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Geese can be difficult to incubate and hatch compared to chickens and ducks. Ideally, the incubating is left to a hen, duck, goose, or other broody bird, but luck doesn’t always provide a broody when you need one. Goslings make up for their difficult hatching by being incredibly easy to raise. Read on to learn all about hatching goose eggs!
Goose Egg Collection and Storage
Goose eggs should be collected daily for incubating in an incubator. Use a pencil to label the eggs with the date and mark one side with an X and the other with an O. You can collect eggs and store them at room temperature for up to 10 days. If you need to collect eggs for a longer period of time the eggs are best stored in a fridge until you need to hatch them. You will have poorer hatching rates from refrigerated eggs, but better than if they were stored at room temperature for a longer period of time.
Eggs should be turned a minimum of 3 times daily before you set them in an incubator or under a broody. Simply turn the eggs so either the X or O shows, whichever was previously facing down. Goose eggs should be stored lying flat and not upright in a carton.
When you’re ready to start incubating the eggs you can place them under a broody or into your incubator. The eggs need to be kept on their sides during incubation and should never be placed upright in an incubator.
I use this (relatively) cheap and easy-to-clean incubator for hatching. My preferred incubator for the actual incubation process is a trusty old Brinsea Octagon 20, which can fit up to 9 goose eggs. That type of Brinsea is no longer made – the newer version is here.
If you’re on a tight budget, you could try making an incubator!
Temperature for Incubating Goose Eggs
Goose eggs need to be incubated at 99.5F for the duration of incubating with a forced air incubator or 100.5F for a still air incubator. After lock down you should lower the temp to 98-99F to increase the oxygen levels for the goslings. Once they have internally pipped they will start using their lungs to breathe air.
Humidity
The humidity levels you need will vary greatly depending on your local and household climate.
The scientific, laboratory-condition answer is about 55% for incubation and about 75% for hatching. Our homes are not laboratories and you can expect your humidity to be different. Most experienced hatchers find it’s often way too high! Use the scientific answer as a starting point only!
For my own hatching in a humid climate, I need to run the incubator around 30% humidity for the first 26 days and then increase it to about 60% for hatching.
So how do you know what to keep your humidity at?
It’s best to track air cell size by tracing the outline of the air cell at your weekly candling OR you can weigh the egg(s) weekly to make sure they’re losing weight properly. You’ll be looking for an overall weight loss of 16%.
Air cell sizes for chicken, turkey, and waterfowl eggs by days of incubation.
Based on that information you can:
- Increase humidity if the air cells/weight are showing that you’re losing moisture too fast.
- Decrease humidity if the air cells/weight are showing that you’re losing moisture too slow.
I use this temperature and humidity gauge.
Learn how to tell the gender of your geese with this handy post.
Cooling and Misting
Starting at day 8, waterfowl eggs benefit from daily cooling and misting. Take the eggs out of the incubator, mist lightly with cool water, and then allow the eggs to cool for 10 minutes. Place back in the warm incubator after the 10 minutes has elapsed. On days 15 – 21, eggs should be cooled for 15 minutes. From days 22-25, the eggs should be cooled for 20 minutes.
The cooling and misting process mimics when the mother goose gets off the nest and returns wet from a swim.
Incubation Period
Geese need to incubate for anywhere between 28 to 35 days. I know, that’s quite a range! Almost all of my goslings end up hatching on day 32, but sometimes I have some hatch earlier or later.
You’ll need to place your eggs into lock down on day 26. This is where you increase humidity and stop messing with the eggs until they’ve hatched. At this point opening the incubator can cause dangerous humidity drops that can result in your babies being shrink-wrapped (membrane dries on them and they can’t move to hatch). Moving the eggs during this time can result in the goslings failing to get in the proper position to hatch. Basically just don’t touch the eggs!
Hatching
Yay! You hear little peeps coming from the incubator and notice one or more of the eggs have a tiny crack (external pip) in the shell. You might be tempted to open the incubator at this point and pick at the eggs to “help” them hatch. Don’t!
Once goslings have made an external pip they rest and absorb the yolk into their abdomen. During this time the blood-filled membrane surrounding them starts shunting the blood back into the gosling. Picking at the shell to “help” during this time can be fatal to your gosling! Tearing that membrane, even by accident, will result in blood loss that can easily kill your gosling. “Helping” the gosling to hatch too soon (after its blood supply has reabsorbed) can result in it coming out of the egg before absorbing all of its yolk sac – which, you guessed it, will kill it. Don’t touch the eggs!
Once the gosling has reabsorbed the blood from the membrane and the yolk into its abdomen it’s ready to hatch. It will start zipping next, which is where it starts chipping the egg in a roughly horizontal line across the circumference of the egg. They usually take lots of breaks during this time so don’t panic if they stop for a bit.
After Hatching
After the gosling zips the egg it will push the shell apart and hatch. It will be wet, wobbly, and sort of weak. Just leave it alone to dry and rest in the warm incubator. Hatchlings will have completely fluffed up and be moving around fairly easily by 24 hours old. At this point, you should move them to a brooder if all of the eggs have hatched. If you still have eggs in the process of hatching, go ahead and leave everyone in the incubator for a little longer. The absorbed yolk sac will feed the goslings for up to 3 days.
I have read and used few articles about incubating & hatching geese, BUT THIS IS THE ONLY one you should take as a complete quide – works perfectly and I am happy to I found this one. Thank you very much for sharing this knowledge. Thank you xxx
Thank you for the kind words and I’m glad that you found my guide useful!
If my geese are pipping on the bottom of the egg will they be able to get out?
If they’ve pipped externally then they are around where they should be in the egg and should hatch normally. They should be pipping around the air cell of the egg or slightly towards the middle. If they’re not positioned to pip internally into the air cell, they’ll die before externally pipping.
katie, i read this too late and have kept the humidity way too high during most of my incubation period. its day 21 for me and the air cells are too small. should i still increase the humidity again for the hatching period? i lowered it today to see if i could increase the air cell for day 26 (african toulouse geese). Judging from the development in the egg I dont see these guys hatching till day 30. Help! First time with geese
My incubator is from tractor supply thank you
You could probably get away with keeping the humidity a bit lower until you see an external pip. Then slowly raise the humidity up over the next few hours to where it needs to be for hatching – you don’t want it too dry during hatching.
Thank you!!!!
You’re most welcome!
My gosling has been zipping for 72hrs. Still not completed. I am worried. What do I do?
As hard as it is, you don’t do anything except make sure the humidity is where it needs to be for hatching. Other than that, if they aren’t able to hatch on their own there’s usually an underlying health issue and it’s best to let them be.
Sometimes it can be due to low humidity levels and they are just sticky and tired
When the humidity rises after they hatch, what is to high. Or are they ok if it get uo in the 70s. Thanks
It’s not typically an issue when the humidity spikes as they hatch. Should the humidity hit 90%, you may wish to crack the lid slightly for 2-3 seconds to let some moisture out. Otherwise, let it be.
Hello
Great info
Can I use it on ducks also?
Thank you !
Ducks are typically easier to hatch than geese and, assuming you have regular ducks rather than Muscovy, then the incubation will only be 28 days. You can still utilize some of the tips from this article though!
Great
Thank you
My grandson brought me 12 eggs from two nests. The field they were in was going to be rotary cut by his employer so he rescued them just yesterday.
I volunteered to incubate them and release them here as I have a pond in the country. They must be ready to hatch because I heard some peeping today. I had been rotating and spritzing them but after I read your advice I stopped. Hope I didn’t love them to death.
I am also concerned because it’s a cheap old Styrofoam incubator designed for quail or chickens. Very cramped. I’m reluctant to leave any live hatchlings in such a cramped space. Advice?
2 guees hatched. They are just pushing the other eggs all over the place. Won’t that kill the other eggs?
That’s normal. You can darken the area to help them sleep more so they aren’t moving around so much.
Our goose has already started laying, early for Michigan. I have collected 15 today and they are dirty. Should I wipe them off with a dry towel or wet one before sticking them in an incubator?
You can wipe them off gently with a dry towel. Anything wet risks washing off the bloom that helps prevent bacteria from getting into the egg.
By far the most informative guide on hatching goose eggs I could find! Thank you for taking the time to write this up.
No problem!
What is the best incubator for incubating goose eggs
The very best option is a broody bird – goose, duck, muscovy, or even a chicken. However, I use a Brinsea incubator (a discontinued Octagon 20) which can hold 9 goose eggs. Brinsea is a very good brand and has a number of different incubators for different budgets and needs. I also have a much cheaper Janoel 12 that I like to use for hatching because it’s easier to take apart and disinfect.
