The Accidental Smallholder Forum

Livestock => Poultry & Waterfowl => Topic started by: macgro7 on February 13, 2017, 06:24:53 pm

Title: Have your geese started laying?
Post by: macgro7 on February 13, 2017, 06:24:53 pm
Can't wait for my geese to start laying! It could be any day now!
Muscovy drake tries raping them - breeding season starting!
Title: Re: Have your geese started laying?
Post by: Fleecewife on February 13, 2017, 07:29:18 pm
Ours haven't produced anything yet, but Minnie is looking very coy  :eyelashes: , so maybe not long.
Title: Re: Have your geese started laying?
Post by: Dans on February 13, 2017, 08:27:00 pm
No eggs yet but saw my gander mating with one of the girls this afternoon so I'll be egg hunting tomorrow  :excited:

Dans
Title: Re: Have your geese started laying?
Post by: macgro7 on February 13, 2017, 08:43:30 pm
I haven't seen any geese mating yet but saw gander attacking muscovies so hormones are kicking in. One Goose  (of two) looks much more chubby. Made some pallet covers for them to nest and put lots of straw. Hope they use it soon!!! Really can't wait!
I love finding first eggs of the season!
Title: Re: Have your geese started laying?
Post by: kipper on February 13, 2017, 09:14:42 pm
I've not seen any eggs yet but not far away I'm sure
They have been in the pond for the last week all the time and they have been chasing the ducks around the garden  :excited:
Title: Re: Have your geese started laying?
Post by: Penninehillbilly on February 13, 2017, 10:22:37 pm
It's a bit early for mine, but the 2 families (2+4) have started getting aggressive with each other a couple of days ago.
Title: Re: Have your geese started laying?
Post by: Penninehillbilly on February 15, 2017, 03:26:19 pm
Got threatened by one of the boys today, SCARY, LOL.
Something must be in the air, :love:
It's the noise his feet make as he runs at me, sort of noisy flap, i wonder if that's to add to the warning, more noise so he doesn't have to actually be brave and carry out his threat  :)
Title: Re: Have your geese started laying?
Post by: Dans on February 15, 2017, 05:43:02 pm
More mating today but no sign of eggs. I wonder if the confinement is putting my girls off.

Dans
Title: Re: Have your geese started laying?
Post by: F.CUTHBERT on February 27, 2017, 06:16:51 pm
Been getting an egg every other day for a couple of weeks now. Unsure whether to get the incubator or frying pan fired up.
Title: Re: Have your geese started laying?
Post by: Charlie1234 on February 27, 2017, 07:21:35 pm
Frying pan
Home cured bacon
Goose eggs
Loaf of fresh Bread.  :thumbsup:
Title: Re: Have your geese started laying?
Post by: Dave C on February 27, 2017, 07:28:50 pm
Sounds good to me pal  :yum:
Title: Re: Have your geese started laying?
Post by: Dans on February 28, 2017, 07:48:31 pm
In the last few days we've started getting eggs. The first was the biggest we've had at 189g. Looking forward to my first goose egg meal of the year. My favourite so far is fried egg with home made chips. Goose eggs make the best dunkers!

Dans
Title: Re: Have your geese started laying?
Post by: Penninehillbilly on March 07, 2017, 11:35:47 am
Found 5 eggs in an unused hen coop yesterday. How does a big goose get through that small pop hole?   :).
Trouble is, that's one goose. Wondering where the other gang (3) are laying.
Title: Re: Have your geese started laying?
Post by: macgro7 on March 07, 2017, 12:23:29 pm
I haven't seen any eggs yet...
Maybe they are hiding them somewhere as well???
Or muscovy drake stresses them too much. He's very aggressive at the moment
Title: Re: Have your geese started laying?
Post by: Penninehillbilly on March 07, 2017, 02:34:24 pm
They are very good at hiding them ;D
I try and notice if one is missing, gander will be sat somewhere near on guard.
Title: Re: Have your geese started laying?
Post by: Dans on March 07, 2017, 05:06:27 pm
My gander only guards his favourite girl while she lays, and her nest. The other girls he mates with but doesn't guard.

