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Thread: Goose question

  1. #1
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    Default Goose question

    She has started laying today. Based on last year she only will lay 1 egg every 2 days and will not nest until she has laid at least 10 or more. I have to gather the eggs to keep them from freezing outside in the barn corner she has chosen. Question is how can I keep the eggs in the house viable until it's time to put them back under her? It's gonna take 20+ days for her to do her thing, again based on last year's performance and last year, dummy that I am, I gave her eggs away as she laid them, so she only had one available to hatch out. I would like at least 6 hatched this year, so help please.

  2. #2
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    • “I am not afraid, because I was born to do this."

      Joan of Arc
    Mark 8:38 - Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.

  3. #3
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    Get a heat lamp and a box. Keep the egg warm. You may need to research the proper temperature. Temp is temp no matter if it is generated by a warm goose body or artificially.

    Disclaimer. I have no geese. My only experience is being chased by two canadians when I was two years old. I hated those geese. Oh and bagging a few.
    Nessie and Bigfoot 2016. Change you can believe in.

  4. #4
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    I'd just keep them in a box or basket at room temperature. Geese don't sit on their eggs until they've laid enough to hatch anyway, so just bringing them in to keep them from freezing won't hurt anything. Unless it's really cold outside, I'd put them back when she lays the 9th egg.
    Treat everyone with politeness, even those who are rude to you - not because they are nice, but because you are. ~Author Unknown



  5. #5
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    Just put them in a cool dry place. It's usually advised that you turn them twice a day, but I never do and have very good hatch rates. Do not put them under a heat lamp!

    It's probably better to leave her with a couple of fake eggs so that she keeps laying in the same place and get ready to brood. Some old, unbroken, incandesent lightbulb would probably work. I've actually used them for turkeys.

    When it looks like she's going broody, or the temperature warms up a bit, then give her all her eggs back.

  6. #6
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    Thanks folks. I had been told by a local not to let the eggs get colder than 50 degrees, and the night temps here are still lower than that at night so that's why I am bringing them in. I just was concerned about the house temps as I keep a pretty cool house at night, sometimes in the 50's. I do have some fake eggs, so will put a one out in her really deep nest.

  7. #7
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    Default One more thing, for eggs you want to have hatch...

    Whatever you do, DON'T touch them with bare skin. Skin oils can block pores on eggs through which baby birds breathe. Use some Saran wrap to pick them up.

  8. #8
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    I may be many years away from my zoology and biology classes, but I really do not think a bird embryo has developed lungs when an egg is laid and seeing as how that embryo is floating in a liquid surrounded sac I don't think oxygen availability to the developing embryo's lungs is of concern, but I'll keep that in mind.

  9. #9
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    Don't worry about handling them... we had many successful goose hatches with eggs the kids picked up, carried around, then brought in to me.

    Put them someplace as cool as possible, but NOT refrigerator temp. 50° is about right. DO NOT try to "keep them warm"... they need to stay in a state of suspended animation, not start developing! Tip them once or twice a day... if they are held in the same position for the time it takes her to lay enough to set on, many of them may end up as cripples, because the yolk will "stick" to one end of the shell.

    Obviously, do not wash them. If any are truly filthy, it's best to wash them and use them for eating... the bacteria can contaminate that egg and then it may explode, contaminating the entire nest.

    You know, though... our geese used to start laying in March, when we'd see sub-zero nights. And we'd usually just leave them alone, and they'd hatch out just fine. They covered the eggs with down and straw or trash, but it didn't seem that the cold bothered them... and for sure, my chicken eggs will freeze solid and crack in the hen house at those temps!

    One other thing- you MUST either put some dummy eggs in the nest, or leave at least a couple for her, or she's likely to freak out and try to go somewhere else because something is stealing her eggs. I think I'd probably substitute them with chicken eggs, but I have to admit I haven't tried that. We used to put three or four wooden eggs in the nest and that worked just fine.

    Good luck! There isn't much cuter than just hatched goslings!

    Summerthyme

  10. #10
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    Already found 2 hens' eggs in the nest that were crushed - apparently by the goose weight or the weight of her egg! She is making no attempt to cover the laid egg as she did last year though and she has literally dug a hole into the cold dirt under the bedding which is why I brought the egg in. We shall see how it goes.

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