When will she lay?

[Crazy4birdies]

I have 2 geese hatched April 2025 (so approximate 10 months old currently) and under the impression one is a gander and one is a goose. (Such behavior observed...) When can I expect eggs? Nests are being built and I've dug in them but find nothing. American and chinese mix breed.

 

[Goosebaby]

Any day now if they’re building nests.

Ganders can sometimes engage in nest building but it’s nowhere near as complex as those built by the girls.

Does your girl have access to oyster shell?

 

[Crazy4birdies]

Any day now if they’re building nests.

Ganders can sometimes engage in nest building but it’s nowhere near as complex as those built by the girls.

Does your girl have access to oyster shell?

She did, I actually need to go refill that actually. I hope one really is a girl! If i have 2 males...well dang lol! I'll give more oyster tomorrow.

 

[Crazy4birdies]

She did, I actually need to go refill that actually. I hope one really is a girl! If i have 2 males...well dang lol! I'll give more oyster tomorrow.

Actually im going out right now to do that. It'll be on my mind all night if I dont lol

 

[Crazy4birdies]

25 hours later. Still no egg.

 

[Goosebaby]

If the nest is a literal nest, as in a circular indentation made from whatever kinds of debris they could get ahold of and by digging or scraping with their feet to form a crater, a scoop, a forbidden cereal bowl, whatever, and they spent long amounts of time working on it, it’s guaranteed that the creator is female.

Gander “nests” usually look like a small random pile of sticks, sometimes with an occasional leaf or if they were REALLY into it a few scrape marks from when they sat down and kicked. I’ve never seen a gander spend more than five minutes on building a “nest” so there’s that also.

It isn’t uncommon for female geese to build a nest as much as two weeks in advance so she may still be gearing up for the big event. I currently have two girls who constructed their nests almost a full week ago and I still haven’t seen an egg from them yet. Also the girls will start getting a swollen looking rear end while their bodies are preparing for the laying season so that’s something else to look for.

There’s a possibility she may also be laying her eggs somewhere else. Geese can make multiple nests even if they don’t use them.

 

[Callender Girl]

My American Buff, Gussie, was busy nest building for at least a week before she laid her first of 2026 last Saturday. And, I was fast losing patience, waiting for that first beautiful, big egg.

Although she has now laid twice inside her shelter, Gussie also checked out an area up next to the house where geese had previously nested. And, one year, she laid in a duck house, much to everyone's dismay.

Watching Gussie construct her nest is like seeing an artist at work. She meticulously chooses single pieces of hay, sticks and anything else that strikes her fancy, which she then arranges, precisely circling herself with Just The Right Stuff.

Hope you have at least one girl and will update us with a success story!