The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Poultry & Waterfowl => Topic started by: Womble on April 16, 2011, 09:24:48 pm
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We have three lovely old OAP geese here (well ok, two geese and one gander). I don't think one of the geese lays any more, but the other one has laid three eggs over the past two weeks, and has now started to sit. Unfortunately I hadn't seen this coming, so I had already scrambled her eggs :yum:! (Mind you, I don't think Mr Gander has been up to the task for quite some time looking at him, so I doubt they were fertile!).
I don't really want to give her eggs to hatch, as I'm told she's not been the most reliable in the past. However, if I could get hold of some day-olds, do you think she and the other two would accept them? (she's very nearly blind with cateracts if that helps!! ::))
Failing that, if I did buy some younger models in, would I have to get rid of the OAPs first :'(, or would they toddle round together happily do you think?
Thanks in advance!!
Womble.
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I had a trio of geese that crossed several fields and kidnap 4 x 8 week olds. They marched them back to the field they came from. Any other geese that came for a look was soon seen off. The goslings did try to escape when they seen me but the 'parents' would quickly round them up. Within the week they had settled down.
One goose, abandoned by her mate of 10 yrs for younger birds, took to mothering anything that was willing to snuggle up to her.
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we had a broody bantam that came with a batch of goslings once. we found a lost duckling on a country road and and brought it back to put under the bantam. when we checked later, she'd attacked it so bad she'd pecked right through its skull.
we felt terribly guilty so just be ware.
when we incubated goose eggs in the past, the older geese adopted them straight away with no fighting at all.