I really need your help… great article but I’m in a precarious position. We are absolutely flooded and I rescued 2 eggs from a nest that was being washed away. She had already lost 4 of the eggs she had and I saved 2. I’m going to get an incubator tomorrow but for tonight I placed them in a towel and on a heating pad. How do I tell how old they are and at what temperature I need to keep them? Any help is much appreciated. I don’t want to see these little guys not make it. I just didn’t know what to do!
I’m sorry to hear about your flooding situation!
The temps for incubating are 99.5F for forced air incubators or 100.5F for still air incubators. You’d be using the 100.5F temp for your heating pad since air isn’t being circulated.
You need to get the eggs into an enclosed space like a styrofoam cooler with some small holes in it for air circulation. This is to help keep the eggs from drying out due to lack of humidity and to keep the warmth all around the eggs instead of just where they’re touching the heating pad.
To check the where the eggs are in development you can candle the eggs using the flashlight of your cellphone. Take the eggs into a dark space and shine the flashlight into the fat end of the egg. You can get a rough estimate of where the eggs are in development or if they’re even alive. Alternatively, if you know when your goose actually started sitting on the eggs full-time, you can just figure out how many days it’s been since then.
Thank you so much! I went and bought a Harris Farms Incubator. Is there anyways I can send you a picture of the candled eggs? I see huge veins, mostly dark and from your diagram I would guess it’s about 15-20 days.
You’re very welcome! It sounds like you have a pretty solid estimate based on your description.
My goslings are pipping for two days. Do have holes in tops this morning . Seems like taking forever ! Lol should I help them?? Hatched lots of chicks but never geese??
I personally don’t recommend helping anything hatch because of the risks. However, you should also use your own judgment based on what you’re seeing. Are they only pipped or are they enlarging the pips? Are they starting to zipper? Are the membrane edges looking dry or moist? It’s ultimately up to you whether you assist or not.
I am using an incubator from my school to hatch the chicken eggs that were started before schools were closed. I was planning to use it to try to hatch geese eggs. It has a self turner. Is that ok to use or would it be better to take that out and hand turn?
It’s going to depend on the type of self-turner and how strong it is. If it’s the type that cups the eggs and holds them upright then you’ll need to remove it. If it allows eggs to lay flat you can try it, but check to make sure it’s strong enough to actually turn the goose eggs.
Am I correct in assuming that during the first 8 days, you simply rotate the eggs but don’t mist them at all?
Yes, that’s correct!
I have been self turning the eggs about 3 times a day now. I’ve read everywhere all different things to hatch. My temp is 99.5 and 50-55% it says for goose eggs. Now reading your info I’m confused on what to do.
The right humidity for each hatch can vary widely. It requires some trial and error, which can be a bit stressful when you have lives depending on it. The best thing you can do is to either track the size of the air cells or the weight of the eggs weekly to make sure they’re losing moisture at a reasonable rate. Too fast means you need more humidity; too slow means you need less humidity.In my climate, the humidity tends to be naturally higher and I have to run my incubators at lower humidity or risk drowning whatever I’m hatching. People in drier climates likely need to run their incubators with more humidity.
so just to confirm on this if the air cell is getting to big too fast you need more humidity and if your air cell is small and not getting larger at a reasonable rate you would lower your humidity?
Yep! That’s correct!
Hi im absolutely thrilled to actually find some valid help !! This is awesome i wish there was some way to directly email you as i have a million questions! Lol so maybe with anyluck i can get you to gmail me wink my name is _____________
You can reach me by filling out the contact form here or just by commenting on the post. Both go straight to my email!
Will mom goose accept her babies since they were hatched in an incubator? If so how long do I have to wait before give the babies to their parents?
If she’s been broody for a while, you’ll want to give the goslings to her as soon as you take them out of the incubator. You want them to recognize mother goose as their heat source, not a heat lamp or plate. If she’s not ready to accept goslings then you’ll need to raise them in a brooder until they’re ready to be off heat. You can take the goslings out to graze while you watch on warm days and let them interact with the adults, ideally with a fence dividing them. Honestly, I’ve never met a goose or gander that was aggressive to goslings but it’s better to be safe rather than sorry.
In my last hatch the first four goslings were all over the incubator moving and bumping the remaining eggs. After a day I was concerned and removed the fluff babies to my bathroom with a heat lamp. None of the other eggs hatched. Even those that had begun to pip I am about to start another group of eggs and would like better results. Should I have left them in even though the unhatched eggs were being stepped on and moved around?
It won’t hurt the other eggs to be moved around by the first hatchers. It’s usually okay to move them out after 24 hours though. The main thing to watch if you move them out is the humidity. If it drops too low the goslings still hatching can become shrinkwrapped. You can cover yourself and the incubator with a towel while you remove the goslings and then mist the remaining eggs with water – be sure to work quickly.Did you open up eggs that didn’t hatch to try and figure out what the issue was? That can be a good learning experience to better understand why a hatch went poorly.
It is day 26 for our goose egg. What should the temperature and humidity be? We are first timers and are feeling a little anxious.
The temperature for incubation needs to be right around 99.5F. For hatching, I recommend dropping it down to 98-99F to increase oxygen levels. However, you can keep it at 99.5F and still have excellent hatches.There isn’t a definite, 100% correct answer for humidity. The scientific answer would be about 55% for incubation and 75% for hatching. For my humid climate, that’s way too high and I have much better results with lower humidity. The best thing you can do (it’s a little late for your current hatch) is to either track the air cell or the weight weekly to make sure they’re losing the right amount of moisture. Adjust humidity up if they’re losing too much moisture or down if they’re not losing enough.
Wonderful and helpful guide. Once the goslings have hatched, how long should they stay in the incubator? Do I need to move them under a heat lamp and for how long? Also, what would you suggest feeding them for the first few weeks?
I like to leave them in the incubator for about 24 hours. That’s enough time for their down to fluff up and to be steady on their feet.They will need heat for up to 6 weeks but often can spend their days without as early as 3 weeks (if it’s not too cool outside). Ideally, you’ll want to feed them a waterfowl starter and lots of fresh grass and weeds daily. The fresh greens are very important to help them thrive. If you want to read more about caring for goslings I have a post here: https://bramblewoodhill.com/beginners-guide-raising-geese/
Hi Katie,We just had a mother goose successfully hatch 5 goslings on Saturday. She seem to have less energy yesterday and was sitting most of time. The father has been great at coparenting, very gentle. Just a moment ago, I came out to check geese and found the mother dead. Is it because she basically focused on eggs and starved herself!? I’m totally shocked. And am not able to find a lot of info about this online… Any advice or thoughts would be great.Thanks,Alice
I’m so sorry to hear that you lost mother goose! It’s certainly a possibility that she wasn’t getting off the nest to care for herself and starved. I’ve heard of it happening with broody chickens but I would expect geese to be a bit smarter than chickens. Another possibility is that she ate something poisonous which could better explain a rapid decline in health.For the goslings, I would set up a large area with a heat source for them and that the gander can either live in or get into to visit. Once they’re old enough to be off of heat they can spend all their time with him.
Hello Katie,Thank you for sharing your expertise with the rest of us. I am writing because we recently found three goose eggs in shallow water along a river where a colony of white, brown, and Canada geese lives. We placed the eggs on dry land but, after coming back the next day, the geese do not seem to be paying them much attention. Is there a way to assess whether the eggs may yet be viable, and whether, being inexperienced and lacking proper equipment, we should collect them and attempt to incubate them at home? I understand from your post that there are delicate questions of timing in even the best of circumstances. I do not know how long the eggs were in the water, but the weather over the last couple of days has been reasonably warm.Thank you, S
Unfortunately, if the eggs were submerged in water, even partially, there’s a good chance they aren’t viable. I would recommend leaving the eggs be. However, if you really want to try your hand at incubating them you could give it a shot. Make sure to candle the eggs at 1 week if you do and dispose of any that don’t show any development.
I have an egg that I’m almost positive is a goose that was accidentally brought to my house in a shipment of mulch. I built an incubator, I incubated it, and it survived and has been doing well! I believe I’m at day 19 or 20. (I don’t know how old it was when I found it but based on when I candled it, it looks like I should be at or around day 20) I’ve done some research but I’m still nervous for what I’m going to do during the hatching process and when it hatches. Do you have any tips on what to do when it’s hatching, what to feed it, what’s a good bedding for the brooder, how I should give it water, really just any tips you may have for a first timer who wasn’t even planning on this would really help! 🙂 Thank you!
