Geese, which breed? *update with pics*

[Goatherd]

I'm glad to hear they were there this morning and no harm came to them. You are right, eventually, their luck will run out. Getting them in at night is best. Like you, I'm a believer in being responsible for the animals in my care. If I have someone that stays out at night for reasons beyond my control, I lose sleep over it.

As far as incubating goose eggs, I let my geese incubate the eggs. Most of my females are very good about sitting their eggs. Even the nicest goose will usually become a force to be reckoned with when she's sitting eggs. I've had the best luck with the birds incubating their own eggs. I'm use to it, but they will bite hard and you will probably bruise from their attack.

If you do incubate the eggs, geese eggs, unlike chicken eggs, do best if allowed to incubate in their side and not upright like a chicken egg. You don't need an automatic turner for goose eggs, but you do have to rotate them twice a day. They also require higher humidity. Their incubation is almost a month, so it is a bit restricting. That's why I prefer the geese to incubate their own eggs.

Just wait, you'll have so many stories about these birds you'll be amazed! Geese are not for everyone, but if you can handle them, they are really enjoyable.

 

[dwbonfire]

well FINALLY im posting pics of my geese for you Goatherd.
the white one is supposed to be the gander. im thinking he is, hes much more vocal and he likes to act intimidating. i usually carry something when i walk out back lol he makes me a little nervous sometimes if i dont have anything to shoo him away. usually if i just ignore him he gives up, but if i feed into it and move away from him he keeps coming toward me. so far he hasnt been a problem, i hope it stays that way.

 

[Goatherd]

Thanks for posting those pictures. I was wondering how your geese were doing. I will tell you that they are very handsome birds. Their feather quality is outstanding and they are very clean looking, so they must be using the pond to swim and groom themselves.

Geese that are kept without a true water source are never as tailored-looking as your birds.

Did you mention that you thought they were Toulouse? They have a strong resemblance to Pilgrims. If that would be the case, the gander would definitely be the white one and the goose, the gray. Pilgrims are auto-sexed by color.

I can understand your fear when he assumes "threatening mode," but I will tell you this...stand your ground. Honestly, I would tell you to walk towards him with a determined gait and I will almost bet he will back off. This is not to say that he will not try to intimidate you, but over time, he will definitely learn that you are not going to retreat when he threatens you with his body language. Backing off from him only gives him more fuel for his fire. Actually, if you're gutsy enough, walk right into him and let him feel your body on his. Of course, never put yourself in harms way if he doesn't retreat. Bruising from a gander is not pleasant. But I do believe in time he will move and stop his threats. But as you also mentioned, ignoring him will work too, but it allows him to think that he's won the battle.

They sound as if they've settled in nicely with your family and you are enjoying them. Best of luck with them and hopefully, this spring you'll have goslings.

Oh, and while we're mentioning goslings...the weather had been so odd and warm for this winter, a few of my geese have started to lay eggs. This is unheard of at this time of year as they usually don't start until late spring. I hope this doesn't screw up their laying cycle.

 

[dwbonfire]

where are you located? im in NC and we have had odd weather too. the guy i got them from said his usually start making a nest mid-late february. i was suprised even that early.

will she make a nest near the pond and water? they stay up close alot but do use the pond, but im hoping shes comfortable enough up here that she will make her nest close. i'd hate for her to make it down by the pond, she would surely get killed at night sitting on the eggs, or the eggs will just get eaten one by one as she lays them.

if she makes the nest down there, i'd be tempted to collect the eggs and incubate them myself or if i had a broody hen.. or could i make her a nest up here in the pen and put the eggs there and lock her up? maybe she would sit on them in there? im not sure how to go about it really, id like to have as many goslings as i can.

 

[Goatherd]

I'm in Pennsylvania. Today there is snow on the ground. Yesterday it was in the 50's.

