Polly has started laying <3 any tips?

[ElGoose]

I’ve only ever had experience with hatching via incubator, so I’m new to having a goose that’s laying her own clutch! I figured i should let her do the work, but wanted to know if there’s any important advice that I need to know if I’m letting my goose hatch her own she’s only about 10 months old now the shed is also completely secure (we’ve checked all over to make sure there’s no big holes for rats and mice to get in) both her and Sebastian have been very broody too (Sebastian harasses everybody.. except me, and Polly runs away from everybody.. except me.. hahaha)

 

[Jenbirdee]

I’ve only ever had experience with hatching via incubator, so I’m new to having a goose that’s laying her own clutch! I figured i should let her do the work, but wanted to know if there’s any important advice that I need to know if I’m letting my goose hatch her own she’s only about 10 months old now the shed is also completely secure (we’ve checked all over to make sure there’s no big holes for rats and mice to get in) both her and Sebastian have been very broody too (Sebastian harasses everybody.. except me, and Polly runs away from everybody.. except me.. hahaha)

i’m letting trudy go broody this year too! she’s almost 4 years old this is the first time that I’m not collecting all her eggs. it seems to me your goose might be a little young it could be bad for her health because at 10 months old they’re still growing they’re not completely adults yet and it’s hard on a goose hen to sit on an nest all month and eat very little. If I were you, I’d wait till next year to let her sit on eggs.

 

[ElGoose]

i’m letting trudy go broody this year too! she’s almost 4 years old this is the first time that I’m not collecting all her eggs. it seems to me your goose might be a little young it could be bad for her health because at 10 months old they’re still growing they’re not completely adults yet and it’s hard on a goose hen to sit on an nest all month and eat very little. If I were you, I’d wait till next year to let her sit on eggs.

I was thinking she might be too young to handle eggs too ultimately we don’t have our manual incubator anymore as we gave it away thinking we wouldn’t be doing that again! I have a feeling she won’t really be sitting on them that much anyway because she loves food way too much haha but I’ll keep a close eye on her and bring it up with my family

 

[fowltemptress]

I let a couple of geese go broody last year who were about the age of your goose. I monitored them and made sure they were getting enough to eat. They handled it fine as far as their own health went, but the problem was the eggs. A first year goose lays very small eggs compared to later years, so there can be a lot of issues with the hatch. Because of this, I didn't have high expectations. Four eggs did manage to hatch naturally, one of which wad killed when its mom trampled it in her inexperience. I wound up having to throw a fifth in the incubator and helping it out, and those 4 remaining goslings were successfully raised by the flock and made it to adulthood. This year my girls are 2 years old and I let them brood again. Almost all the eggs hatched, and the goslings are noticeably larger and more robust than the goslings were from last year. The people who recommend not hatching first year eggs have good reason for giving that advice.

If you're able to make sure your goose is taking care of herself while she's broody there's no reason why you can't experiment with it and see how it goes, but keep in mind the hatch rate will probably be lower and you may need to intervene since the eggs may be too small for the goslings to maneuver for successful hatching. In fact, hatching first year goose eggs is one of the instances where I'd advise not listening to folks who tell you not to intervene, because more often than not it's simply the size of the egg preventing the hatch, and not the health of the gosling. That said, I do think not hatching first year eggs is the best course, and to think about maybe waiting until next year to let your goose brood. Either way you choose, good luck!

Oh, and here's a picture of a first year goose egg next to a second year goose egg, just so you can see the difference a year can make in the size (tip: the can is not a goose egg ).

 

[ElGoose]

I let a couple of geese go broody last year who were about the age of your goose. I monitored them and made sure they were getting enough to eat. They handled it fine as far as their own health went, but the problem was the eggs. A first year goose lays very small eggs compared to later years, so there can be a lot of issues with the hatch. Because of this, I didn't have high expectations. Four eggs did manage to hatch naturally, one of which wad killed when its mom trampled it in her inexperience. I wound up having to throw a fifth in the incubator and helping it out, and those 4 remaining goslings were successfully raised by the flock and made it to adulthood. This year my girls are 2 years old and I let them brood again. Almost all the eggs hatched, and the goslings are noticeably larger and more robust than the goslings were from last year. The people who recommend not hatching first year eggs have good reason for giving that advice.

If you're able to make sure your goose is taking care of herself while she's broody there's no reason why you can't experiment with it and see how it goes, but keep in mind the hatch rate will probably be lower and you may need to intervene since the eggs may be too small for the goslings to maneuver for successful hatching. In fact, hatching first year goose eggs is one of the instances where I'd advise not listening to folks who tell you not to intervene, because more often than not it's simply the size of the egg preventing the hatch, and not the health of the gosling. That said, I do think not hatching first year eggs is the best course, and to think about maybe waiting until next year to let your goose brood. Either way you choose, good luck!

Oh, and here's a picture of a first year goose egg next to a second year goose egg, just so you can see the difference a year can make in the size (tip: the can is not a goose egg ).

View attachment 3789309

Thank you so much for the advice! Honestly she’s still taking care of herself very well, eating lots of grass and feed and drinking plenty of water! I’ll definitely keep an eye on the eggs too <3 im not confident that any will hatch to be completely honest, but figured I’d let her handle it. If any do we will probably raise them inside in our old broody box for a while (but probably giving them some outdoor time every day) just to be safe!