Which Incubators Do Goose Breeders Here Prefer?

[Tenrec]

Hi there!

I've recently bought some dewlap eggs (4, but there will likely be extras) that are to be shipped...Now, I'm experienced in hatching chickens and snakes, but this is my first time with any sort of waterfowl. I have read pete's thread for general instruction, but I'm not sure which incubators are going to best accommodate a small clutch of goosie eggs.

I don't mind cheaper incubators that require more attentiveness from me (turning, tweaking temperature and humidity myself). Actually, I PREFER to be extra attentive to my eggs; I am a bit of a control freak when it comes to incubation. Right now, I have at my disposal, a LG 9200 (too small perhaps? those heating elements are low), a LG 9300 (probably won't keep even enough temperatures without a fan...though I do have some computer fans I can install), and a custom incubator that I used for my snake eggs. The latter is a forced air made from an old vet fridge, and taller than I am. This is an awfully small clutch, and I'll probably have to lay some heat sinks in the homemade version for that reason.

I'm wondering if I should buy a different incubator just for my geesies? What do you guys use for your smaller goose clutches?

 

[madamiec]

I use a Top Hatch and IncuView for waterfowl, only because I have other models and the rolling models have worked better for me. Any incubator that is big enough should be fine. My waterfowl also do better with hand turning than on automatic. No idea why. Goose eggs are touchy. I can hatch my own ducks at over 90%, but not geese. I will not ship goose eggs unless the buyer expressly understands that there is a very low hatch rate with most geese under the best circumstances. For a small clutch of shipped eggs I certainly wouldn't invest in a new incubator unless you need to upgrade for other reasons too. Most incubators also have extension rings you can purchase to make room for goose eggs. Good luck!

 

[Tenrec]

I use a Top Hatch and IncuView for waterfowl, only because I have other models and the rolling models have worked better for me. Any incubator that is big enough should be fine. My waterfowl also do better with hand turning than on automatic. No idea why. Goose eggs are touchy. I can hatch my own ducks at over 90%, but not geese. I will not ship goose eggs unless the buyer expressly understands that there is a very low hatch rate with most geese under the best circumstances. For a small clutch of shipped eggs I certainly wouldn't invest in a new incubator unless you need to upgrade for other reasons too. Most incubators also have extension rings you can purchase to make room for goose eggs. Good luck!

: O that incuview looks nice

I've heard that about geese re: turning...Good to see it verified, thank you.

I've also read that, yes, goose eggs are notoriously difficult and even moreso when they're shipped! It's not a terribly long trip these little ones are taking; hopefully nobody gets scrambled...I'm getting a pair of goslings as contingency so I'll have something to work with next year (or the year after, apparently dewlaps take a while). I'd love it if at least one of these hatched; the flock they're from is much typier than my goslings, and they'd make a pretty good genetic contribution imo. At any rate, I'll probably get hatching fever next year and try my hand at incubating them instead of selling them or using one of my embdens as a surrogate, so a new incubator may be in order...we'll see.

Thanks for the advice on the extension ring! I wasn't aware. Think I'll try that and just obsess over them til they go bad/hatch lol.