Natural incubation
Natural incubation means letting the goose lay and hatch her own eggs.This i find is not really worth doing.Geese (especially inexperienced geese) have nasty habits while brooding there own eggs,for example she may continually move the nest around the place,forgetting to bring the eggs after her!
They may also soil the eggs ,causing a bacterial build up within the egg,killing the embryo and rendering the egg explosive.
Geese also may eat the infertile eggs,in or around the nest further soiling the eggs.
Also when goslings hatch ,sometimes goslings are squashed or smothered by their mothers unwittingly of course!
Saying this,i have heard many reports of good goose hatchers and i think if your goose does go broody it is worthwhile to let her at it and see how she fares.
They may also soil the eggs ,causing a bacterial build up within the egg,killing the embryo and rendering the egg explosive.
Geese also may eat the infertile eggs,in or around the nest further soiling the eggs.
Also when goslings hatch ,sometimes goslings are squashed or smothered by their mothers unwittingly of course!
Saying this,i have heard many reports of good goose hatchers and i think if your goose does go broody it is worthwhile to let her at it and see how she fares.
Fostering
It may also be possible to slip 2 or three eggs under a reliable broody duck or hen. In the case of the hen,use a large sussex,or wyandotte type bird and it is advisable to spray the eggs with lukewarm water as a hens humidity is lower than that of waterfowl.
Artificial Incubation.
Day 1-26
Temperature 99.5 farenheit or 38 celsius (forced air incubator)
Temperature 102.9 (still air incubator)
Humidity 86
Turns/day 3-7 each night leave on a different side than the night before,
Each Day remove the eggs from the incubator, allow 15 mins to cool, spray with water (or pour water over them), and return to incubator.
Goose Egg Hatching
Day 27-34
Temperature 98.5 (forced air incubator)
Temperature 101.9 (still air incubator)
Humidity 94
Turns per day 0
Be patient, goslings take about 48 hours to hatch (from first pip to fluff ball) ...longer than chickens!
Temperature 99.5 farenheit or 38 celsius (forced air incubator)
Temperature 102.9 (still air incubator)
Humidity 86
Turns/day 3-7 each night leave on a different side than the night before,
Each Day remove the eggs from the incubator, allow 15 mins to cool, spray with water (or pour water over them), and return to incubator.
Goose Egg Hatching
Day 27-34
Temperature 98.5 (forced air incubator)
Temperature 101.9 (still air incubator)
Humidity 94
Turns per day 0
Be patient, goslings take about 48 hours to hatch (from first pip to fluff ball) ...longer than chickens!
Manual incubators
- start machine a day early and get temperature corect and put in the amount of water the manafacturer advises.
- mark eggs with a moon on one side and a sun on the other.Place horizontly in the machine.
- leave the eggs to warm for 2 days
- then turn eggs twice a day ,once in the morning and once in the evening,e.g at 9am and at 9pm
- turn eggs like this until day twenty seven,each day spraying eggs with a little water.
- On the 28 th day do not turn eggs and increase humidity by adding more water and spraying twice a day.
- eggs may pip on 29th day and each gosling may be different but the bulk will hatch on the 30th day.Other breeds require one or two days longer so keep the incubator running until the 37 th day or so to make sure.
- Leave the goslings when they have hatched in the incubator for 24 hours until they are fluffed up
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Weight Loss Method for Incubation. During incubation, there is a suggested relative humidity range for the species you are hatching, chicken eggs for example should be between 40% - 50% in order to get successful results. Taking all of the possible variables into account, (room humidity at the time of year, number of eggs losing moisture in the incubator, air flow in and out of the incubator etc.) it can become a bit of a guessing game to maintain the correct humidity, and sometimes eggs fail to hatch under the conditions that had worked before.
Egg shells are porous and moisture is lost through the shells by evaporation during the incubation process. Depending on the humidity levels around the eggs, more or less moisture is lost. As moisture is lost, the egg loses weight, however, be aware that not all egg shells are equal and some lose weight faster than others as there are individual differences in shell porosity between eggs.
The most common reason for hatch failure (where you have had fertile eggs, they develop but die in the shell before or during the hatch) is caused by too much humidity. In other words, not enough moisture has evaporated from the egg over the incubation period. The air space inside the egg that is created as moisture evaporates plays an important role in the survival of the emerging youngster and with too much humidity; the egg has not lost enough moisture. The youngster is usually too large and cannot move inside the shell when trying to pip and with little air, it may drown in it's own shell or suffocate if it is unable to break the membrane between it and the shell. Conversely, eggs that lose too much moisture because of low humidity levels, produce a larger air space but a smaller, weaker youngster is formed in the remaining space and will probably die before or during the hatch.
