Maggie, how many days has she been sitting on the egg?

Just to let you know our gosling's eyes were mostly closed when first hatched and in the end we had to "help" finish the hatching. I think using the heat lamp is a good idea and mist as well.

It also took a good 12+ hours for it to appear strong. After hatching ducks and chicks I found the gosling to be much slower moving and worried constantly about it not making it but I think that is normal for them.

It is now two weeks old and HUGE! please keep us posted about yours :) *sending good thoughts your way*

-Sheila

Thanks so much Sheila for the advice and the good thoughts! He's doing much better today. Lively, noisy, navel has healed and looks nomal, drank a bit of sugar water. I think he's going to make it!

Yesterday was Day 29, so he was just a tad early.

Hi Maggie, I'm so glad your little gosling is doing better!

Thanks for the update!

UPDATE on my gosling: Yesterday we took it outside for the first time with the ducks and it ate lots of grass and got it's feet wet, it was a really beautiful warm day.

Today, it doesn't seem to be feeling well and is just drinking not eating. It seems shaky on it's feet and it just laying down mostly. I am so upset...it's tough to get any info. on geese! do you know of any websites? I am just sick about this, I really love this little one :(

Thanks Maggie, I hope your little fuzzle continues to do well!

-Sheila

Does your little one have grit? Once they are on grass they need grit - "chick grit" or coarse sand is likely fine - to add "teeth" to their gizzard. It is just possible that the gosling OD'd on greens and without grit it is having trouble digesting.

I suggest keeping it off the grass for a couple of days and feeding it only the prepared starter and making some kind of fine grit available. When/if it gets back to normal, offer finely chopped grass, clover and dandelion greens in limited quantities perhaps twice a day. Then let it graze again, but not all day at first.

Good luck and let me know how the gosling gets on. It is a bit like the blind leading the blind here... but if we trade info and insights maybe we can help our goslings grow up.

That's it Maggie you are right on target! last night I put a small container of coarse sand in the brooder, some of it was gone this morning and little "Pebbles" was feeling much better! What a relief! I couldn't believe how upset it made me to think of loosing my sweet little gosling! it is so affectionate, it just loves to be snuggled and loved! I am so hooked!

I was also told to start adding some rolled oats to the gamebird crumbles to cut down on the protein content and to also add niacin via suppliment or brewers yeast to her food.

How's your gosling doing?

Talk to you soon,
Sheila

Glad your gosling's doing better. Mine is fine and has six siblings. The two momma geese had a chat and decided that the buff would look after the babies and the Pilgrim (who has only been sitting for two weeks) would take care of the unhatched eggs. Amazing! And exactly what I wanted them to do.

I feed mine organic chick starter, 18% protein. I mix it with warm water at first to make it easier for them to eat.Then I slowly decrease the amount of added water.

Gamebird starter is about 30%, isn't it? That seems very high. You could cut it with oatmeal and/or cornmeal. I don't use supplements, but I offer them finely chopped grass and clover once they are a few days old. By the time they are a few weeks old, they eat very little except pasture...although I continue to offer the starter for morning and evening. They grow like the weeds they feed on. Dandelions are their favourite once they are foraging outdoors.

Hi Maggie,

FANTASTIC! 7 goslings all together????? wow, I bet your glad that they are being raise by their mom's, makes things much easier I would think.

The gamebird crumble is 22% protein, I just started to add some rolled oats and today bought some yeast to put in there for extra niacin and b vitamins.

I took some more pictures, I'm working on getting them online! any chance of seeing pictures of yours????

Take care, so happy for your little goslings :)

-Sheila

Thanks, Sheila, I'm pretty happy myself! ;-) All seven are doing well and there are still a few eggs that are tapping. So I may end up with a few more, if I'm lucky.

Not to knock incubators, but I do feel more comfortable with natural incubation. Not to mention that its the momma birds that do the work!

Been doing a little reading and you are likely right about the need to guard against niacin deficiencies. I know brewer's yeast is considered a healthy addition to the grown birds' diets.

How is your "Pebbles" doing tonight? Back to normal after her overindulgence on greens? Geez, if I am going to overindulge, it certainly wouldn't be on salads!

I was given a pair of mated geese recently and was soon blessed with a broody mom.

She is sitting three eggs as of now.
Two are silent but candle well.
Third has hatched but has a large protrusion from cloacca.
I don't know if this is normal or a reason for concern.

Can't find any where on net.
Please, anyone, help me or my daughter (10) will disown me.

What does the protrusion look like? And how large is it? I can't think what it could be unless the gosling is a gander - and even then his penis should be sort of coiled inside.

I suggest you start a separate thread for this question. Not everyone is going to take a look at an old thread like this one. I did out of curiosity because it was one I had started -- and because it pertained to geese.

I have 8 goose eggs in my incubator and it is their 31st day in it.
I thought they weren't going to hatch and thought they were all dead, like my first attempt last month.
So yesterday morning I broke a little hole at the top, (air side)and suddenly I saw something moving inside!! I quickly brought the egg inside and put a little bit of scotch on the hole so it wouldn't dry up.
Maybe it was too early... A website told me yesterday to put all the eggs in water, so it would soften the shell as it is very hard and if the eggs don't move in the bowl of water it means they are dead, so I put them in water.
They all started to move wildly, as if they were trying to get out...
So I was sooooo happy they were all alive inside.
Still I'm not quite sure EXACTLY how many days it actually takes for them to hatch, or should I help them out...
Please give me tips and things!!! Thank You!!
Camelia
xxx

Here is a link that might be useful: VillaRignana

Goslings can take longer to hatch than one expects, up to about 34 days in some cases. A lot depends on the temperatures the eggs are exposed to. I'm glad the eggs are still viable, but intervention (other than misting to keep up humidity) is a last resort. So often when one intervenes and "helps" a chick or gosling out of its shell, the assistance causes injury. If the yolk has not been absorbed prior to this assisted hatch, the young bird usually dies. It's always a judgment call, when to "help" and when to let nature take its course, but unless you have reason to believe there is a problem, I suggest NOT intervening simply because the hatch is taking longer than you think it should.

Hi,

Have just purchased three goslings 15 days old. Can anyone advise me correctly? I have given chopped grass/dandelion leaves and purchased the relative starter feed for goslings, it terms of grit can they have the crushed oyster shell grit like my chickens? Also how can you tell a male gosling from a female, I asked for a male and two females but can't tell which is which!?
Thanks for any tips!

Hi, Jamie

Your doing great all you need to do is feed them organic starter feed with tons of protien make sure there is no chemicals in that makes them grow it is very unhealthy for them to eat. Do you know what kind of geese they are?

Lauren