No it's not what you are thinking-I didn't step in a pile of squishy poo!
It was whilst going about my morning routine-puting hay outside, then letting the goats out, then letting the sheep out and then finally letting the geese out. I opened the gate to the geese pen, stepped in to flush them out and felt it-a crack beneath my foot. I instantly knew what it was and my stomach dropped into my foot-my sebbies (sebastopol geese) had laid their first egg! And I had crushed it.
I knew it was breeding time in the geese yard by the cacophony of sound that greets my ears every day, but I had not seen any nesting going on and didn't really expect any-these geese are less than a year old. I do hope I can persuade them to move their nest beyond the gate entrance. I laid straw all around the perimeter of their pen this morning except by the gate in hopes that I can lure them to a better nesting spot.
I do hope Momma Goose can forgive me for literally crushing her first born.
It was whilst going about my morning routine-puting hay outside, then letting the goats out, then letting the sheep out and then finally letting the geese out. I opened the gate to the geese pen, stepped in to flush them out and felt it-a crack beneath my foot. I instantly knew what it was and my stomach dropped into my foot-my sebbies (sebastopol geese) had laid their first egg! And I had crushed it.
I knew it was breeding time in the geese yard by the cacophony of sound that greets my ears every day, but I had not seen any nesting going on and didn't really expect any-these geese are less than a year old. I do hope I can persuade them to move their nest beyond the gate entrance. I laid straw all around the perimeter of their pen this morning except by the gate in hopes that I can lure them to a better nesting spot.
I do hope Momma Goose can forgive me for literally crushing her first born.
 Mama Goose |  Gander-Papa Goose |
I'm hoping more eggs will follow. I wish I'd scooped up the egg remnants to see if it looked fertile, rather than letting my dog gobble it up. It is said often the first couple of eggs of the season are not fertile so hoping that was the case with this one. One can expect a Sebastopol geese to lay as many eggs as they feel comfortable they can sit on. If you remove eggs from the nest (to incubate inside) they'll continue to lay until they have about 8-12 in their nest. In total they can lay from 25-35 eggs a year, though with this young couple I don't expect that many. It is wise to leave one egg in the nest to keep the goose interested in laying (Oops that's one strike against me already!)
Here's hoping that I have more eggs in the next few days. I may also need to dust off my incubator!
Here's hoping that I have more eggs in the next few days. I may also need to dust off my incubator!
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