That’s pretty cool!So when you incubate you start counting from when you put it in the incubator (or under a broody). If you put the egg in the incubator 20 days ago then it’s on day 20. Assuming it’s a goose egg you’ll want to prepare for hatching when you get to day 26. You’ll increase humidity, stop turning the egg, and not open the incubator.During hatching, you need to leave it alone to do its thing. Trying to help it hatch can result in killing the gosling if it’s not ready. if it’s not able to hatch on its own and the humidity is fine then there is likely a problem with the gosling and sadly it wasn’t meant to live.For bedding waterfowl, I really like pelleted bedding. I find it too dusty in a chick brooder, but with goslings and ducklings it’s the best. It’s very absorbent and easy to scoop it when it gets really wet. I have a guide to raising goslings here that you can take a look at: https://bramblewoodhill.com/beginners-guide-raising-geese/
My daughter found an abandoned egg by our pond last Wednesday. It had a tiny crack from being dropped. We brought it home and made a homemade incubator to try and give this precious baby its best chance of survival. It’s forming beautifully. This is exactly what I needed!! Thank you so much.This might be a silly question but do I need to make a separate Hatcher or can decrease the temp when it comes time for it to hatch and increase the humidity in the same incubator we made that it’s being incubating in?
You’re very welcome! No, you don’t need to have a separate incubator to hatch in. You can hatch in the same incubator.
can u set this to be printable . or e mail me it .
Not a problem! I just added a form near the bottom of the post that you can sign up on to get a printable reference guide.
Katie, We have eggs that our two geese have laid over the past month. Should we try to incubate them, or just ones we think are newer, and eat the others?
I would try the newest ones (they’ll likely be the cleanest). You can also candle the eggs to see the size of the air cells: big air cell = older, little air cell = newer. The older eggs might be getting close to not being edible though.
Ok, thank you. If I test them (for edibility) will the bad ones float and good ones sink, like chicken eggs?
Hi again, Katie, Since I’m having trouble seeing the air cell on the dirty ones, could I test them by putting them in water to see if they float or sink? And then incubate the ones that sink? Thanks.
Thank you very much for this very helpful guide.
You’re very welcome!
I’m a little nervous about the cooling of the eggs for 10 minutes a day. Can you please explain that a bit more for me? And for misting, how wet am I getting the eggs?
The daily cooling mimics when a broody goose gets off the nest each day to eat, drink, bathe, and poop. During this time the eggs will cool a little. It’s not necessary to cool the eggs if you’re nervous about it. It can improve hatching rates though.
If you won’t be cooling you shouldn’t mist either. The misting mimics the goose returning to the nest a little damp from her bathing. As to how much to mist, only enough to get some moisture on each egg. You don’t need to drench them or anything like that.
Help! While collecting eggs over 10 days…. what is room temp? Is 70 degrees ok?
Room temperature is anywhere from 68F to 77F (or 20 – 25 in Celsius). 70F is great!
WHAT ABOUT A FIRST TIME LAYER WITH VERY DIRTY EGGS……DIRTY EGGS IN THE NEST…..I TAKE THEM OUT THEN STRAIGHT INTO THE INCUBATER?? WHAT ARE MY ODDS WITH 11 EGGS SO FAR
I can’t say what your odds are but it’s worth a try! Do check them regularly while incubating to make sure they haven’t gone bad.
To help with dirty eggs, give the goose a pile of straw next to her nesting area that she can arrange. I typically give each goose a pile of straw up to my knees or a bit higher. It’s amazing how quickly they arrange it all into a nest.
I’m using a Nuture Right 360. Everything i read says to turn the geese eggs 4 times a day. We both work full time. The Incubator has an automatic turner that I retro fit with a turner for 6 large eggs. It turns the eggs every 2 hours, or 12 times a day. Will this hurt the development?
Not at all! The absolute minimum for turning eggs is 3 times daily (morning, midday, and evening) but more frequently is even better. Broody chickens turn their eggs roughly 50 times daily and it’s likely about the same for geese.
The primary reason for turning eggs is that the embryo can become stuck to the shell membrane if left in one place too long. This usually isn’t an issue once the embryo becomes mobile inside the egg.
Novice Question about the air pocket monitoring…. When you say day 24 on your image. Is that after 24 days of incubation or 24 days longer incubation. Thanks in advance for any advice.
It’s at 24 days of incubation, with the day you place the eggs into the incubator as Day 0.
Hi! So I have been following your blog and reference sheet daily! We found a goose egg on Easter Sunday that was all alone. We purchased an incubator and started incubating it two days later. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SUCH AN INFORMATIVE SITE! It has been my trusted guide, and I am so grateful to have been able to use it as a reference. Today is our 26th day of incubation, and we are preparing for lockdown. Our temp has been consistent at 99.5 and humidity at 55% daily. We have done our cooling just as you recommended it too. Things have been progressing perfectly. But today should be the day, and I just want to confirm that lockdown should occur today, the 26th day, even though hatching isn’t expected until day 32 or so? That could mean 6 full days without turning the egg. (After turning the egg so consistently for the last 26 days, I cannot imagine not doing it.) Would love any further information on this, and thank you so much for your help!
You’re very welcome!
You’ll want to stop fussing with the eggs during lockdown for 2 reasons:
#1 – the goslings will be positioning to hatch, and moving them too much can throw their position off.
#2 – opening and closing the incubator to turn the eggs can cause rapid drops in humidity that can cause the goslings to become stuck to the membrane inside the eggs. This is more likely to happen after the eggs externally pip.
Hello! I have very unsuccessful Dewlap Toulouse geese eggs incubation.
2 of eggs start «crying» through the shell just before hatching. It was dead babies. 3 eggs developed crack long way through the egg. Air cell despaired. One gosling born with no eyes and huge watery head. Died. Have 2 cracked eggs on the way. One just started coming out. No peeping in any egg. Was following guide of geese eggs incubation with temperatures and moisture. What it could be? Infection in eggs or in parents ?
I’m sorry to hear that your hatching hasn’t been going well!
#1 – First, did you open the eggs that died to examine them? Check to see what position they were in and the texture of the shell membrane (dry and papery, thick and rubbery, or thin and moist)? This will tell you a lot about humidity. Too much humidity will make the shell membrane thick and rubbery and the gosling will become exhausted trying to break through it to hatch. Too little humidity and the shell membrane will dry onto the gosling and stick to it like tape. Both too much or too little humidity can cause the gosling to fail to position correctly.
#2 – Eggs that have a detached air cell need to be supported in a position that keeps the air cell at the proper end of the egg. There’s a chance that the air cell will reattach, but many eggs with detached air cells fail to hatch.
#3 – Eyelessness is a genetic deformity that can occur. It’s largely due to chance and not any factors that you can change.
#4 – Fluid on the head can be caused by vitamin E and/or selenium deficiency, likely in the parents. Swollen, fluid-filled goslings can also be caused by too much humidity or infection of the yolk sac.
#5 – Plain bad luck. I’ve had eggs pip but die without hatching or die before pipping under experienced broody geese. Sometimes things just don’t work out.
I would recommend starting by double-checking your thermometer and calibrating your hygrometer to make sure they’re giving you accurate readings. Check the feed you’re providing the parents to see if it has enough vitamin E and selenium and if they’re also on pasture find out if your area is deficient in those. Make sure to thoroughly sanitize the incubator you’re using in between hatches to reduce the chances of the yolk sac becoming infected.
Thanks
You’re very welcome!
Hi, I am getting ready to try incubating a couple goose eggs. I noticed you said after day 26 to stop turning and go into lockdown. My incubator has to be opened to add water. Any suggestions on how to handle this? Should I mist Everytime I need to add some water?
Thanks!
You can open the incubator quickly to top off the water during lockdown. If you’re really concerned about the humidity drop you can cover the incubator and yourself with a towel while you add the water or move the entire incubator to a steamy bathroom to add water. You can also add water through the ventilation hole that most countertop incubators have by either dropper or syringe, assuming your incubator is a countertop model.
Awesome! Thank you so much. One more question, I actually happen to have 2 broody muscovies right now. I have 4 goose eggs and was planning on putting 2 under them and 2 in incubator. The reason I wanted to do some in the incubator is because I heard they will be much more friendly. What is your experience with this? Is there a big difference in behavior between incubated eggs vs surrogate? Thanks again for the response!
Not a problem!
In general, the goslings you raise yourself will be friendlier until the fall and winter months when they start courting. At that point, they prefer the company of other geese and you’re old news. In my own experience, my hand-raised ganders were more likely to show aggressive behavior to humans during the breeding season than the broody-raised ganders that still have some wariness. By “aggressive” I mean that they will go out of their way to sneak up behind you and snake their necks in a threat to bite, then try and look innocent when you turn and glare at them. Really more naughty than aggressive.
Hi – this is terrific information, thank you!
I have a Brinsea Ovation 28 EX with the large trays for goose eggs, so they will lay on their side. Wondering if you recommend to use the auto turn function? So many people hand turn their goose eggs with no mention of using auto turners. I would think doing so helps to simulate momma goose activity.
Also, if using the auto turn, would you suggest rotating the eggs 180 degrees when coming out for misting and cooling starting day 8? X side to O side, and vice versa, until lock down?
thank you!
Yes, go ahead and use the auto turn function since you have it! The auto turner should do the job fine without you needing to fully rotate the eggs. However, if you feel inclined to do that then I don’t think it would hurt at all.
