Urgent help needed with goslings

[RealMotherGoose]

I have a single broody goose who has been sitting on unfertile eggs for 30 days now and just received a shipment of 3 goslings to introduce to her in hopes she will adopt them.

I placed them near her nest while she was up eating and drinking. She seems curious but hasnt approached them to claim. And she's hissing off and on. She keeps her head down low and pumps her right leg on the ground when looking at them.

I won't leave them with her til she shows motherly behavior, but I dont know what is normal!!

Do mama geese take time to claim their young? Or is she just not having it so far?

 

[Robert G]

I usually introduce new chicks at night so the mom wakes up in the morning with babies underneath her. Works with all my hens but it just depends on the mom. I usually wake up early to make sure the mom doesn't reject them and kills them.

 

[RealMotherGoose]

Ah okay. Yeah, so far she just seems confused and sees them as imposters to her nest.

I put them back in the brooder and will try a night swap.

But she is very protective of her nest and I'm not sure I'd be able to sneak up on her like that.

 

[Robert G]

Ah okay. Yeah, so far she just seems confused and sees them as imposters to her nest.

I put them back in the brooder and will try a night swap.

But she is very protective of her nest and I'm not sure I'd be able to sneak up on her like that.

Yeah, I have one mean hen, but she can't see at night and I would put the chicks near her tail and they would go under her. I tried it during the day but she would not accept them.

 

[Miss Lydia]

You can’t do this with waterfowl they don’t sleep like chickens. Keep taking them out to visit. You have taken all her unfertile eggs away? Take her eggs and keep taking the goslings out to visit don’t leave them alone with her yet.

 

[RealMotherGoose]

I wasn't able to snag her eggs earlier, but I can this evening.

That was going to be my next question. If she would be more apt to accept them after all her eggs were gone and she was no longer broody.

I definitely want her to stop sitting anyway so I planned to take them.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Your going to have to be patient with her give her time to fall for the goslings in the mean time take the goslings out as often as you can where she can see them not in her nest walk them past where she is sitting geese love babies I think she’ll fall in love soon. When I was waiting for my goose to adopt the gosling I brought home I’d just take them out where she was and we’d hang out. She eventually couldn’t take it and came out to visit.

 

[sourland]

If your temperatures are warm enough, pen the goslings close to her during the day. She should start responding to their sounds and them to her vocalizations.

 

[RealMotherGoose]

Your going to have to be patient with her give her time to fall for the goslings in the mean time take the goslings out as often as you can where she can see them not in her nest walk them past where she is sitting geese love babies I think she’ll fall in love soon. When I was waiting for my goose to adopt the gosling I brought home I’d just take them out where she was and we’d hang out. She eventually couldn’t take it and came out to visit.

Thank you!! That's very helpful. I was placing them in her nest thinking I needed to trick her into believing they came from her eggs, and she didn't like that they were in there. But she was curious and chattering at them. I think if I bring them around her and not in the actual nest she will come out and investigate more. Thank you!!

 

[Miss Lydia]

Let us know how it goes!