My geese go to the stream every day but make their nests close to home. They will find a dark, secluded spot or go into one of the dog houses I have out for them for protection or use a corner of the barn. I like to have them incubate if at all possible as they do it best. Goose eggs need or should be incubated on their side and not standing up like a chicken egg. I do have an incubator that works this way, but if you don't, it's best to let the goose incubate on her own. You can hatch a goose egg in an upright position but the rate of hatch is greatly reduced.

As far as having a chicken sit the eggs, wait until you see the size of a goose egg! At best, a large hen might be able to incubate two eggs and do it well. I personally don't like to have other fowl species raise another fowl other than their own. The only way this works if if you pull the goslings as soon as they are hatched so that the gosling will not imprint on the hen chicken.
But again, it's so much easier for the goose to hatch and brood her own eggs if at all possible.

I hatch guinea eggs under Silkies but the chicks are brought into the house an brooded indoors and not with the Silkie surrogate.

Should you goose make a nest down by the pond, yes, you will have a problem. Predators will not only get the eggs, but possibly the goose as they sit very tight and will rarely move for anything.

On average, one goose here will lay a clutch of 6-8 eggs. My geese are Sebastopols so I can't give an accurate clutch size for your geese. They usually will double or even triple clutch.

 

[DKRabbitry]

Hey I didn't know there were goosie things happening LOL I learned a lot reading this, pretty cool. We have 7 geese, 1 female African, 4 male Africans, 1 female ebden, and 1 male ebden/toulouse mix. We are planning on cutting back and evening things out before spring so we avoid any torture to the poor girls. We are kinda nervous about splitting them up quite yet though, as I read that geese get really attached to their mates, and we are not sure which gander belongs to which goose.

Ours were free ranged from the git-go, we got them when it was still nice and grassy and we had to herd them into the barn at night to lock them up with the rest of the poultry. Then, one day they were all missing. Turns out they liked the neighbor's grass better. He is a little ways up the road too. They took to going to his house every day and headed back to our place every night to go to bed with the rest of the poultry (I did check to make sure he didn't mind). Now that the snow is on the ground, they stick around here more.
I thought this was a good read. I am not sure how accurate it is as all our geese currently have a healthy, respectful fear of us, but it may come in handy in the future... http://www.onolivehill.com/2011/10/effective-livestock-handling-goose-behavior/

Here are a few of the Africans in the snow

 

[Goatherd]

Thanks for sharing that article. I read it and it and the "theory" seems appropriate in dealing with geese. As with all animal behavior corrections, the human has to be accurate and well-informed to goose, or any animal, behaviors and apply them correctly. To some the article might seem overly physical, bordering on abusive, but I would have to say if done correctly would probably be very effective. Also, all animals are individuals and each gooses response may be somewhat different than that what was explained.

I do agree that geese are one of the fowl that you have to keep in check and not allow them to dominate or threaten a person physically. Geese breeds are also very diverse in their behavioral displays and vary from one goose breed to another. I admit I have a rather benign species of geese, the Sebastopol. Generally they are not physically combative with people.

Your Africans are very handsome. You do have an excessive number of ganders in relationship to your geese. It's true that geese do form very strong bonds with their mates, and in my opinion, should be kept together as pairs at all costs. I have seen birds mourn the loss of their mate even through physical separation and not necessarily death. Some would say, oh well, they'll get over it. They will. But if possible, my choice would be to sell or place them as pairs. In the case of same sex pairs, I'm less apt to worry about separating them as they will usually be bought by people who have an appropriate mate for them of the opposite gender and will adjust more easily than separating male-female pairs.

You can figure out the pairs if you are willing to put forth some efforts. You have to observe them from a distance and she who is attracted to whom. When you have determined what you think is a true pair, segregate them from the others and try to get them to an area that you can confine and physically interact with them. This isn't the easiest of tasks, but it can be done and well worth it, in my opinion. When you have them together place a colored zip tie on their legs. The color obviously matches the "pair." You can also use an open aluminum or plastic band to identify pairs. I suggest zip ties as they are durable and easy to come by. Don't make it too tight, but tight enough to avoid coming off the leg. Cut the excess length right at the connection and that will prevent the tie from becoming tighter. There probably other ways, but this is what works well for me.