I keep an eye on them and when one goes missing we go hunting for her to see where she is laying.

Dans
Title: Re: Have your geese started laying?
Post by: macgro7 on March 16, 2017, 01:43:43 pm
I am still waiting for eggs!!!!
Today I sadly realised that one of my two females is actually... another gander!!!!!!!!!
This weekend - roast goose  :eyelashes:

I was wandering why are they making so much noise at night, saw them fighting with big muscovy drake who's been separated but today I saw two of them trying to mate with the female and fighting with each other  :gloomy:
Title: Re: Have your geese started laying?
Post by: bj_cardiff on March 16, 2017, 01:51:14 pm
My Embden's are which I'm amazed at as their both 10yrs old. The Chinese are all young and haven't started yet
Title: Re: Have your geese started laying?
Post by: Dans on March 16, 2017, 02:20:57 pm
Bah we are getting 2 eggs from 3 geese. One of our geese is looking a bit thin and I'm gonna give her a dose of liquid wormer in a couple weeks when the vet comes out for our yearly check but now it looks like it is her that is laying and our 'top goose' who isn't *sigh*. Definately had 2 geese laying last year, bought a gosling and have seen her on the nest so pretty certain she is laying but no idea why the other one is off lay. Have searched the hedges and no signs of any eggs. Starting to think about pointing our motion sensor security camera at the goose area!

Dans
Title: Re: Have your geese started laying?
Post by: macgro7 on March 16, 2017, 05:18:24 pm
My ones are young too (may 2016), but they've been mating for at least 2-3 weeks.
Title: Re: Have your geese started laying?
Post by: lord flynn on March 16, 2017, 09:23:42 pm
yep, Shetland started last week  :excited:
Title: Re: Have your geese started laying?
Post by: clydesdaleclopper on March 17, 2017, 04:08:08 pm
I just found a stash from my Franconian girl buried in their house
Title: Re: Have your geese started laying?
Post by: macgro7 on March 26, 2017, 07:16:36 pm
Yeaaaaaa!!!
She finally laid her first eggs!!!
As it's her first eggs every  (young goose) she laid it outside next to a shrub. I saw her sitting there for a while in the afternoon, next time I looked there was no goose but a beautiful white egg! So excited!
Title: Re: Have your geese started laying?
Post by: Fleecewife on March 27, 2017, 12:08:36 pm
My elegant little Shetland goose Minerva has been laying for the past week, one every second day.  The nest she has built is just inside the henhouse door, and gets bigger each time she lays another.  It's like something you would see with a swan on it in a lake.  If she starts to sit we'll need to move the hens out.  Magnus is very protective both of her and of the nest even when they're nowhere near it.  The dogs have learnt to hide behind us, but I don't want to stop his behaviour as he may need to chase off a fox one day.
Title: Re: Have your geese started laying?
Post by: davet on March 28, 2017, 08:12:27 am
Our goose has been laying sporadically for the last week and a half or so, and we have five eggs.

Last night around 10pm I happened to look in on them and she was sitting in the old chicken house we've put in the shed for the nest.  If she's sitting on the eggs all night, but spending the daytime out in the field as normal, is that right for the eggs?  Doesn't that effectively start incubating them every night, only to stop again in the morning?

Title: Re: Have your geese started laying?
Post by: F.CUTHBERT on December 03, 2017, 08:58:15 pm

We are still getting a couple of goose eggs every week. Never seen them lay for as long before, keeping thinking that must be them finished now and then i get another egg. Anyone else still laying and is this normal for you?

Title: Re: Have your geese started laying?
Post by: macgro7 on December 03, 2017, 11:27:20 pm
Wow! The must be thinking it's still spring! Hot june, Cold july and august and then warm again ! I had apples and quince flowering AGAIN in september this year! On one branch they were mature fruits and on the next one new blossom. Really weird!