# Something got a goose.



## 444lover (Jan 1, 2018)

Last week in the middle of the afternoon 1 of our geese came up missing. We went and talked to the Amish guy yesterday and his are sitting on about a half a dozen and should hatch in a couple of weeks. We'll go back and see and if they do hatch we'll get 2 more.


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

Hi. I would investigate why your goose is missing. Have any ideas?


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## 444lover (Jan 1, 2018)

I looked everywhere around here,even drove the 4 wheeler all around the plowed field behind us,no signs of it anywhere. I'd say a coyote got it. Could've been a fox but the coyotes have pretty well cleaned them out around here. My first thought was a weasel or a mink but I think a goose is a little too big for them,not sure. I know they take ducks because my neighbor saw 1 take his last fall,but I'm leaning toward a coyote,I know we have lots of them around here.


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

I hope you can protect the rest!


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## dawg53 (Aug 25, 2015)

Probably a coyote. It's springtime and they have to feed their younguns. Sorry for your loss.


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## chickenqueen (Jan 9, 2016)

As a goose owner my heart goes out to you and I'm sorry for your loss.Did you see any evidence such as a pile of feathers?Are you sure it's not nesting somewhere?Mine lay a few eggs over several days and then set on the nest.For your sake,I'm hoping for the latter....


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## 444lover (Jan 1, 2018)

chickenqueen said:


> As a goose owner my heart goes out to you and I'm sorry for your loss.Did you see any evidence such as a pile of feathers?Are you sure it's not nesting somewhere?Mine lay a few eggs over several days and then set on the nest.For your sake,I'm hoping for the latter....


No there wasn't anything,no feathers anywhere. I don't even know yet what sex they are yet,they're not even quite a year old. If it is nesting it sure is blending in good and with it being this time of the year the weeds are still dead so there's only a couple places very thick and I waded through them. I hope you're right though but if she is she'll probably still get taken. What's weird is I just gotten home at 2:30 PM and they were all there. At 3:10 I went out to look for eggs and it was gone. When I had gotten home the geese and a few ducks were over by where the fence I put up goes into the old fence row (the fence is about all gone now but I still call it a fence row because it's all grown up with trees and brush  ). The rest of the day and the next day,the remaining goose and ducks pretty well stayed on and close to the pond like they were scared,they normally walk around the yard a lot more than that.


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## 444lover (Jan 1, 2018)

seminolewind said:


> I hope you can protect the rest!


I'm doing my best but this 1 got taken in a 40 min. time frame and I've got other things to do than sitting out in my yard all day,especially if it's raining. I am going out more frequently to check on them though. If any more come up missing I'll have to sit out in my yard with the .223 and try to get it,but the thing is it's been over a week since this happened so I wouldn't know when to do it,it would be trial on air.


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## chickenqueen (Jan 9, 2016)

My geese will be 1 y o on May 1st.I can't tell for sure if they are male or female except for one because I watched her lay an egg.I named the bigger ones as males but the two biggest are now a pair,so at least one wrong,and I don't know who is the male.It's nice to have a goose buddy again on here.I know how it is with coyotes,they snatch and run but hopefully it kept on going.


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## 444lover (Jan 1, 2018)

I only had the 2 and haven't seen any eggs yet so I still have no idea what they are,could be 2 males. If they don't lay unless they're bred I could have had 2 females too. Do you know if they lay even if they haven't been bred? I'm pretty sure chickens and ducks do but wasn't sure about geese,I may even be wrong about the ducks and chickens.


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## chickenqueen (Jan 9, 2016)

Yeah,they'll still lay,mine usually lay were they stand.Only a couple lay in a designated spot.Mine started laying at about 8 mos.


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## 444lover (Jan 1, 2018)

Mine must both have been males then.


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## chickenqueen (Jan 9, 2016)

I bought mine to weed the garden,which turned into a disaster but they are neat little critters.They follow us and hang out while we are in the yard,much better pets than my chickens.I can't wait to go swimming with them again.


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## 444lover (Jan 1, 2018)

I remember your pictures from last year,pretty neat. Mine run out of the pond if I wade in and they don't follow me around either but they usually will honk back and forth with me for awhile.