Our incubator tracks the humidity so I didn’t think we needed to take the eggs out and mist them and put them back in. Is this something we should have done all along? I have one egg thst pipped through so far and is rocking and rolling in the egg. Our temp is at 98 and humidity is at 73. It seems to be making slow progress so I’m worried. Thoughts??
Misting can increase hatching rates, but you can have a great hatch without doing it.
Hatching is hard work! They tend to work on cracking the egg for a bit and then doze off for a short nap, over and over again. It always feels like it takes an eternity for them to hatch!
We have a single goose egg in a chicken brooder. I am worried that it will be too small for the goose hatching. WE have prepared a brooding box and purchased a brooder but it doesn’t have a temperature guide. I wondered about placing the egg as soon as pipping begins into the large brooder? If I leave it in the small brooder which is like a dome with a temperature and it’s too big what do I do? It’s day 28 and candling has shown a baby , so do I just leave the egg where it is and keep my fingers crossed?
By brooder do you mean incubator? I would highly recommend leaving the egg in the incubator for hatching because it will do a better job of maintaining humidity and temperature for hatching. As long as there’s room for the gosling to push the 2 egg halves apart after zipping it should be fine.
Hello! After moving to the brooder, what temp should i keep for the first week?
90F (32C). You can read my guide to raising geese here as well: https://bramblewoodhill.com/beginners-guide-raising-geese/
Oh Thank you so much!! I’ll definitely read it!
You’re very welcome!
Hi there! It’s me again. Two of them just hatched successfully!! Thank you so much for sharing your magnificent knowledge. I am still waiting for the last one to hatch. It’s been 17h since the first pip. How long should I wait? The first two are just messing around the last egg and I’m very worried. I am planning to move the goslings to the brooder or should I just leave them until the last one comes out? Thanks
You’re most welcome and congrats!
I like to leave hatchlings in the incubator for a full 24 hours. If there are any eggs left unhatched at that time I will very quickly check them (if they’re pipped) to see how the membrane looks when I shine a light in. If there appear to be veins in the membrane then the gosling is still absorbing yolk and isn’t ready to hatch yet. If the membrane doesn’t appear to have veins it is likely ready to hatch (or nearly there) and you’ll need to decide if you want to assist it or not.
If you do decide to assist the gosling with hatching start by removing tiny bits of the shell near the pip. If any blood appears you need to stop immediately. If there’s no blood, continue chipping the shell around the circumference of the egg until a small “hinge” of shell is all that holds the 2 pieces together. Put the egg back in the incubator and give the gosling some time to push the egg halves apart on its own. If it doesn’t seem able to do that you can remove the top half of the shell and put it back in the incubator to push out of the bottom half.
Unfortunately the last one couldn’t come out. it’s very difficult to decide when to help the egg, i was a bit late. The membrane was sticking the gosling in the egg. Anyways, thank you very much! I’m so excited about the two goslings!
I’m sorry to hear the one didn’t make it, but have fun with the other two!
Hi.
I have two geese sitting on one egg on their nest. I am not convinced the egg is viable. I have goslings just hatching in incubator: can I foster these to the would-be mothers if their egg fails as I do with my chickens; if so, is it same process? (Fostered chicks are placed under broody hen at night between 1-3 days’ old.) Also, if their egg does hatch, will they accept more fostered goslings?
Geese are VERY accepting of goslings and should happily take yours when they hatch. I give my broody geese babies in the morning so I can keep an eye on them and place them as close to the goose as I can safely reach (the peeping of goslings usually turns broody geese into fire-breathing dragons).
In my experience, the issue that tends to arise with introducing older goslings (more than 1-3 days) is that they don’t associate the broody goose with heat, wander away, and die from becoming chilled. For these older goslings, it’s best to keep them in a pen with a heat source that they’re familiar with until they’re old enough (or the weather’s warm enough) that they can spend the day with the goose flock.
With the egg currently under the 2 broody geese you will end up with one of these situations:
1) Both geese abandon the egg to take care of the goslings. You can candle the egg to check for viability and either chuck it or incubate it based on what you see.
2) One goose continues on the nest while the other takes care of the goslings. The ideal situation if the egg is viable but unlikely to happen.
3) Both geese continue trying to hatch the egg while also trying to take care of the goslings. The egg will need to be removed in this case so the geese will take the goslings to get food and water.
Thank you for this; will give them a try. In past have found my gander gentler with any newbies when geese haven’t been broody with the females more likely to peck! Have four hatched; bit worried about one as lot smaller & rather sleepy. I think it was the last to hatch & took longer. it perks up.
You’re very welcome and best of luck!
I found this so, so helpful. Thank you for taking the time to write this up. I got my first 2 geese a month ago. (Buff and French Toulouse) I love them SO much. They are so funny. I believe they are male and female and since they mate for life I want to hatch eggs in the spring. I just think it will be so fun. I love the reference sheet, it’s perfect. Not long, just necessary notes. Usually google is so contradicting but this is very straight forward. Thank you.
You’re very welcome! Have fun with your geese!
Hello, wondering if you can help me. I have 2 eggs incubating the are Toulouse/pilgrim cross goose eggs. I started them both at the same time on June 14th. One has always been developing faster, today when I candled them, the one egg is completely full and started wiggling when I turned it to the other side. The other egg is still developing and looks to be at about the development I would expect for Day 20. I dropped the humidity as the air sacs are not as large as I’d like and they haven’t lost enough weight. I’m concerned about the one that is already wiggling at day 20, that seems really early. Should I continue to turn that egg? Also I’ve been having trouble getting my goose eggs passed day 27, they seem to die in shell and never externally pip. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Is it possible you have a hot spot in your incubator? A hot or cold spot can cause eggs to develop at different speeds and this is my first thought. If the egg hasn’t wiggled since you turned it then it was likely not the embryo moving but rather the egg wobbling when you set it down, especially if the gosling hadn’t internally pipped. I wouldn’t be concerned about continuing to turn it.
There a number of factors that can cause them to die late in incubation. Temperature, humidity, infection, and nutritional deficiencies in the parents can all cause issues. And also just plain bad luck sometimes.
– Keep a close eye on the incubator temperature, ideally using multiple thermometers so you can compare their readings.
– Set clean eggs for incubating and make sure the incubator is disinfected in between hatches to reduce the risk of bacterial infections.
– Make sure your flock has access to plenty of fresh greens and good feed during the months leading up to laying season. If you know your area has any nutrient deficiencies (our area is very selenium deficient) you may also want to supplement your flock for those particular nutrients.
Hi, I found an obviously abandoned goose egg today. Wasn’t till 5 hours after finding it that it got dark enough to check it with a light. It’s got a decent sized bird in there, can not see any veins and I’m sure now (while I have hand tremors) that i most certainly felt it move once. I looked online and eventually here, and most everything is in agreement.
Only thing is I don’t know what day the egg is at. I have a small 4 egg incubator (that I’m now using for the first time).I have the temp at average temp I found listed. I misted the incubator lid, and gave a water wash down of the egg before going in the incubator, not for very long though. This all said…. Do you think I should treat it as if it were in the last few days and not turn the egg?
If the egg appeared to be mostly a dark mass inside I would say it is wise to treat it as if it was in the last few days. Turning the egg is most vital in the earlier days of incubation when the embryo isn’t able to move as much. Once it can move on its own it’s less likely to stick to the shell.
Do, of course, keep a close eye on the egg for signs that it’s gone bad.
Hi Katie! I found 8 African goose eggs in a nest. The goose is not sitting on the nest. I collected them as the night time temps are sometimes below freezing. It is clear that one was recently played since it is whiter than the others. This will be my first attempt at incubating so am fairly nervous. I am going to anticipate that these will unlikely hatch. But I’m willing to try. I brought them indoors and am allowing them to get to room temp. Thanks for writing such a great guide. 2 things I’m unsure how to do. First how to clean the eggs. And then how to candle the eggs to see if incubation is happening. Any tips would be appreciated. Angela Raby (middle Tennessee)
I collect eggs for incubating as they’re laid so they don’t have a chance to get dirty. You can try wiping them down with a damp rag to remove the worst of the dirt; however, if they’re really filthy I would use them for baking rather than try to hatch them.
To candle, you’ll need a light (cell phone flashlights work well) and a very dark room. I candle at night with all the lights off. Shine your light through the fat end of the egg, keeping the light source snug against the shell. This illuminates the inside of the egg. Goose eggshells are thick and any dirt on the shell will make it harder to see inside. You can expect to see veins inside the egg around 7ish days if the eggs are viable. If the eggs don’t have veins by day 10 then I would toss them out.
Hi Katie! Thanks so much for sharing your deep knowledge with all of us.
Yesterday I was given a recently laid goose egg by someone who couldn’t attend to it, and I built a homemade incubator that is able to hold a pretty steady 100F temperature. Last night I put the egg in the incubator but now, penciling in all the crucial steps in my calendar, I am realizing I have a big problem,
I have to leave the country for 5 days from day 23 to day 27, and I have no one to leave the incubator with.
What should I do? Would you suggest anticipating lockdown by 3 days and just letting it be until I come back? Is there a good chance the embryo or the gosling will die?
I am really worried.
Thanks,
Pier
You’re very welcome, Pier!
I think the egg will be just fine while you’re away, especially since you’ll be able to handle the temperature remotely. I’d be a little concerned that humidity would drop very low while you’re gone though. Is there a way for you to set up a remote humidity control system – something like the high-end cabinet incubators have?
Once you’ve returned you can candle the egg to see if it’s internally pipped. If not, rotate the egg out of the position it’s been in for those 5 days and get ready for lockdown. If it has internally pipped, set up for lockdown without rotating.
Hi, I have the same incubator as you. Do you use the automatic egg turner it comes with?
Thanks!
Nope! I strictly use my clear one for hatching, so I’ve pulled out all the egg turner parts.
Katie this is SO AWESOME. I am hatching my first goose babies and this is THE BEST guide I’ve found, and so easy to understand and read. Question, I’ve read conflicting info all over the web, to leave the poo and stuff on the eggs, or to clean them first. What are your thoughts? Thank you!
I collect eggs for incubating as they’re laid so they stay clean, or at least, not too dirty. If the eggs are really, really dirty I would use them for baking. If they’re only a little dirty you could try gently wiping them with a damp rag to remove some dirt.
I had 6 eggs I put in the incubator. The days were still cold and I was afraid they would freeze. Three of them hatched yesterday at day 30. I removed the goslings and am waiting to see what the others will do. I don’t see anything happening with them…I will just wait and see. This is my first time hatching geese.
I had a question. The goslings were clumsy and falling as they walked yesterday. I assumed they were tired from their hatch. Today they are walking around but are still a bit clumsy. Is this common? I am used to chickens and ducks, which both are usually pretty active and running around the second day.
By clumsy do you mean that they walk a bit and then lay down? If so, that’s normal for goslings, especially for this young. As they get older they’ll spend more time standing and walking around to graze. Give them lots of fresh greens like grass and dandelions or a salad blend from the store and supplement with niacin if you feel that their legs aren’t getting stronger or are showing signs of weakness. Usually feeding fresh greens daily will do the trick.
Have been doing chick hatching in Philadelphia area since the 1970s. Whether it is in an Inner city or an expensive elite private schools the children have the same awe and thrill response when a chick hatches. A teacher was quoted in a newspaper article about her class hatching chicks every year as saying “All the reading, and arithmetic we have taught them, but if they are asked about 3rd grade they always say that’s when we saw the chicks hatch. All these years and a successful hatch is still a thrill. Ive hatched button quail(looks like an incubator full of bees)guinea hens, ducks,turkeys, but the hardest for me is always the geese. You have some great ideas i cannot wait to use. thank you for a great lesson
You’re very welcome! What you’re doing is wonderful and I love to hear it!
Hello! Thank you so much for this informative tutorial! Like a few others have posted, I found a goose egg in the middle of my front yard. (We recently moved right next to a lake.) I have chickens, and a lot of experience hatching them, but this will be my first attempt at a goose. I have the Janoel 12 incubator, and have always let it do the turning, with pretty good success. This egg doesn’t seem to be turning as well, so I have been doing it myself, a few times a day, for the last few days (currently day 7 of incubation). I am wondering if there is any rhyme or reason to the turning. I watch broody hens just nuzzle at them, to turn them throughout the day, so it would seem like maybe not. Do you have a preferred method for turning? Frequency, direction, degrees, etc. Thanks again!
I like to keep it simple. Mark each egg with an X on one side and an O on the other. Turn the egg over so the opposite mark is facing up at least 3x a day. Always turn an odd number of times so the egg is never sitting overnight in the same position every night.
Broody chickens shift the eggs around 50+ times a day, so with that much movement, it doesn’t really matter what direction or how many degrees they turn the eggs. If you’re able to turn the eggs a lot throughout the day feel free to gently shimmy the whole incubator around instead.
Hi there. I have a gosling that hatched a full day before the rest in the incubator. It is now 2 days old. There are 5 others that hatched today. I still have 5 eggs in the incubator (some have been pipped for 24 hours. Do I leave all of these gosling in the incubator? They’re very crowded. Thanks
I would remove them from the incubator. You’ll want to work quickly and might want to have a spray bottle handy to mist the eggs.
Hi, thanks for all this information, so helpful and I am based in the uk. I have 2 goose eggs in incubator that I have candled up until day 26 which were great and loosing weight as you described. They are now in lockdown at 37c and 72%humidity and I’m on day 34 with no pips. Worried if I get to tomorrow with no pip, can eggs go over 35 days? These are quite big eggs,214g and 212g. Many thanks
Yes, the eggs can go for over 35 days. It’s not too common but is more likely with bigger eggs. If there isn’t any activity by day 39 I’d candle them.
We had a Canadian goose lay her eggs on a roof top here in Washington. She hatched two a few days ago and there is 4 left. She just took the two down to the pond and left the remaining 4. Do you think these last four aren’t going to hatch and that’s why she left them? Just looking for some advice what to do w the remaining 4?
Once a goose has hatched some eggs and those goslings are ready to be taken around for food and water, she’ll abandon any eggs remaining in the nest. They may or may not have been viable – but she has goslings that need care now and she’s not going to risk the goslings dying while she waits for other eggs to hatch. At this point, the eggs are likely no longer viable since she’s been off of them for several days.
Thank you for this information, it has been so helpful! First time Goose Mom 🙂 I have a broody goose that has already hatched 2 of her own eggs and 2 duck eggs. One of her little goslings didn’t make it, but she has been raising the other gosling and ducklings like normal. There are still 2 more eggs in her nest. I candled them and they do have goslings in them, but they are cold. She doesn’t sit on them like she used to, because she’s busy with the other “kids”. How do I tell if these other eggs will hatch, or if they’re still alive? They are about 9 days behind the others. Thank you!
The unhatched eggs are bad or dead if you see “sloshy” movement, a yellow color (viable is orange-y due to blood flow), or smell nasty. You would need to move them to an incubator or under another broody as soon as she leaves the nest to care for her hatchlings the first time.
I recently found a singular goose egg in a very cold stream near where I work. There was a best far the up stream with smashed goose 3ggs in it and that’s where I’m assuming it came from. I checked the egg and it was surprisingly crack free and the outer layer is almost perfect except some areas where the water ate away at the enamel.
I candled the egg and there’s a membrane in it. I gave it a bit to see if maybe it died from the water but after a little while of holding it and warming it up it started to make a semi there heat for itself.
Is there anything you know is to do so I can make it more likely to survive? So far I’ve layed it sideways in a makeshift best with a makeshift incubator. Getting help from someone who knows geese well enough seems like a good step in figuring out what to do ;u;
Eggs that have been submerged in water are almost certainly nonviable. While you can try incubating it, I would keep a close eye on it and be ready to toss it out. If the egg is viable, candling at 7 days should show veins. If there aren’t veins by 7 days, candle again a few days later – if there are still no veins, toss it. If the egg appears yellowish inside or “sloshy” when you candle it then it’s definitely dead and needs to be tossed. If it starts smelling then it is for sure bad!
I just had to let you know that because of your instructions, my very first hatch was a HUGE success! All 5 of my eggs hatched and our now happy and healthy 3 month olds! These instructions by FAR are the best and if you follow them, they truly work!
Thank you again!
You’re very welcome! Congrats on your goslings1
Hi, I’ve been incubating goose eggs for 35 days and I’m new so I didn’t know about the lock down so I’m worried but the temp is correct and humidity is around 70. There is something inside it’s almost fully dark except one edge and I’m worried I failed
I’d give them a few more days, but if they haven’t hatched by day 38 then they almost certainly won’t hatch at all. You should see some flickering movement in the dark area of the eggs if they’re alive. If you don’t see any movement or the top edge of the dark area (near where it meets the air cell area) is yellowish or if the contents are “sloshy” then the embryo is dead.
Thank you for sharing, Katie. I am using small incubator for my goose eggs for first time. There’s one goose eggs successfully hatched last 2 days ago 🙂 However, today I found out the rest of my goose eggs (4 of them) all spoilt. Inside appear few spot of dark shadow. Seek some help here, thank you.
You’re very welcome! At what point did the other eggs die? Did you open them up and look for any issues? There are many reasons that eggs can fail to hatch and it’s very difficult to identify without more information.
You say cool mist but what temperature, as i am aware that cold water can cause the egg shell to shrink and pull batiria in to the egg. So what temp is the target temp for the misting water? Should the eggs be sprayed as they are removed from incubator or as they are being returned to the incubator? Sprayed on one side or sprayed turned and sprayed bpth sides?
Room-temperature water is what you want for misting the eggs. You’ll mist the eggs right after removing them from the incubator and you only need to do it on one side.
Thanks it is just two days now till i need to start misting them it is my first time and thay are my daughters geese
She got them last year 2022 and thay have laid quit early so i was in a scramble to get it done right. I keep a link to this page on my phones home screen just to review when i start to worry.
Best of luck!
Hi there,
Both my Ebden geese have started to lay but not in a safe area. I have taken there eggs and replaced them with decoy eggs each time they lay. I she kept the eggs inside at room temp and have been turning 3 times per day.
Once I see my goose sit on the nest someone had suggested collecting her the nest and placing in the safe place with the clutch under her. Do you think this will work so I can have her sit on them rather the incubate? Not sure if the odds of goslings this way will not be good. Any advice would be so appreciated! Cheers
Usually, you can easily change the area where the goose is laying by placing her eggs (or decoys) in the area you want her to lay. Make sure she has access to the safe laying area day and night and give her a deep pile of straw to make a nest with. Put the eggs on top of the straw and she should quickly get the idea. If any eggs are laid in the unsafe area, pick them up and place them in the safe area.
It’s very hard to move a broody goose. It’s best to get her nesting in the new site before she goes broody and then you’ll need to let her eggs pile up in the nest to trigger her to go broody. Hatch rates under broodies are usually very good.
Hi, on march 4th I found an abandoned goose egg so I put it in the incubator to try and see if it was viable. I’ve hatched duck eggs before, but now I am seeing a lot of references saying you need to cool the eggs daily. The egg has been in the incubator for about 2,5 weeks now and I didn’t cool it, but it looks like the embryo is developing beautiful. Can not cooling the egg be a risk that the gosling is not going to hatch or die before hatching, or will it not be a problem?
Cooling and misting the eggs improves hatch rates but isn’t necessary to have a good hatch. Many people have great hatches without doing it. You still have time to start now if you want to.
Hi, I bought a pair of pilgrim gees in early February and they started laying about 30 days ago, 8 eggs, every other day. I am in Belize so other than a few nights in February it has not been below 65 at any point and rarely below 70. Waterfront so no lack of humidity and highs in the low 90’s.
Two are not fertile, but by the time I knew I figured it was better to leave them. By now the other 6 are too full and dark other than the egg sack to see anything with a high brightness LED flashlight, but I saw legs in some of them a couple weeks ago. Honestly I wasn’t keeping track of their ages because I assumed the mother goose and her muscovy sidekick were on it and they would start hatching “whenever”. The Muscovy is on the goose eggs more than 20 hours a day and the goose close to that as well. After the first couple laying weeks it is almost never empty. For a while one of the hens was even using the same nest (there were other choices).
All seems well, but I am unsure how much longer to let these sit in the nest. I had heard that geese eggs all hatch at once in a natural brood, so does the incubation 30 days not really start until the clutch is complete and she sits on them full time? If so I have a couple more weeks, I guess?
Another Muscovy is sitting on 10 duck eggs that are all fertile (from 3-4 ducks) spanning a weeks’ time and that are 2-3 weeks along. We also have six young chicks (2 weeks or so old) from a local Mennonite farm, so the next few months will be beautiful chaos.
Thanks for any guidance on these goose eggs!
Jeff
You start counting days of incubation once a bird goes broody on the nest (spending almost all day sitting on it) and not from when the eggs were laid. Eggs don’t start developing until they are kept warm by the broody bird or an incubator.
Mine usually hatch around day 32 from the start of incubation, but anywhere from 30 – 35 days is common for geese. If nothing has hatched by day 40 I would candle the eggs and expect to be removing all of them.
Thank you. Two hatched the night before last but the goose was clumsy and suffocated them overnight. I left her and the muscovy duck two eggs that look nonviable (too clear) as consolation and have the last four (three still look viable, one maybe) in a makeshift incubator inside. The three that are most likely are so opaque other than the air sac that there is not much I can learn from candling.
I assume the other three should pip within days?
Turns out the Mennonites here take the egs away at the pip so they are not crushed because the geese do suffocate a lot. Circular logic effect is no Mennonite raised geese now how to finish hatching properly due to lack of experience.
Sorry about the loss of the first 2 goslings. Sometimes first-time broodies don’t understand what they need to do and things like that can happen. The other eggs should all pip soon if they’re viable!
Next season maybe… no luck on the others. Live embryos in the muscovy eggs though, but looks like we will be gone for the week they will hatch 🙁
Will have a neighbor tending them morning and evening. They will be along 6 chicks age 4 weeks or so with access to grower feed and water at a depth suitable for chicks. Hopefully when we get back they are milling about.
Sorry you didn’t have any luck with your other goose eggs. The good news is that the broody goose will happily take care of the ducklings once they hatch (if the muscovy will let her)!
You wrote “The scientific, laboratory-condition answer is about 55% for incubation and about 75% for hatching. Our homes are not laboratories and you can expect your humidity to be different. Most experienced hatchers find it’s often way too high! Use the scientific answer for a starting point only!
For my own hatching in a humid climate, I need to run the incubator around 30% humidity for the first 26 days and then increase to about 60% for hatching”
I do not understand how the humidity of the location/room/home should affect the “perfect” humidity inside the incubator. Why should the humidity of where I live affect the humidity in the incubator?
I wish that I had a scientific study to link to, but I haven’t seen any that have looked into how ambient humidity affects the relative humidity inside countertop incubators. What I can say is that there is a significant amount of anecdata showing it does happen, more so with hobbyist-level countertop incubators. This doesn’t seem to be much of an issue with high-end cabinet incubators. I suspect it’s a bit like how a home is affected by the climate – the better insulated and ventilated the house the more stable the humidity and temperature indoors.
Personally, my eggs won’t lose the appropriate amount of weight at the ideal 55% humidity. This clearly indicated that I needed to run my humidity lower and I’ve settled on around 30% to achieve the necessary weight loss. Acquaintances in Arizona have told me they have the opposite problem – eggs losing too much moisture and needing to be run at or above the ideal humidity.
On a website from https://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/animals-and-livestock/poultry-and-birds/species/geese-raising/egg-production in New South Wales they say.
“Because goose eggs require high humidity, they should be sprinkled daily with warm water. After the 15th day of incubation, eggs should be completely submerged every second day in water kept at a temperature of 37.5°C and then daily in the last week of incubation, for 1 minute. Alternatively, fine nozzles that spray water at 37.5°C when needed can be installed in the incubator.”
I welcome your thoughts about SUBMERGING the eggs.
I haven’t heard of anyone purposely submerging eggs in the USA. It would be an interesting experiment to see if there was any difference in hatching results between the 1-minute submerge vs. misting. The length of time (1 minute) is short enough that it wouldn’t kill the embryo.
This has been very informative ans the question and answer period has been really a big help. I really appreciate it very much. One question is both of my incubators have a hard time keeping the temperature setting at 99.9 for the first week. Should I just junk the incubators or will this hurt the babies?
If it stays fairly close to 99.9F, then it should be fine. Mine tend to drop 1 – 2 degrees overnight but stay steady during the day. If yours are fluctuating a lot then you might look into insulating the incubators with a blanket, towels, or styrofoam – do make sure to keep the air hole clear though! Try that when you can keep an eye on it and make adjustments.
I took my eggs out to cool and forgot them . All were fertile and had embryos inside. They were out for 4.5 hours , will they survive?
Oh no! It’s absolutely worth putting them back in and candling them the next day to see if you still have movement. I’ve had the odd egg get knocked out of a nest, be completely cold, and still hatch.
Thank you for the quick reply, I candled three this evening. I believe I saw movement in two of the eggs. There are eleven eggs but all are at different stages of development as I set them every two or three days as they were laid. I candled the three that were the most developed.
Thank you for the advice, by the way this is an excellent guide . I have four happy healthy goslings in the brooder .
You’re very welcome and congrats on your new hatchlings!
Hi Katie,
I was so glad to see that you are regularly responding to questions here. I am hatching pilgrim geese in a forced air incubator. Today is lockdown. I filled the water trays and reduced the temperature. Should I leave the fan on? Or should I turn it off? I live in Cali and had the eggs shipped from Indiana. 2 were broken in the mail. one was infertile….one was a quitter and two are left with movement. I am hoping and crossing my fingers that these two will hatch successfully. I have a farm and do have geese but have never used an incubator before. Any advice is appreciated!
Thank you!
Robin
You’ll want to keep the fan running – it helps keep the temperature even throughout the whole incubator and with airflow too. Best of luck with your hatch!
Thank you!
You’re very welcome!
I have a batch of eggs in the incubator and their air cells aren’t increasing at all. We are in a very dry desert climate and I have let the incubator go completely dry. Still haven’t budged. What do you think is going on here?
The air cell size hasn’t changed at all? That would be very unusual since they will slowly get larger even if left sitting out on a counter at room temperature. In this case, I would recommend investing in a basic kitchen scale to monitor the weight of the eggs rather than trying to eyeball air cell changes.
Hi my humidity in my house is 38% so for the incubation period should I set my incubator at 17% as the humidity is already high?
You’ll want to start the first week of incubation off at around 55% humidity and then adjust up or down based on the air cell growth or weight loss of the eggs. My own household humidity is higher than yours (usually in the 50% range during our rainy springs) and I run the incubator around 30% humidity to get appropriate air cell development.
I understand how to increase humidity inside the incubator, but how do you decrease it if outside humidity is above 60% and inside is 77%?
Generally, you can get the lowest humidity in your incubator by running it dry (no water inside). If the air cells still aren’t developing at the correct rate/eggs aren’t losing enough weight with the incubator dry, you might consider moving the incubator into an enclosed room with a dehumidifier or investing in (or building) a cabinet incubator.
Following your guide and so far FIVE of the six goose eggs in my incubator are growing!! This is my first time incubating anything, so I am super excited for the process! Thank you so much for this info!
You’re very welcome and best of luck!
So my turner in my incubator has the goose eggs sitting up right to turn. If I take this out I have to turn eggs by hand . Not sure how well this will work since we are gone all day. What are your suggestions do it by hand or leave up right on turner?
Thanks for any info new to incubator of goose eggs
It would be best to let the egg turner do the work in this situation. While not ideal, it’s better than the embryos becoming stuck.
It’s ok to help hatch if after 24 hours the gosling is still not out and there’s no evidence of blood on the membrane?
I saw your comment about the membrane looking thick and rubbery. I can’t tell for sure since it’s in the incubator but the membrane seems just that- thick & rubbery.
I’m so worried it’ll get stuck in there. We’ve already had three chickens under broody hens die in the midst of hatching.
Only one of our four original goose eggs is hatching and I don’t want to lose it!
It’s truly up to you and what you deem best based on what you can see.
On days 15 and up when the cooling increases, we are still misting as well right? Not just cooling.
Yes, that’s correct!
Hi! I just picked up 15 eggs to start incubating. They are room temp. You said they have to be turned 3 times before I put them in the incubator? Should I take a full 24 hours to turn them in the shoe box 3 times?
Just 12 hours is fine.
Hi Katie,
The lockdown starts after the pip, right? Otherwise, how can you see that there’s a pip without candling? And if you have to provide the external pip for the baby, does that interfere with the lockdown as well?
I’m also concerned about the weight of my egg. I didn’t weigh it the beginning bc I didn’t know. I know you can monitor the air cell but it’s really a rough estimate as I stare at the line I drew on the egg and the line on (any) chart and see if they match up. Can I weigh the egg now to try to determine if I need more or less humidity ?
Thank you!
Steph
Lockdown starts on day 26. They should NOT have pipped externally before going into lockdown and preferably they aren’t internally pipped either. Ideally you won’t find an egg that’s internally pipped during candling – that’s more something that you’d encounter if you weren’t sure of how long an egg was incubating or under a broody bird. You will NEVER make an external pip for the baby bird. The only time you would consider interfering with hatching is if the hatchling appears to be stuck (dried to the membrane) during the process of enlarging the external pip or zipping.
Weighing really needs to start from the beginning. You’ll have to estimate based on your air cell line(s).
Hi Katie!
I love your page and have found it very helpful if I decide to incubate some goose eggs!
I have a goose laying for her first time and I’m hoping she becomes broody, but if she doesn’t when is it a good time to intervene/take the eggs away? I’m struggling to find an answer for this if I want to try incubate them myself. I’ve read eggs shouldn’t be kept for longer than 10 days, but is that just for us incubating them and doesn’t include natural incubation? As she’s laid 6 eggs so far over the span of 10 days already but is not sitting yet, is it safe to keep waiting? How long is it safe to wait to see if she gets broody?
The magic number is around 12 eggs for going broody. They may go broody on less or more, but 12 is average. If she hasn’t gone broody by 14-15 eggs, I would assume she probably isn’t going to. You can let her build up that number of eggs – just make sure to candle them after she’s been sitting for a week to dispose of any that aren’t developing.
Eggs held for more then 10 days have reduced rates of developing – not a 0% chance, just a steadily decreasing rate as time goes on.
I found some eggs at my job site on a roof and it’s killing thinking I can help I don’t know how long they have been here what should I do I seen where one of them hatched but didn’t make it far I’m in Ohio it’s super cold!
Based on the temperatures I’m seeing for Ohio, I can tell you that the eggs are 100% not going to hatch. The best thing to do right now is to dispose of them.
I have 2 geese that have started to lay eggs but it’s been in the 40 should I remove those eggs and but them on incubator?
The eggs should be fine, but if you want to hatch some in an incubator yourself go ahead!
I purchased one goose egg to hatch. This is my 1st attempt at incubating any type of egg. After researching a ton, I found this to be the most thorough info out there when it comes to incubating eggs. I’ve been following this as best as i can and so far so good. I’m on day 12 and my egg seems to be developing perfectly. I can definitely see movement. I think I can see a heartbeat too! Just wanted to say thanks for this in depth guide on incubation. Its been a tremendous help!
You’re very welcome!
Worried about my egg. First time I’ve ever tried doing this. On day 16 but can’t seem to get the humidity down in my incubator. Got one of those hygrometers you suggested. Saw that I had too much water and it’s suggested that I try to make it more dry to bring it down. Removed most of the water. Still r easing at 72%. Do I crack the incubator so more air gets in? Thought things were going well because it was growing surprisingly well when I expected nothing to even happen my first time, but once I got the hygrometer in there I started stressing.
The most important thing is the changes in the egg. Either track the air cell or weigh the egg to measure how much moisture it’s losing. If it’s on track then your humidity (while sounding quite high) should be fine. If it’s not losing enough than it’s definitely too high.
You can also check the hygrometer to make sure it’s measuring accurately. Digital hygrometers should be within +/- 5%. The easiest way is to take a small lid (like from a soda bottle) and fill it with salt, then moisten the salt completely until it’s absorbed as much water as possible without having liquid on top. Then seal the lid full of wet salt and the hygrometer in a baggie for 24 hours. It should read 75%. If it doesn’t take a note of how off it is (again, 5% above or below is normal) and stick on your incubator so you can mentally adjust the reading when you check.
So I wanted to say thanks for this guide and all your help answering questions. Doing much better with the humidity now. Growing really well. My only concern now is weight loss. Because of so many days early on where it wasn’t losing weight much because the humidity was too high, I’m not sure if I’m going to reach the 16% mark. I’m at day 24 and I’ve seen decent progress in the last few days of weight loss since getting the humidity fixed. But still looks like I’m only between 40 and 50% there. I’m assuming it will maybe get down close depending on how long it takes to hatch from when lockdown starts, but just figured I’d ask, do they still lose much weight in the late stages? What happens if I don’t get to 16%, is that an issue of any kind? Since it’s the only egg I have just trying to do my best to give it its best chance.
You’re very welcome!
Eggs will keep losing weight up until they hatch. Not enough weight loss during incubation can result in an air cell that is too small (not enough air to breathe before externally pipping) and difficulty turning into the hatching position. If you feel like your egg is still not losing enough to be where it needs to then you could try lowering the humidity a bit more over the next couple of days to increase the weight loss even further.
Aah, Katie! I’m so happy to have stumbled upon your page!
This is my second go at hatching goose eggs, last year being a pretty successful one with six goslings hatched when all was said and done. I’ve hatched various types of fowl over the years, (emus and peacocks being the most exotic) and geese eggs ARE the toughest to hatch in my experience thus far. A lot of my experience is trial and error over the past eight years, but when I stumbled upon your page I found a concise set of directions to follow, so I thank you and I’ll def. give your method a try next season.
As I said above, lots of trial and error – trial and error happens in being successful, but I feel like I’ve been making a mistake by not being patient to wait for a full batch of eggs before placing them all in the incubator, rather placing them in sporadically which of course disrupts humidity levels for the eggs that are sometimes a week (or more) from hatching. I don’t really know if effects my hatch rate, and I was wondering if you had any info/experience on that issue? Thanks in advance!
It’s generally not recommended to add eggs at different times due to the increase in humidity, lack of turning required, and the bacterial infection risk from hatchling poop during the hatching stage. It can have negative consequences for the hatch rate of the younger eggs.
If you can buy or build a second incubator, you can use it exclusively for hatching and that will allow you to run multiple batches of eggs. I number the eggs for each batch (ex: 1, 2, 3, 4) and move the appropriate batch into the hatcher for it’s last week of incubation. You’ll also have to figure out how large a batch can be based on how many eggs your incubators can hold.