With the correct humidity / correct weight loss, the correct amount of air space is formed inside the shell and the little one gets its first breath of air and has enough room to move around as it pips around the top of the shell and hatches! If we measure this weight loss every 3 to 4 days over the incubation period, it is possible to make adjustments to the humidity during the incubation process by comparing the weight loss of the eggs with the ideal weight loss of that species (see table 1 below). The good news is that it is the weight loss over the entire incubation period that matters so if the weight loss is wrong, it is possible to make fine adjustments to get back on track.
Species Incubation Period (Days) Ideal Weight Loss Over Incubation Period Approximate Relative Humidity
Incubation Temperature Turn Angle Chicken
21
13% 40% - 50%
37.5°C
90°
Runner Duck
28.5
14 -15% 35% to 40%
37.3°C
90°
Call Duck
26
13% 35% to 40%
37.3°C
90°
Geese
28 to 35 depending on breed
13% 35% to 40%
37.2°C
180°
Ostrich
40-43
12-15% 20 to 40%
36.4°C
90°
Table 1 – Hatching conditions showing weight loss for different species.
An Example Weight Loss Calculation. The following example shows how this method can be put into practice when hatching chickens. Chickens have a 21 day incubation period and an ideal weight loss at the point of pipping of 13%.
Set the incubator to the correct temperature (in this case 37.5°C), and allow it to settle for a few hours, then, set it to the correct humidity for the species (in this case 45%).
Allow 24 hours for everything to settle. During this time, if eggs have travelled through the post, leave them to rest and to reach room temperature. Keep them pointed end down.
On day 1, number the eggs with a soft pencil to identify them. Weigh all eggs before putting them into the incubator with a digital scale. Record the results:
Egg Number Weight(Grammes) 1 62.5 2 65 3 64.5 4 60 5 59 6 65.5
Calculate the average batch weight, to do this, add up all of the weights, then divide this number by the total number of eggs so for the example eggs above this is:
(62.5 + 65 + 64.5 + 60 + 59 + 65.5) / 6 eggs = 62.75g Average
Next, allow the eggs to come up to temperature in the incubator. This can take up to 24 hours, now, check and make fine adjustments to the humidity again.
After 3 to 4 days, weigh the eggs again and record the results, taking the average weight of the eggs again.
There are now two ways of calculating the weight loss. The first is to draw a graph which shows the ideal weight loss line, plotted from Day 1 (62.75g) to Day 21 (62.75g – 13% = 54.6g) then whenever you weigh the eggs at 3 to 4 day intervals in between, plot the average weight to see how close it is to the ideal weight loss line.
After 3 to 4 days, weigh the eggs again and record the results, taking the average weight of the eggs again.
There are now two ways of calculating the weight loss. The first is to draw a graph which shows the ideal weight loss line, plotted from Day 1 (62.75g) to Day 21 (62.75g – 13% = 54.6g) then whenever you weigh the eggs at 3 to 4 day intervals in between, plot the average weight to see how close it is to the ideal weight loss line.
The second method is to calculate what the average weight loss should be on the day that you weigh the eggs so if you weigh the eggs on Day 4, the ideal weight loss will be:
13% / 21 Days = 0.62% loss per day.
4 Days x 0.62% = 2.48% loss.
62.75g – 2.48% = 61.19g ideal weight on day 4.
Take the average weight every 3 to 4 days and make fine humidity adjustments as necessary until the last couple of days before the hatch when the humidity should be increased to the recommended level (greater than 65% for chicken eggs) to help soften the egg shells before piping.
Remember, if the actual weight loss is greater than ideal, the humidity level has been too low and it needs to be increased to compensate. If the actual weight loss is less than ideal then the air has been too humid and the humidity will need to be reduced to compensate.
After candling, it can be necessary to remove eggs that are infertile. This has little effect on the average weight calculation if all of the eggs are of a similar weight. Be cautious though, if you are only incubating a few eggs at a time or the eggs are different in weight (different breeds of chicken eggs for example) as there can be a noticeable shift in the average weight of the eggs that causes unnecessary humidity corrections. The only sure way to avoid this is to go back and re-calculate the start and end average weights using only the fertile eggs. In this situation, method 2 becomes easier to re-visit than the graphed method 1.
One final remark is that you should ideally weigh the eggs at roughly the same time every day to get the most accurate results if you are using whole days in the calculation, although I suppose there would be nothing stopping you including a part day in the calculation.
Good luck with your hatch!
Tags
Weight Loss Method for Incubation. During incubation, there is a suggested relative humidity range for the species you are hatching, chicken eggs for example should be between 40% - 50% in order to get successful results. Taking all of the possible variables into account, (room humidity at the time of year, number of eggs losing moisture in the incubator, air flow in and out of the incubator etc.) it can become a bit of a guessing game to maintain the correct humidity, and sometimes eggs fail to hatch under the conditions that had worked before.
Egg shells are porous and moisture is lost through the shells by evaporation during the incubation process. Depending on the humidity levels around the eggs, more or less moisture is lost. As moisture is lost, the egg loses weight, however, be aware that not all egg shells are equal and some lose weight faster than others as there are individual differences in shell porosity between eggs.
