Broken egg, live gosling, how to HELP?*UPDATE*It died =*(

[Sunny Side Up]

My broody goose is on day 26 with her 3 eggs. This morning she was clamoring to be let out of her cage and crushed one of the eggs. And a dear LIVE gosling can be seen, still curled up, BREATHING and peeping! Just a bit of the shell is missing, right over the beak & part of the neck. The rest is still being held together with the membrane. Some of the exposed membrane was opaque. There was just a bit of blood on the membrane on one part.

What can I do??? Right now I have it wrapped in a damp washcloth, at the bottom of a plastic cooler, with a heat lamp on it. I've got a call in to a friend with an incubator, who has hatched many goose eggs before. Until then, or in case this person does not respond, what is the best thing I can do for this gosling?

 

[perolane]

If I remember correctly, goose egg incubation is 29-31 days....& I could be wrong..but it seems your little guy is at least a week early.

For now, I believe you've done all that you can do with the wrap & heat lamp. Remember to leave the beak a little exposed for breathing if the membrane is punctured & it's already breathing air. Getting it into an incubator would be best, but can you fix some kind of top to the cooler to help humidity levels & keep the temp up???

These things happen....please prepare for the worst...but you never know!

 

[Sunny Side Up]

What should the temperature be? Should I attempt to give it times of cooling the way the goose does when she takes her breaks off the nest?

 

[perolane]

Temp should be 99.5 degrees....no cooling period. Humidity should be 50-55%......day 25 to hatching increase to 75%.
You might post this in the goose/duck forum too!!!!

 

[Sunny Side Up]

I brought the cooler indoors, where the temps could be made more constant. I have no way of knowing or regulating the humidity. This is South Florida, where you can wring water out of the air.

I have a damp washcloth wrapped around the egg with just the little beak exposed. I have a wire rack over the top of the cooler and a heat lamp with a 60 watt bulb resting on that. I have a damp towel covering the exposed parts of the cooler. I have a cup of water in the cooler. I have a room thermometer in the cooler & will tweak all the arrangements to try & keep it at 99.5.

The friend with the incubator called & gave me the same advice as above.

And we are PRAYING for a miracle! I know not to keep my hopes up, but I'm of the Where-There's-Life-There's-Hope school. And know that God who pays attention to falling sparrows knows what's best for this unborn gosling.

 

[perolane]

Glad the experienced goose person came into the picture....I was doing my best to help since no one else had posted yet, but my memory can't always be trusted! Good luck to you & I hope all turns out well!

Let me know what happens!

Pat

 

[crossedwires]

sometimes you can "glue" small cracks and bits of shell back together with PVA wood glue, i have done this a few times with no ill effects. if you ever try this use as little glue as possiable and i am afraid it only works on small areas. good luck with the gosling and be prepared if he does go the distance then the chances are you will have shrink warap to deal with so best be prepared

 

[NaomiSarah]

Oh I'm so glad you're helping the poor thing.

 

[Blooming chicks]

Awwww..poor thing. Good luck, I hope the gosling makes it.

 

[Sunny Side Up]

I've gotten the temp to hold steady around 99 degrees by raising the metal rack a bit higher over the cooler with egg carton supports. I have no idea what the humidity might be. The egg is wrapped in a washcloth that is still damp, and there is also a bowl of water in the bottom of the cooler. It's in the air-conditioned house (about 79 degrees) in a corner that doesn't get the hot afternoon sun, so I hope the conditions will hold steady. The gosling is still breathing, I can see the washcloth moving, and sometimes it peeps.

There would be no way to glue this eggshell together, it's like when you have a hard-boiled egg in the shell & it gets squashed. I will just keep watching, try to keep the temp steady, check to be sure the washcloth stays damp. I'm hoping that in a few days it will absorb its yolk & try to wriggle out of what is left of its shell. I will help if it gets stuck in a too-dry membrane.

Please keep praying for this gosling! I also will set the alarm for early in the morning so I can let the goose out of her pen right at sunup, so she doesn't get frantic & crush any more of her eggs. She has two more in the nest.