- Jan 11, 2007
- 4,870
- 72
- 251
\\While I was looking for info on the other thread I ran across this info on my yahoo notepad specific to goose egg incubation and thought it might be helpful (I have more somewhere but will have to look for it)... I did not save the link only noted that it was rom FAO:
".....FORCED-AIR INCUBATION
Most forced-air incubators come with specific recommendations for hatching goose eggs and the manufacturer's recommendations should be followed. However, the general recommendation for hatching goose eggs is that for the first 27 days, until the eggs are transferred to the hatcher, the incubator (setter) temperature should be maintained at 37.7°C with a relative humidity of 50-55 percent. The eggs must be placed in a horizontal position in the incubator tray and turned 90 degrees every two hours. If the eggs are in a vertical position in the incubator tray, they must be turned 180 degrees every two hours.
The eggs should be cooled each day during incubation by opening the doors of the setters for 15 minutes from days 4-27 and at the end of the cooling period the eggs should be sprayed with water or preferably with a bactericide solution. The temperature of the water should be 20-25°C. On the seventh day of incubation, the eggs should be candled with a bright light source to check, by transparency, that the embryos are developing normally. Any infertile eggs and dead embryos should be removed. On the 27th day of incubation the eggs must be transferred from the setter to the hatcher. Dead embryos should again be removed at this time.
While in the hatcher the eggs are neither cooled nor sprayed with water and the temperature should be maintained at 37.5°C with the relative humidity at 75 percent. Hatching will begin on day 30 and the ventilation openings on the hatcher should normally be fully opened to allow the goslings to dry before being removed on day 31. Just prior to hatching the goslings will absorb the remaining yolk sac and this enables them to survive for over 24 hours without food or water if they are to be transported. However, in spite of this, it is strongly recommended that goslings be given feed and water as soon after hatching as possible.
STILL-AIR INCUBATION
Still-air incubators can be very useful for hatching small numbers of goose eggs under a variety of conditions. These incubators are generally much smaller than the forced-air type and normally hold 10-100 goose eggs on a single level. Usually the humidity is provided by a pan(s) of water located below the eggs. It is important that the pan(s) be kept full of fresh, preheated clean water to keep the relative humidity at the right level. The water and the pan(s) must be kept clean because a layer of dirt or dust on the surface of the water will reduce the rate of evaporation and thus lower the relative humidity level in the incubator which will result in a poorer percent hatch...........
Again, as with forced-air incubators it is vital to follow the manufacturer's recommendations for incubating and hatching goose eggs. Generally, the recommended temperature for setting and hatching is 39.4°C in still-air incubators. This is higher than that recommended for forced-air machines as there is no air movement. Since there is no automatic turning device in still-air incubators, the eggs must be marked on one side to show when they have been turned. They should be turned 180 degrees 4-6 times a day with the first and last turning being done first thing in the morning and the last thing at night. All eggs should be candled at seven days of incubation and the infertile eggs and dead embryos removed.
Since most still-air incubators have only one tray due to smaller egg numbers and reduced air movement, this can mean that the eggs are set once a week in the same incubator. For this reason, the date that the eggs are set should be written on each egg with a lead pencil. Also, since eggs are generally set weekly and so the goslings will be hatching weekly, it is recommended to use a second incubator for hatching. In this way the incubator being used as a setter can be kept clean, and free from down, broken eggshells, etc. If the eggs are set weekly, the space required in the hatcher is only about 25 percent of the space required in the setter.
With either type of incubator, a slight drop in temperature due to a power failure or an interruption in the supply of heat, although not ideal, need not harm either embryo development or percent hatch since regular cooling has in fact been shown to improve percent hatch. On the other hand, overheating can cause severe problems and must be avoided at all costs by opening the incubators to expose the eggs to cooler air if, for some reason, the cooling mechanism is not functioning or the ambient temperature gets too hot."
".....FORCED-AIR INCUBATION
Most forced-air incubators come with specific recommendations for hatching goose eggs and the manufacturer's recommendations should be followed. However, the general recommendation for hatching goose eggs is that for the first 27 days, until the eggs are transferred to the hatcher, the incubator (setter) temperature should be maintained at 37.7°C with a relative humidity of 50-55 percent. The eggs must be placed in a horizontal position in the incubator tray and turned 90 degrees every two hours. If the eggs are in a vertical position in the incubator tray, they must be turned 180 degrees every two hours.
The eggs should be cooled each day during incubation by opening the doors of the setters for 15 minutes from days 4-27 and at the end of the cooling period the eggs should be sprayed with water or preferably with a bactericide solution. The temperature of the water should be 20-25°C. On the seventh day of incubation, the eggs should be candled with a bright light source to check, by transparency, that the embryos are developing normally. Any infertile eggs and dead embryos should be removed. On the 27th day of incubation the eggs must be transferred from the setter to the hatcher. Dead embryos should again be removed at this time.
While in the hatcher the eggs are neither cooled nor sprayed with water and the temperature should be maintained at 37.5°C with the relative humidity at 75 percent. Hatching will begin on day 30 and the ventilation openings on the hatcher should normally be fully opened to allow the goslings to dry before being removed on day 31. Just prior to hatching the goslings will absorb the remaining yolk sac and this enables them to survive for over 24 hours without food or water if they are to be transported. However, in spite of this, it is strongly recommended that goslings be given feed and water as soon after hatching as possible.
STILL-AIR INCUBATION
Still-air incubators can be very useful for hatching small numbers of goose eggs under a variety of conditions. These incubators are generally much smaller than the forced-air type and normally hold 10-100 goose eggs on a single level. Usually the humidity is provided by a pan(s) of water located below the eggs. It is important that the pan(s) be kept full of fresh, preheated clean water to keep the relative humidity at the right level. The water and the pan(s) must be kept clean because a layer of dirt or dust on the surface of the water will reduce the rate of evaporation and thus lower the relative humidity level in the incubator which will result in a poorer percent hatch...........
Again, as with forced-air incubators it is vital to follow the manufacturer's recommendations for incubating and hatching goose eggs. Generally, the recommended temperature for setting and hatching is 39.4°C in still-air incubators. This is higher than that recommended for forced-air machines as there is no air movement. Since there is no automatic turning device in still-air incubators, the eggs must be marked on one side to show when they have been turned. They should be turned 180 degrees 4-6 times a day with the first and last turning being done first thing in the morning and the last thing at night. All eggs should be candled at seven days of incubation and the infertile eggs and dead embryos removed.
Since most still-air incubators have only one tray due to smaller egg numbers and reduced air movement, this can mean that the eggs are set once a week in the same incubator. For this reason, the date that the eggs are set should be written on each egg with a lead pencil. Also, since eggs are generally set weekly and so the goslings will be hatching weekly, it is recommended to use a second incubator for hatching. In this way the incubator being used as a setter can be kept clean, and free from down, broken eggshells, etc. If the eggs are set weekly, the space required in the hatcher is only about 25 percent of the space required in the setter.
With either type of incubator, a slight drop in temperature due to a power failure or an interruption in the supply of heat, although not ideal, need not harm either embryo development or percent hatch since regular cooling has in fact been shown to improve percent hatch. On the other hand, overheating can cause severe problems and must be avoided at all costs by opening the incubators to expose the eggs to cooler air if, for some reason, the cooling mechanism is not functioning or the ambient temperature gets too hot."
Last edited:
