Broody goose advice, please?

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Broody goose advice, please?

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chez

Joined: 13 Aug 2006
Posts: 35935
Location: The Hive of the Uberbee, Quantock Hills, Somerset

Posted: Tue May 31, 16 10:27 am Post subject: Broody goose advice, please?

My Chinese goose has gone broody. She is very well mannered and is sat in the nest box on some duck eggs - the pair of geese live with the ducks.

Will I be able to move her to set her somewhere else? Will she raise ducklings successfully if I let her sit on them? Could I foster a couple of day old goslings under her if I could get them? (I can't sit her on her own eggs, because she didn't tell me she was going to sit before I sold them).

Any advice gratefully received, I'm a goose-novice.

mousjoos

Joined: 05 Jun 2006
Posts: 1986
Location: VERY Sunny SW France

Posted: Tue May 31, 16 12:16 pm Post subject:
I've found that geese are an enigma My geese lay, cover up the egg, & bugger off; the most I've ever found in one nest was two I was told that they can lay up to 20 eggs & then set about sitting on them I know this won't help, but I had to get it off my chest

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46235
Location: yes

Posted: Tue May 31, 16 4:55 pm Post subject:
not knowing much about geese but a bit about broody birds i recon a broody will sit on anything about the right size and shape. adding a few goose eggs might well work but it will look a bit odd with a mixed brood at mums heels

tim_and_nicky

Joined: 28 Nov 2008
Posts: 261
Location: Beautiful Galicia, NW Spain

Posted: Thu Jun 02, 16 10:15 am Post subject:

One of my Tolouse geese is broody, she has moved the nest to the back of their house from the middle and yes covers the eggs when she leaves them unattended (she has 3 I think). She is aggressive so I daren't touch them although I was hoping that they wouldn't breed as they are only 8 months old and I intend to eat them at Michaelmas. Plucking geese is such a pain. I don't see why she wouldn't hatch the ducks.

chez

Joined: 13 Aug 2006
Posts: 35935
Location: The Hive of the Uberbee, Quantock Hills, Somerset

Posted: Thu Jun 02, 16 4:45 pm Post subject:

I've popped a dozen duck eggs in the incubator for now. There are two very insistent khaki campbells who are literally sitting on Mrs Goose's back every morning to lay their eggs. The eggs roll down her side and she notices them and tucks them in as the ducks dismount. It's hilarious. I then remove the eggs and leave her with the pottery ones. She's very ladylike about the whole thing.

I think I won't try and move her, but when the duck eggs get near to hatching I will put them under her.

SandraR

Joined: 22 Oct 2006
Posts: 2346
Location: Devon

Posted: Mon Jun 06, 16 5:01 pm Post subject:

Apparently geese aren't as 'fussy' as chicken when accepting young.

The gander will often take on the duty of care with goslings of any age.

Quoted from overthegate forum

"just put the gosling in when you are ready, they will foster it at any stage. The gander will take on most of the mothering duties.

A lot of breeders take the newly hatched goslings away and give them back when they are 2 to 3 weeks old, before they are feathered, avoids squashed goslings. "

chez

Joined: 13 Aug 2006
Posts: 35935
Location: The Hive of the Uberbee, Quantock Hills, Somerset

Posted: Tue Jun 07, 16 1:10 pm Post subject:
Ooh. Maybe I could get some week old goslings after all!

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46235
Location: yes

Posted: Tue Jun 07, 16 1:27 pm Post subject:

Mutton

Joined: 09 May 2009
Posts: 1508

Posted: Sun Jun 12, 16 7:04 pm Post subject:

Our years of goose and gosling experience are:

1. Geese are fanatically attracted to the peeping of a gosling. They will adopt goslings at several days old (we've done it) and will try to acquire older goslings hatched by a hen (that have bonded to the hen and are scared of geese). I would supervise the adoption - as in sit in there with them - but yes, they do adopt and without even having gone broody first. Goslings are total goose magnets.

2. Geese are really clumsy and tread on goslings, kick them in an arc, and threaten the world because they can hear the gosling screaming in distress while they stand on it. Goslings are built like a brick sh1t house and mostly survive this. (Have had one broken leg thanks to old gander attacking young gander and they ran over the gosling.)
I suspect the goose would accidentally kill the ducklings, but don't know for sure as never tried.

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