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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 is showing, whichever was previously facing down. Goose eggs should be stored laying 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 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.
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 breath 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 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.
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 a 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 less that can easily kill your gosling. “Helping” the gosling to hatch too soon (after it’s blood supply has reabsorbed) can result in it coming out of the egg before absorbing all of it’s 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 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. Usually, by 24 hours old hatchlings are completely fluffed up and moving around easily. 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
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 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!
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.