn't let them hatch so not sure about what would have come from this year. But back to my oldest pair Sam being 8 Missy being 3 last year she sat on 8 eggs it was only her and Sam last year, well only one of those eggs made it to hatch and the gosling died in the shell after internally pipping. Last year I changed their feed out to Non GMO Have no idea if it will make a difference in those 2 but my 2 youngest at just over a year old have only had non GMO feed since hatch. [I got them from a farm here and that is where I heard there was a feed store around that carried it] I don't know but it just seems like for mine this could be the problem.


I love that pic. My Embden gander loved ducklings and always was papa goose to them till I got his mate then he didn't want to have anything to do with the ducks after that. Now all 4 geese don't like the ducks and chickens.

 

[Miss Lydia]

That's so cool!
I have a bantam hen that hatched ducklings last week, as I only had duck eggs when she got broody, and now I have duck sitting on chicken eggs lol
I also had no luck with goose eggs this year... I bought 5 eggs from the market - 3 weren't fertile, 1 died two weeks before hatching and the last one just couple of days before due date (it broke the membrane too quick). Then my African goose got broody, when she was at mu uncles house, but the other one kept laying in her nest so at the end she had 25 eggs!!! None of them hatched.... The other goose kept laying so I put 8 of her eggs in the incubator, but two weeks later there was no sign of development inside the eggs and the incubator switched off over night...
Sad times... If I didn't buy the commercial Toulouse x Embden goslings then I wouldn't have any this year

The duck sitting on chicken eggs you'll have to be careful of or she'll have them in water trying to teach them to swim.

 

[K Epp]

I candled my gooses eggs and non of them were fertile either. Just had 3. She went broody while I was on vacation. I hadbut about two weeks so I didn't have a lot of hope he would have figured his job out in that short of time. She does have 8 growing duck eggs.


I have another predator coming around. It happens about every 6 months here. I lock everyone up at night, but me neighbor won't keep his dogs at home. Every six months his puppy is old enough to get out, cross the road, and get theirselves in my fenced in yard. I have a fence company coming Saturday to see if they can figure out how to keep them out. Its really frustrating...

 

[Miss Lydia]

I candled my gooses eggs and non of them were fertile either. Just had 3. She went broody while I was on vacation. I hadbut about two weeks so I didn't have a lot of hope he would have figured his job out in that short of time. She does have 8 growing duck eggs.


I have another predator coming around. It happens about every 6 months here. I lock everyone up at night, but me neighbor won't keep his dogs at home. Every six months his puppy is old enough to get out, cross the road, and get theirselves in my fenced in yard. I have a fence company coming Saturday to see if they can figure out how to keep them out. Its really frustrating...

So what does the neighbor say about his dog coming on your property? beside burying the fence maybe they will have another solution I think the neighbor needs to do their part in keeping their dogs contained better. Sorry but Dogs getting out causing havoc makes me very irritated.

Sorry about the geese eggs but she'll be happy with some little ducklings to mother and papa will be right there to help.

 

[K Epp]

I've about had full out war with this neighbor over his dogs... He owes me about $500 in birds at the time. I 'll never see that money, but he did get rid of the dog that was killing, but that was 6 months ago and looks like he got another and it is now old enough to cause havoc. This one will disappear and another show up in 6 months... Got a cycle going on here. He is just irresponsible with his dogs. So far this one hasn't killed anything, but I'm not taking any chances. He wont answer my husbands calls. Originally we were just trying to find the owner to talk to them. I hate having to take care of the situation and most of my neighbors are really good about keeping their dogs up. I've even had one call me in a panic because their dog had escaped while at work. Its just a bad situation and I'd really rather strangle the guy instead of deal with his dogs.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I've about had full out war with this neighbor over his dogs... He owes me about $500 in birds at the time. I 'll never see that money, but he did get rid of the dog that was killing, but that was 6 months ago and looks like he got another and it is now old enough to cause havoc. This one will disappear and another show up in 6 months... Got a cycle going on here. He is just irresponsible with his dogs. So far this one hasn't killed anything, but I'm not taking any chances. He wont answer my husbands calls. Originally we were just trying to find the owner to talk to them. I hate having to take care of the situation and most of my neighbors are really good about keeping their dogs up. I've even had one call me in a panic because their dog had escaped while at work. Its just a bad situation and I'd really rather strangle the guy instead of deal with his dogs.

Yep it is most often the owner not the dog. But maybe having someone else talk with him like animal control or deputy not always a nice thing to do but gosh it's not right your having to spend more money while the owner gets off scott free either. People need to take responsibility from what they have whether it's their dogs or their children[and that is another hot topic]

I worry a dog that will kill poultry could go after a child or an elderly person or a healthy strong person for that matter.

 

[K Epp]

Oh last time he was visited by both. If it happens again I will go to magistrate judge and have him dealt with. Animal Control is always a Smart *** when they come. Getting them to come out here is a problem unless you call 911 which is what I did last time because the dog was a Pitt and growling and snapping at me when I was beating it of my birds with a pitch fork and then a 12 gage. I never got a clean shot that I wouldn't kill half my flock. It still makes my blood pressure thinking about it...