Darn geese

This is my first year with geese and so everything is new to me but my "gander" started laying in Feb and my goose immediately followed laying so the 2 of them ended up laying 59eggs between them while the weather was still in the mid -30's Grrrr! We blew the eggs out and scrambled them up and added some flax for the chickens. We lost a few eggs to freezing and cracking so the kids ended up dying 44eggs at Easter.

Now I'm waiting (not so patiently) for my teasingly broody cayugas to set in my garden area but I had a prob with ravens and magpies coming into greenhouse and stealing eggs. I put the geese in with them and no more rotten thieves Yeah! Except yesterday my geese found my hubbys brand new blueberry bushes and so he sent them back to the main coop

My khaki campbell hen that I'm told as a breed never go broody is wildly broody in the chicken coop so I'm letting her be and see how she does if nothing she deserves a chance and a break from laying At least 8 of my sons bantams have gone broody and driving me nuts. My 3yr old says they're peckers so he won't collect eggs anymore LOL I'm (not so) patiently waiting for a male pilgrim gosling for my girls but today I found a nest and pretty goose egg in it.... So now if I do get a gander then I guess I won't get goslings this fall.

So basically everyone is broody except my Cayugas and they're the only ones I want broody! I wish my geese hadn't found hubbys new blueberry bushes and gotten banished and maybe they'd encourage my cayugas or at least sit on one of their nests for me!!!!

If I move my broody khaki into my greenhouse where her eggs would be safe from pecking chickens and hens squabbling over the nesting boxes which are filled with annoying pecking broody bantams. Do you think she'd quit being broody? If nothing hatches from her nest it would be just fine with me but I think she deserves a chance and a break from her laying so should I leave her in the coop with her nest or should I move her? Is broodiness catching???

Serjay - What kind of eggs is the Khaki sitting on? Can you put Cuyuga eggs under a goose if she goes broody or a couple or 3 under a broody hen? Rather than waste eggs waiting for the cuyugas to go broody. Is there anyway you can pen the Khaki off rather than trying to move her?

Heather

Khaki is sitting on her own eggs, her sisters eggs and a couple buff eggs so if they don't hatch no big deal but I thought I'd let her try and just see what happens. We have a 6hole desting box we built so 2 across and 3 down with the bottom 2 bigger and on the ground for the ducks. She is happily puffed up like a turkey and quacking like a machine gun at me anytime I even go near the coop door There really is no way to pen her off because of the location she is in but then we made the boxes small enough to discourage them from piling in together so the front half of her is sticking out of the nesting box. I don't want to discourage her attempt and so worry about moving her but then I really don't have high hopes for her eggs either. I figure if she trys though she may do better next year.

The Cayugas just keep teasing me they're making the nests lovely as can be and checking on the eggs but just not setting. I still have a couple days before viablity will start to go down and so I guess I can some collect then. I just really wanted them to set and do it naturally. It seems every other bird is going broody and driving me nuts! Now even my silly geese! I did give my geese duck eggs last time they set on their infertile eggs but within a week they'd cracked everyone in their young mothering exuberance. I think I'd be better off just incubating

Oh most of my sons broody hens are teeny tiny hens I think a couple d'anvers probably crosses and a gold laced something that is about the same size, self blue OEG or dutch?, & a gold phoenix. When I gave 1 of them (she's been broody for months!!!) 3 eggs she couldn't turn them properly so 3 good eggs were a mid hatch write-off. 1 egg had the air sac move to the middle of the egg (so grew but pipped wrong end and never hatched). 1 that looked normal but never hatched I think she couldn't turn it so stuck to membrane?? The last egg she pecked mid hatch as she tried to move it away from me. The larger AraucanaX hen that turned out to be an excellent broody is still looking after her chicks and laying eggs but not showing signs of broodiness yet