Lots of luck with determining your pairs and hopefully the geese will be happy in their new homes.

 

[dwbonfire]

I'm in Pennsylvania. Today there is snow on the ground. Yesterday it was in the 50's.

My geese go to the stream every day but make their nests close to home. They will find a dark, secluded spot or go into one of the dog houses I have out for them for protection or use a corner of the barn. I like to have them incubate if at all possible as they do it best. Goose eggs need or should be incubated on their side and not standing up like a chicken egg. I do have an incubator that works this way, but if you don't, it's best to let the goose incubate on her own. You can hatch a goose egg in an upright position but the rate of hatch is greatly reduced.

As far as having a chicken sit the eggs, wait until you see the size of a goose egg! At best, a large hen might be able to incubate two eggs and do it well. I personally don't like to have other fowl species raise another fowl other than their own. The only way this works if if you pull the goslings as soon as they are hatched so that the gosling will not imprint on the hen chicken.
But again, it's so much easier for the goose to hatch and brood her own eggs if at all possible.

I hatch guinea eggs under Silkies but the chicks are brought into the house an brooded indoors and not with the Silkie surrogate.

Should you goose make a nest down by the pond, yes, you will have a problem. Predators will not only get the eggs, but possibly the goose as they sit very tight and will rarely move for anything.

On average, one goose here will lay a clutch of 6-8 eggs. My geese are Sebastopols so I can't give an accurate clutch size for your geese. They usually will double or even triple clutch.

Lol yes I have never seen a goose egg, I cant wait! Are they bigger than turkey eggs?
I have an incubator that I made and had alot of success with. I lay alot of eggs on thier sides because I only have one turner, so I could incubate the goose eggs on thier sides. If she makes a nest in a good spot I will definetly let her sit on them, but if she makes it down by the pond Ill have to step in.

You wouldnt happen to sell your sebestopol eggs on BYC do you? I would loove to have some, they are so pretty.

 

[Goatherd]

Yes, goose eggs are bigger than turkey eggs! I just went out and picked up two of them in the snow. Really weird. They're laying early and now they are just dropping them wherever. I'm putting them in a make-shift nest in hopes that one of the girls will find them. If I have to I will incubate them, but that's not my first choice.

Sorry, I don't sell Sebbie eggs. I don't have enough extras to do so as the eggs that I do get and hatch, I'm able to sell as goslings. Maybe someone will have them for sale on BYC. Good luck.

It's not a great pic, but here's Wilbur preening himself in the stream.

 

[crazyland]

We have people here in nc that have sebbies. I have a friend who has them. Not sure if she is selling this year. I can ask around for you if you want.
I have one myself. She is attached to another female.
I picked up 7 geese from Carolina waterfowl rescue last year. They came from Raleigh and a huge flock of over 50. They are all adults and didn't have much contact with humans. They have really warmed up. I have them eat from the feed scoop before I put it down. They all free range together on our property.
Mine have tried to dominate my kids but I keep having them reenforce that they are dominate to the geese. They do this to the roosters as well. It works for now.
My geese go to bed with the goats and horse. They don't want to be with the chickens at night. Lol
I think they prefer the mud puddles in the pasture to the fresh water in the creek or pond.
I am excited to see who is who in the spring. I may have all females! Won't that be disappointing to the hubby. He wants babies. I want babies from my spotted goose, see if I can get more spots. I never knew they had eggs larger than a turkey. Thought they might be same size.

How has your toddler taken to the geese these past two months?

This is the group from cwr. The spotted is girl is there on the left, white with spots down her neck. This is when I first got them and penned them up for 2 weeks.

These are my other two. My sebbie is very laid back while the other is my one to be watched.

Goose egg from last year.