Hello! I love this page thank you so much it is so informative. We had four geese eggs in the incubator, unfortunately one wasn’t fertile. I think one has died inside but I am not 100% sure yet. Two are happy and healthy from what I can tell (I can see them moving). I am unsure how to tell if the humidity effects the air sack and how to tell weather to rise or lower it. Please help! This is my first time incubating anything but our lady goose isn’t interested in sitting at all and my daughter is on love with the eggs that we are trying to hatch
You’re very welcome! You should be monitoring the air cell by either weighing the egg on a kitchen scale and recording the weight changes or by using a pencil to carefully trace the air cell while candling each week. You can refer to the diagram on this page for approximate air cell progress or you can refer to the information how much weight should be lost overall. Too much humidity makes the air cell not get as big as it should, too little humidity makes the air cell get too big.
I put 9 goose eggs in an incubator yesterday. How often am I supposed to be turning them by hand during incubation please? Outside of the 10 min cooldown and misting does this include turning? Thanks a bunch!
Eggs need to be turned at least 3 times a day.
So I was all worried and overthinking things and this morning got up to find a baby goose. Lots of peeping going on. My grandson had rescued 12 eggs from two nests in the wild. The field was going to be cut. 36 hrs later I got the first gosling.
Not sure how to do the kiddie pool, water, heat and food but your other posts seem to contain all this info needed. I tend to love things to death, so your words are helpful.
Congrats on the hatchling! If things are really getting cramped in the incubator during the hatching process you can cover yourself and the incubator with a towel, crack the lid, and scoop out babies to move to a brooder. Best of luck!
We’re on day 27 of incubation with our 3 geese eggs. One is beginning to zipper. About an inch now. Another egg has been rocking back and forth about 3 days now, but no zippering. Should there be reason for concern? This is our first attempt at all this. Thanks!
It could be that the gosling is having a difficult time getting into position for hatching. If it has an enlarged external pip for multiple days it can start to dry out around the opening and become stuck to the membrane, keeping it from turning at all. However, since the egg is rocking the gosling is still mobile inside of the egg. I would give it more time.
Hi Katie,
I put 6 goose eggs in my incubator and 3 have hatched! Unfortunately I had to open the lid this morning to move two babies that were sat on top and infront of a zipped egg in the incubator that was trying to hatch for over an hour. The moment I moved them off, the egg hatched but having opened the lid I then sprayed some water over remaining eggs. The temperature dropped and humidity when down then up and now back on where I had it. I feel I saved her as she was desperate and weak but now doing well.
This now leaves me concerned of the last two that have made an inch hole but no zipping as of yet. Do I assist at all please due to an imbalance of humidity for about a minute. Will this have a big effect on them. They are both trying to come out but no progress in 6 hours.
Thank you in advance
It’s usually not an issue to quickly open the incubator once to remove hatchlings. I would be cautious about helping eggs that are still in the enlarged pip stage – they’re usually still absorbing their yolks and are not ready to start zipping. If they don’t start zipping within 24 hours then you can consider checking the membrane around the pip: if it’s dry and stuck to the down you can carefully loosen it, if it bleeds if you pick at it then it’s not ready to hatch yet.
Hi Katie, thanks for your time posting advice on hatching geese.
We have wild Greylags who nest on our land, unfortunately they have the habit of abandoning their eggs as soon as any chicks hatch, leaving eggs within.
Yesterday 3 chicks hatched from 15 eggs, this morning 6 eggs have been eaten with chicks inside (judging by the blood on the floor/shells) and 6 were still in the nest.
We have recovered 6 eggs and placed them in our warm greenhouse in a covered tray and box, one chick has just started chipping one egg. We don’t have a proper incubator, and would appreciate any advice. We have ordered chick crumb and a feeder/water dispenser just in case any survive/hatch.
Thanks for any tips, ideas to see if we can hatch/raise any chicks.
Regards
Grant
If you could try to find a hygrometer and temperature gauge for your greenhouse/box setup that would go a long way towards adjusting things for a successful hatch. The most important things are to keep the temperature and humidity as steady as possible during the entire process. An insulated box with holes for air flow will help regulate temperature fluctuations but you’ll still need a steady heat source. A small shallow dish of water can provide the needed humidity but again you’ll want a way to measure it.
There are a number of instructions online for quickly building an incubator for minimal expense. Most use styrofoam, a lightbulb, and wire mesh.
Thanks for your kind reply Katie. We will look at your suggestions.
Is it the same if the chicks are very near to hatching?
My guess is they should all be within a few days of hatching if they haven’t failed. Of course they were out all night without mother goose over them, so they must have got cold! We wanted to give the mother chance to come back, experience said she wouldn’t, and she didn’t unfortunately, but left the remaining eggs open to predators and cold, so not ideal.
Nature is harsh, even when they hatch well predation levels here are high, we have Otters on our patch who love eating chicks this time of year!
One has chipped a small hole in the egg and is cheeping but since mid-morning there has been no further progress. How long should we leave it before trying to help, if there is no further progress in her exiting alone!
Thanks again for your help.
Regards
Grant
Yes, they absolutely still need their temperature and humidity managed until completely hatched. After hatching they will need a heat source as they are unable to maintain body heat on their own.
Running my incubator around 30% in a humid climate has me adding little to no water at all to the incubator. The instructions say to not run it without water. It’s a Nurture 360. Which insight should I follow?
Thanks in advance!
You should keep the humidity at the level that gives you the ideal weight loss for the eggs. If that’s 30%, then that’s correct. If it needs to be higher, then run it higher.
Got myself an incubator and this is my first time. Having my goose laying 1 egg/ day got my incubator full and I’ve no choice but to try building my own incubator using a lamp and styrofoam box but am having trouble controlling both the temperature and humidity. So I search across and found this article of yours, by far the best and most helpful one.
Although you didn’t talk about building an incubator, but it really helps a lot.
Thank you.
I was getting ready to start my goose eggs, but just saw the instructions to turn the eggs three times a day while on the counter. Can I start that now or is it too late? Do I need to start over with fresh eggs over the next 10 days?
It’s not ideal, but you could still set eggs that you haven’t been turning. However, I would only hold eggs for a maximum of 1 week before setting. After that they tend to have reduced fertility.
Hello! Thank you so much for all of this valuable information. I echo the sentiment of so many others: your information far surpasses anything else online.
I am currently on day 12 of incubating geese and duck eggs. After reading through the comments, I wonder if I can keep both in the incubator, or if I should remove the duck eggs and focus on the goose eggs. Can they hatch at the same time considering they have different incubation periods? Any suggestions there?
Also, my concern is with my current goose (and duck) set up once my goose eggs (hopefully!) hatch – my. flock of 4 geese (3 hens and 1 gander) share a pond and house with my flock of 5 ducks (1 drake and 4 hens). The pond is not very large and we dug it for them, so it is not super well established but with a hose to keep the water level high, it does the trick. Should I be worried about baby geese going into a dirty pond? They are mostly free range but we can also close them into a huge run. It’s late winter here, so grass isn’t growing in their run, but they have access to forest and pasture. Any input here? Many many thanks!!
You can set goose eggs and duck eggs to hatch at the same time, but the duck eggs need to be put in after the goose eggs have already been incubating for around 1 week. You want them to reach the lockdown stage at the same time. Otherwise, you’ll want a 2nd incubator to move eggs into specifically for lockdown and hatching.
Goslings will need to be in a brooder for at least 4 weeks before starting to venture out on warm days and I’d wait for them to be feathered in before letting them swim in a pond. I wouldn’t be too concerned about a dirty pond once they’re old enough to be swimming in it as long as they have access to clean drinking water. You might consider expanding the pond once the weather allows though.
My year old Toulouse goose is brooding on a clutch of eggs. We were away for a week, and came back to find she’d laid 7 eggs. She wasn’t particularly attentive to them at first, with some times being away for a couple hours. Since then she’s become much more broody, and is on them pretty much 24/7 (13 days later) with an additional 3 eggs.
I was concerned that all these eggs would fail to develop with the temperatures being so low at first ( well, low for California – maybe 70 degrees ambient in the daytime) but according to what I’ve read since, that may not be an issue. I suppose I should just let momma goose do her thing, and not worry about the outcome?
At any rate, your advice here has been extremely valuable. Thanks so much!
Yes, just let her do her thing. You can try candling the eggs to check for development when she takes her daily break and remove any that appear clear or dead. Otherwise you should be fine to let her handle things on her own.
Best hatching instructions ever and I have been hatching goose eggs, hit or miss, for the past four years. I followed your instructions and after removing the duds after day seven, all remaining eggs have hatched. Had I NOT used your guide I would have given up on four eggs who just needed 48 more hours. I will be using this guide from now on!