Mother and Guy Goose

Goose Egg vs Duck Egg

We found our first goose egg in February and were of course excited. I didn't expect it to be that big, but it was giant. Our female goose, Mother Goose, had laid about four eggs haphazardly around the chicken house so we collected them with plans of popping them in the incubator after getting a handful ready to go.
After a little spring cleaning and a fresh thick layer of straw down in the chicken house, Mother Goose decided it looked so comfy and went broody. She made a perfect nest with the straw and feathers she plucked from herself and I'm pretty sure a couple ducks and a chicken layed a few eggs in there as well, so she may have a variety of children next month.

The issue here was that we had five goose eggs that were about to be put in the incubator and a goose (which trumps artificial incubating) setting and ready to hatch. So I carried the eggs up to the chicken house, locked Guy (her protective fella) out and was hoping to perhaps slip them under her somehow. She was and still is very cranky if you get within five yards of her, so what I ended up doing was putting each egg on the ground and sliding it under her with a really long stick. It was challenging and she jumped up hissing every time one touched her, but she didn't reject them and is still sitting on them today, phew!

Mother Goose comes off the nest for a short while every day to hang out with her beloved Guy Goose, but other than that he is on his own and just looks so lonely. Hopefully at the beginning of April we will have a fresh gaggle of gosslings following Mother around chomping at grass and swimming in the "pond"... and perhaps some duckling and chicken brothers and sisters as well.