The Accidental Smallholder Forum

Livestock => Poultry & Waterfowl => Topic started by: mentalmilly on February 27, 2015, 01:59:44 pm

Title: Goose Eggs
Post by: mentalmilly on February 27, 2015, 01:59:44 pm
I have been given 4 goose eggs to hatch, never done this before and would be grateful for any tips on temperature and humidity. How long do they take to hatch and can you candle these like hens eggs?  We have a brinsea mini echo.  Help please
Title: Re: Goose Eggs
Post by: HesterF on February 27, 2015, 02:15:13 pm
Will you even be able to fit them in a Brinsea mini? I thought the biggest they could do was duck eggs but may be mistaken - have you tried? Maybe your goose eggs are smaller - mine weigh in at about 200g so they're literally twice as big as the biggest duck eggs.

Best on zero added water until shut down for hatching but maybe spray them once a day. Monitor their weight loss to check - they need to lose about 14% of their weight over a four week period so check every few days to check they're on target for that. Same sort of temp as chicken eggs. Turn them manually end over end two or three times a day i.e. morning turn them over the pointy end, afternoon turn them back the opposite way (so you don't keep rotating them over and over in the same direction). They're variable in how long they take to hatch - I believe 28 to 35 days is normal but I guess it depends on the breed.

Yes, you can candle - should be able to see something after a week to ten days (they're quite pale so easy to see inside but the size of them means you might miss some earlier development that you might seen in a chicken egg). Just be aware they're much harder to hatch than chicken eggs and personally I would always set more than four eggs because the worst case scenario is that you end up with a single hatch who is very lonely and would spend a lot of time wanting your attention (and then is confused about what species he is).

Would really recommend getting one of Chris Ashton's books on the subject - very helpful.

Good luck!

H
Title: Re: Goose Eggs
Post by: mentalmilly on February 27, 2015, 03:13:37 pm
Thanks Hester that helps a lot, they will fit into the echo so going to give it a go.
Title: Re: Goose Eggs
Post by: HesterF on February 27, 2015, 10:08:36 pm
Just had a quick check because I thought I was going mad! According to Brinsea, not suitable for the mini:

http://www.brinsea.co.uk/choosing-an-incubator/ (http://www.brinsea.co.uk/choosing-an-incubator/)

Can you borrow a bigger incubator? It may be that they can fit physically but the temperature differential will not be good if they're too close to the edge or something.

H
Title: Re: Goose Eggs
Post by: devonlady on February 28, 2015, 07:33:01 am
Whereabouts are you MM. I could give you the lend of an incubator if you are somewhere in Devon/Cornwall.