Alaskan's Journal

[Mini Horses]

My broody hen has been stellar!! I CK her & eggs each day. This morning I hear a commotion in the barn & there's my only white hen on the broody nest!! Mom raising he//. I scooped whities up and over the enclosure rails. Black momma hens settles back onto her nest 5/1-2 is hatch date. 7 eggs started, still there

Whitie goes to another nest & crowds herself beside another hen, lays her egg & leaves. . Other hen squawks & leaves....I gather up 7 eggs...squawk & leave

 

[Alaskan]

I am in a similar boat. I noticed my 4.5 month old unsexed juvenile goose inside the nest house and didn’t think anything of it. The adult female has been laying in there for months and I was letting her keep the eggs in hopes that she would go broody. Chinese geese are supposedly more fertile and better parents at two to three years old than they are their first spring, and this goose turns two this year. None of them tried to go broody last year.

Anyway, after a few days I realized that the juvenile was actually in there brooding eggs. So I have no idea when incubation might have started. Probably around Easter, so that’s what I wrote down and I will start looking out some time before May 20. I guess I can assume she’s a female, right? I hope she doesn’t screw this up because I was really hoping the 2 year old would sit.

You could always add another nest? Maybe?

Yeah.... I am wondering if I can add any more nests... because really... why aren't all the geese on nests????

I think 2 are now on nests, with one nest vacant.

When I cleaned everything up I TRIED to candle the eggs. The eggs are WHITE! But... I can see NOTHING. It was a very nice strong flashlight too. The shell must just be way too thick.

 

[Finnie]

You could always add another nest? Maybe?

Yeah.... I am wondering if I can add any more nests... because really... why aren't all the geese on nests????

I think 2 are now on nests, with one nest vacant.

When I cleaned everything up I TRIED to candle the eggs. The eggs are WHITE! But... I can see NOTHING. It was a very nice strong flashlight too. The shell must just be way too thick.

I will ponder on that (about a second nest). There is a big dog crate with a feed bowl in it and half the geese were laying in there last year. The pen has a divider so I could block the other 4 away from the broody juvenile. Now that I think about it, I’ve just assumed all the eggs were laid by the 2 year old goose. 1 every other day until I couldn’t see in there to count them any more. But now I’m wondering if the 4.5 month old is capable of laying eggs and had added any to the nest. There are more than she can cover, so I’m planning to scoop up the ones not under her and candle them.

Yes, the shells are pretty thick and hard to candle through. I have found that a regular flashlight isn’t the best for candling. If I can’t make it kind of “seal” to the egg, the little bit of light that leaks out kind of blinds me. My real candler that I got from Incubator Warehouse is wonderful. It has a rubber edge that goes against the curve of the shell and directs all the light into the egg and not my eyeballs!

 

[Alaskan]

Yeah... but if I buy a thing only to candle eggs.... maybe 90% chance I will not be able to find it when I want it.

 

[Alaskan]

Morning!

All yesterday we had one pair each of common golden eyes and mallards in the pond.

Very nice!
Not a great photo... notice that we still don't have much green, but all ice is gone.

The 2 pair from yesterday

And, from Saturday, from far away so you can see how much ice we still had on Saturday.

And close up, just one day later, on Sunday so you can see the pair of golden eyes and just the female mallard, and also how much ice melt there was in just one day.

 

[Baymule]

Yeah... but if I buy a thing only to candle eggs.... maybe 90% chance I will not be able to find it when I want it.

Store it in the incubator. When incubator is in use, put it on top, right next to or tape it to the incubator.

 

[Mini Horses]

If you set egg on a TP cardboard roll, flashlight at other end, it intensifies the light direction.

 

[Alaskan]

Well... I wasn't fond of the dog.. spouse's dog, but kids and I did all of the work... which is annoying..

But, still... it is a bit sad... and most definitely odd, to now be dog-less.

The dog has been slowly circling the drain for the last couple of years. Eating ok, but slowly losing weight, going blind and deaf and a bit demented. He would at times get confused as to where he was... that kind of thing. And incontinent!

He was moving slowly, but didn't look to be in too much pain... didn't whine when he moved....

When we let him out to potty, he would go out the front door, circle the house and come in the back door.

Anyway... Tuesday the dog didn't come back. We have been looking and looking... can't find him!

My guess is he wandered off to die, but then where is the body??? And just how far can a gimpy old dog walk?

It has been over 6 months since he has done more than wander a tiny bit in the parking lot, and circle the house. He hasn't gone any further in over 6 months!

So... we have looked and looked... went to all the neighbor houses... the houses he hasn't gone to in maybe 2 years.... but no dog!

He is maybe 60 pounds? Big enough that we should see him. The snow is gone, no leaves up yet.....

Just...

 

[Baymule]

I’m so sorry.

 

[SageHill]

So sorry.