goose egg help

[Anonymous]

we have a goose that we incubated and he made his breathing hole by his self. i read on the internet that it took them up to 12 hours to get out of the egg so we waited but it has now been over 24 hours and he still isnt out. so we helped him a little and just cracked it a little he has his head out but his body is still in. we dont know what to do so please help us.

 

[Davidd]

Hi, goose eggs can take up to 48 hours from pipping- they are not like chicken eggs--and they can be very hard to hatch in an incubator-they get to pipping then die in shell-you should have left the egg alone- you can do more damage than good if you don't know what your doing- anyway on a more positive note was there any blood when you helped him? is there just a hole or is the egg shell broken all the way around? like it is two halves? normally the gosling would make a hole ,then rest, and then break the shell all the way around by turning in the egg- if there is no blood i would start, very gently removing the shell around the top of the egg-and see if you can get him out- any sign of bleeding stop and put him back in the incubator- leave him a few hours and try again-goslings are always very weak at first and he may not make it if you have tried to help him too early- good luck and keep us informed regards, David

 

[Anonymous]

the goose come out over night and the sack was off and everything. He seems really good he is active and very noisy. We have been trying to feed him but he dosent seem to want to eat is there a certain time when he needs to eat? Also one of his eyes are swollen is there something we can do or will it be ok?

 

[Anonymous]

I don't keep geese,but most poultry absorb their yolk sack last thing before hatching,so do not need to eat for 24-48 hrs.I don't know for sure,but would try offering water,and maybe putting the food in the water so he can dabble.
Regarding his swollen eye,bathe it with cooled boiled water.Don't leave it,obviously we can't see his eye,but he may need vet treatment.Is it just swollen?Is it the eye itself that is swollen(excess fluid inside eye ball)or the area around his eye?Any discharge or dried crusty discharge?

 

[Tim]

Yes, that's how they ship chicks in the US by post - since they don't need to eat or drink initially.

What I usually do for chicks / ducklings etc that are hard to hatch is boil an egg, remove some of the white and mash up a little yolk and white - so it is crumb size and put it on a plate. Often you can 'smear' a little on the end of the beak and they will eat it, or gently open the beak and smear a little on the edge of the beak. This seems to help them to get off to a good start and usually by the next morning the plate is empty

 

[Anonymous]

last night we gave the goose a bath and now his eye is much better. he or she is also eating and drinking (it loves to play in the water) doing very well and thank you everyone that replyed to my post for helping me. One last question how and when can you tell the sex?

 

[Anonymous]

I don't know a lot about geese,actually nil .
If geese are like ducks,so gander's will have the cute curl in their tail feather's,like drakes do.It should should happen whilst he/she is young.With ducks,it can be as early as 3-4 weeks,as geese are often bigger,I'd expect it to be a bit longer.
I'm sure someone who keeps geese will be along shortly,to help more.
Really pleased that your gosling is doing well,and eating,drinking etc.By hatching it yourselves,you will be imprinted as it's mum and dad,so should remain a very tame and handleable goose.

 

[Tim]

You can vent sex goslings at 3-5 weeks old, as you can with ducklings but you ideally need to be shown how to do this so you don't hurt and upset them. This is the best way to sex them. With adult geese, you can usually tell the sex by their behaviour but it's certainly not fool proof! In a pair, the gander chatters more in a higher pitch and raises his head higher. He will stretch his head up and shriek from time to time.
African and Chinese Geese are usually different in size quite early on and ganders will stretch their neck up higher than most other breeds. Sebastopols, Pilgrims and Embdens show autosexing colours in their first few weeks. West of England and Pilgrim are autosexing as adults. It's very hard to vent sex Toulouse but I'm sure Toulouse breeders will have their methods..