Thinking about trying geese!

[luvmydux]

Hi all! I am thinking about purchasing some goose eggs and incubating in my little giant (tsc one). Are they hard to hatch? I am doing ok with my ducks and chickens but was wondering if there was anything "different" about geese other than amount of time?

 

[hihk]

Check this out, it might help Hatching temp, humidity, tips, etc. are given at the end of the video. For °C to °F conversion, simply google "37.5 C to F".

Baby Goose Elmo's Hatching Diary

A few differences between goose & chicken eggs
- Goose & duck eggs tend to need higher humidity than chicken eggs, also people generally mist the first two but not the latter.
- Cooling regularly is said to be good for goose & duck eggs (quite a few studies say that, it makes sense since mother goose/duck leave their nest to bath in nature).
- Turning 180° gives the best hatching results for goose eggs, while for chicken 90° is the best (according to a study done by a french university). Lay goose eggs on the side is also better than putting them upright (same study).
- Goose eggs are much more difficult to candle (super thick shell).
- After external pip, goose & duck take longer to get out of their shell (so be patient, although you also need to decide whether u should help at certain point).

Good luck for your first goose hatch!!!

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

There is a great sticky at the top of the Goose thread: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/491013/goose-incubation-hatching-guide-completed

i followed Pete's advice when hatching goose eggs for the first time this year and it was very helpful.