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## chickenqueen (Jan 9, 2016)

You ought to get a couple of geese so if something happens to one the other two still have each other.I just found a goose nest.It's next to the house and "she"pulled off the cardboard off one of those things you lay on to roll yourself under a car to line her nest.No eggs though,yet.I'm debating on how to tell Dale or do I let him find it.Even when they are bad they make me laugh.


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## 444lover (Jan 1, 2018)

Well that's why I said in the first post that I went to the Amish guy again to try and get a couple more. As soon as he gets some hatched I'll get them. The 1 I have left is still feeling lonesome I think even though there are ducks,they just aren't the same.
I'd let him find it .


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## chickenqueen (Jan 9, 2016)

Got an incubator?I don't want/need any more geese but I think they are still laying and I could send you some eggs.I have America Buff and Roman Tufted.


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## 444lover (Jan 1, 2018)

Yeah I've got an incubator but I still haven't had any luck yet getting anything to hatch. The first try was my fault,the last time none of the eggs were fertile,the second time I'm not sure what the problem was but I think it was from the temperature not being quite right. I'm hoping I've got all the problems solved now but not sure yet. I've got 7 duck eggs in there now,but if I still don't have any luck I think I'll buy a different incubator. I would prefer more African Browns since that's what the 1 I have left is,that way he might not feel so lonely. If I got other breeds he might look at them like he does the ducks. He still hangs out with them but I think he misses his buddy. They use to go off by themselves some and now he never leaves the ducks. Thanks for the offer though. If we ever get around to making the building bigger we might add more types of ducks and geese but right now our building is pretty well filled up.


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## chickenqueen (Jan 9, 2016)

Yeah,I'm maxed out,too,chickens and geese.Good luck with the ducks!!!


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## 444lover (Jan 1, 2018)

Thanks.


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## 444lover (Jan 1, 2018)

chickenqueen said:


> Got an incubator?I don't want/need any more geese but I think they are still laying and I could send you some eggs.I have America Buff and Roman Tufted.


The temperature & humidity display went out of it so I'm going to try and limp it along but with what I saw last night when I candled them I doubt any hatch anyway,maybe 1 out of the 7 but not sure yet. I think when I get the money I'll get 1 of these next since they've been proven over the years.Dad had 1 and it worked great,even though his didn't have the fan in it.
https://incubatorwarehouse.com/inde...combo-kits/hova-bator-advanced-combo-kit.html


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## chickenqueen (Jan 9, 2016)

Good luck!!!I hope they hatch.


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## 444lover (Jan 1, 2018)

Thanks.


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## 444lover (Jan 1, 2018)

chickenqueen said:


> Good luck!!!I hope they hatch.


I candled them last night again and 2 of the 7 aren't doing a thing,guess they weren't fertile but the other 5 are looking good so far.


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## 444lover (Jan 1, 2018)

Well I went up to see the Amish guy and see if any of his goose eggs hatched but he said none of them did. He's not sure when he'll have anymore so I'll try again next month. If nothing else I may have to order them online or see if they have any at our local Sale Barn,whenever their next Auction is.


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## chickenqueen (Jan 9, 2016)

Bummer!!!I don't know where you are but here in Ohio, geese are not popular poultry.Ducks are,I see them everywhere but rarely see geese.One of my geese are setting on a nest big enough for me to sit in.I want to see how many eggs she's got under her but I would be taking my life into my own hands and I'm not as dumb as I look(most of the time).


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## 444lover (Jan 1, 2018)

I'm only 12 miles from Ohio but I wouldn't know what kinds of critters people have around their ponds. I've got 2 neighbors real close to me with ponds and 1 only gets ducks but the 1 closest to me has probably over 20 birds of all sorts of breeds of ducks and geese. The Amish guy I get them from has ducks,geese,turkeys,peacocks,guineas,chickens about any kind of critter you can think of,course I don't know if a lot of Amish are that way. I know the Amish guy I got the Muscovy ducks from had just those and chickens besides goats,cows,horses and pigs.


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## chickenqueen (Jan 9, 2016)

Howdy,Neighbor!!!I'm still expecting 6 ducklings,she said maybe today.I really don't need them but....


