Would a Broody Goose Hatch Chicks??

[SkyWarrior]

My goose is laying again and while it's too cold really for her to raise goslings, I'm planning on letting her raise them in the early spring. I also had a thought that while she's at it, could I slip a few fertile hens' eggs beneath her and have her hatch/raise chicks too?

When she laid her last batch of eggs, both the goose and gander seemed like they were very protective of the nest. I would hope that if the chicks popped out, the goose would just think they were weird goslings, but I don't know. Thoughts?

 

[oldchickenlady]

Might work, but what you gonna do when mom & dad try to teach them to swim?

 

[roocrazy]

yes you would have to take the chicks away at birth

 

[SkyWarrior]

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Because the goose would be mean to them?

 

[rainplace]

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Because the goose would be mean to them?

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[knjinnm]

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Is there any water in Mt that isn't frozen?

 

[SkyWarrior]

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Is there any water in Mt that isn't frozen?

Well, mom and dad don't have access to open water, so the chicks are safe, in that respect. They will get a small kiddie pool in the summer, but not much else. The goslings, OTOH, will probably be free ranged as alarm birds, which will unfortunately result in some attrition due to the plethora of predators in the area. But I figure a gaggle of geese will be pretty darn intimidating.

 

[goosedragon]

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Is there any water in Mt that isn't frozen?

Well, mom and dad don't have access to open water, so the chicks are safe, in that respect. They will get a small kiddie pool in the summer, but not much else. The goslings, OTOH, will probably be free ranged as alarm birds, which will unfortunately result in some attrition due to the plethora of predators in the area. But I figure a gaggle of geese will be pretty darn intimidating.

May work for single preditors but animals that hunt in packs like dogs and coyote can still wipe them all out (learned the hard way 3 times!)

 

[texascowboy1979]

Regarding predators...

Once you know what predators are the problem... you are then presented with options.

Ive got bobcats... UGH

What predators do you have? Once we find out then we can give you options.

 

[SkyWarrior]

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LOL! EVERYTHING.

Mountain lions, bobcats, foxes, coyotes, wolves, bears (black and possibly grizzly), raccoons, skunks, mink or ferrets, eagles (golden and bald), osprey, owls, some smaller hawks, maybe opossum (but I haven't seen them). I've only seen my neighbors' dogs a couple of times, but usually they're with them. Oh yeah, and the occasional feral cat and car (not feral). Did I leave anything out?

What I'm hoping to do is just have them run the property during the day when I'm home and put them up in the barn at night where they're relatively safe. I figure as long as they stick around the buildings and get inside at night, they're going to be okay. I want them as guard geese to let me know when people come up here. The dogs are sometimes a little slow about that. Geese, OTOH, are very noisy.