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## 444lover (Jan 1, 2018)

You don't need anymore ducks?!?! That's shocking!!!


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## chickenqueen (Jan 9, 2016)

These will be my first ducks,if I get them.Here's a pic of my nester(s).At first it was just Charlotte and then I was missing one.I found her in the nest,too.


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

Goose eggs are notoriously hard to hatch. Maybe geese do have better luck at hatching their own.


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## 444lover (Jan 1, 2018)

seminolewind said:


> Goose eggs are notoriously hard to hatch. Maybe geese do have better luck at hatching their own.


It's weird,last year he said either his chickens were bad about setting or his geese,I forget which,and he would put the others eggs under them. Last year I'm pretty sure it was the goose setting on them but this year he said he might have to put the geese eggs under a chicken. I think with this colder weather we're still getting at night that it might just be too early. The ones he had hatch last year didn't hatch until the beginning of June.


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## 444lover (Jan 1, 2018)

chickenqueen said:


> View attachment 29561
> These will be my first ducks,if I get them.Here's a pic of my nester(s).At first it was just Charlotte and then I was missing one.I found her in the nest,too.


Those are adorable.


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## chickenqueen (Jan 9, 2016)

Now I'm wondering if Charlotte is really a Charles.I may just start calling it Charley.LOL I know for a fact the other one,Matilda,is a hen because I watched her lay an egg.She's the only one,out of ten, I'm sure of the sex.I really don't want more geese.For someone who didn't want babies this year,I've got 11 chicks,two more hens are setting and maybe goslings on their way.And the "maybe ducklings" are still suppose to be coming but I'm not holding my breath.


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## 444lover (Jan 1, 2018)

See,instead of buying more you should've just hatched some


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

CQ, are you identified as a hoarder yet?


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## 444lover (Jan 1, 2018)

I'd say she is


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## chickenqueen (Jan 9, 2016)

I officially have 2 coops now and a goose house.I didn't want to go there but..........


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## 444lover (Jan 1, 2018)

That's 3 times what I got,I've just got a duck building


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## chickenqueen (Jan 9, 2016)

I'm jealous!!!


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

We have a problem in Tampa right now with coyotes killing cats. So they say to keep the cats in.


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## 444lover (Jan 1, 2018)

Around here we always have a problem with them killing cats.


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## chickenqueen (Jan 9, 2016)

Around here it's always open season for coyotes.


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## 444lover (Jan 1, 2018)

Same here if you've got written permission from the land owner or on your own property.


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## chickenqueen (Jan 9, 2016)

Everybody around here has some kind of livestock and everybody has guns and I don't see 'em or hear 'em much.I think they pretty much get killed on sight.Last year I had a fox problem.I set snares but never got it.I need to work on that but I was able to remember where I put them and that was good start...


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## 444lover (Jan 1, 2018)

I've thought of setting snares but since that's the only time in 4 years I've had a problem during the day and haven't had any trouble since it would have been for nothing.
Plus I don't know where it came from.


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## chickenqueen (Jan 9, 2016)

I found out last year it's not as easy as it sounds or looks on video.The good thing about snares is they're silent and can be used in the city limits and no one else knows.I need to find somebody who does it so they can teach me but it seems no one else I know does trapping.


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## 444lover (Jan 1, 2018)

I've done a lot of trapping but with traps not snares. I know a little about snares but not much. I know when it comes to fox and coyote scent control is important.


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## chickenqueen (Jan 9, 2016)

Scent control is very important.I just found out last year my smoking leaves that scent on my hands and even gets on my fishing bait deterring bites.Now I wash my hands and/or wear gloves.


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## 444lover (Jan 1, 2018)

When we use to trap wed always wear rubber gloves we had just for that room set the traps with plus laid down a rubber mat to kneel on while getting the set area prepared.


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## chickenqueen (Jan 9, 2016)

Never thought about leaving a scent on the ground while crawling around on my belly/knees.Thanks for pointing that out.I always made sure my boots are scent free but that was it and for hunting purposes only.Maybe that's why I never snared anything.D'uh!!!


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## 444lover (Jan 1, 2018)

Very well could be. Anything out of the normal and they'll avoid it.


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