The most common reason for hatch failure (where you have had fertile eggs, they develop but die in the shell before or during the hatch) is caused by too much humidity. In other words, not enough moisture has evaporated from the egg over the incubation period. The air space inside the egg that is created as moisture evaporates plays an important role in the survival of the emerging youngster and with too much humidity; the egg has not lost enough moisture. The youngster is usually too large and cannot move inside the shell when trying to pip and with little air, it may drown in it's own shell or suffocate if it is unable to break the membrane between it and the shell. Conversely, eggs that lose too much moisture because of low humidity levels, produce a larger air space but a smaller, weaker youngster is formed in the remaining space and will probably die before or during the hatch.
With the correct humidity / correct weight loss, the correct amount of air space is formed inside the shell and the little one gets its first breath of air and has enough room to move around as it pips around the top of the shell and hatches! If we measure this weight loss every 3 to 4 days over the incubation period, it is possible to make adjustments to the humidity during the incubation process by comparing the weight loss of the eggs with the ideal weight loss of that species (see table 1 below). The good news is that it is the weight loss over the entire incubation period that matters so if the weight loss is wrong, it is possible to make fine adjustments to get back on track.
Species Incubation Period (Days) Ideal Weight Loss Over Incubation Period Approximate Relative Humidity
Incubation Temperature Turn Angle Chicken
21
13% 40% - 50%
37.5°C
90°
Runner Duck
28.5
14 -15% 35% to 40%
37.3°C
90°
Call Duck
26
13% 35% to 40%
37.3°C
90°
Geese
28 to 35 depending on breed
13% 35% to 40%
37.2°C
180°
Ostrich
40-43
12-15% 20 to 40%
36.4°C
90°
Table 1 – Hatching conditions showing weight loss for different species.
An Example Weight Loss Calculation. The following example shows how this method can be put into practice when hatching chickens. Chickens have a 21 day incubation period and an ideal weight loss at the point of pipping of 13%.
Set the incubator to the correct temperature (in this case 37.5°C), and allow it to settle for a few hours, then, set it to the correct humidity for the species (in this case 45%).
Allow 24 hours for everything to settle. During this time, if eggs have travelled through the post, leave them to rest and to reach room temperature. Keep them pointed end down.
On day 1, number the eggs with a soft pencil to identify them. Weigh all eggs before putting them into the incubator with a digital scale. Record the results:
Egg Number Weight(Grammes) 1 62.5 2 65 3 64.5 4 60 5 59 6 65.5
Calculate the average batch weight, to do this, add up all of the weights, then divide this number by the total number of eggs so for the example eggs above this is:
(62.5 + 65 + 64.5 + 60 + 59 + 65.5) / 6 eggs = 62.75g Average
Next, allow the eggs to come up to temperature in the incubator. This can take up to 24 hours, now, check and make fine adjustments to the humidity again.
After 3 to 4 days, weigh the eggs again and record the results, taking the average weight of the eggs again.
There are now two ways of calculating the weight loss. The first is to draw a graph which shows the ideal weight loss line, plotted from Day 1 (62.75g) to Day 21 (62.75g – 13% = 54.6g) then whenever you weigh the eggs at 3 to 4 day intervals in between, plot the average weight to see how close it is to the ideal weight loss line.
After 3 to 4 days, weigh the eggs again and record the results, taking the average weight of the eggs again.
There are now two ways of calculating the weight loss. The first is to draw a graph which shows the ideal weight loss line, plotted from Day 1 (62.75g) to Day 21 (62.75g – 13% = 54.6g) then whenever you weigh the eggs at 3 to 4 day intervals in between, plot the average weight to see how close it is to the ideal weight loss line.
The second method is to calculate what the average weight loss should be on the day that you weigh the eggs so if you weigh the eggs on Day 4, the ideal weight loss will be:
13% / 21 Days = 0.62% loss per day.
4 Days x 0.62% = 2.48% loss.
62.75g – 2.48% = 61.19g ideal weight on day 4.
Take the average weight every 3 to 4 days and make fine humidity adjustments as necessary until the last couple of days before the hatch when the humidity should be increased to the recommended level (greater than 65% for chicken eggs) to help soften the egg shells before piping.
Remember, if the actual weight loss is greater than ideal, the humidity level has been too low and it needs to be increased to compensate. If the actual weight loss is less than ideal then the air has been too humid and the humidity will need to be reduced to compensate.
After candling, it can be necessary to remove eggs that are infertile. This has little effect on the average weight calculation if all of the eggs are of a similar weight. Be cautious though, if you are only incubating a few eggs at a time or the eggs are different in weight (different breeds of chicken eggs for example) as there can be a noticeable shift in the average weight of the eggs that causes unnecessary humidity corrections. The only sure way to avoid this is to go back and re-calculate the start and end average weights using only the fertile eggs. In this situation, method 2 becomes easier to re-visit than the graphed method 1.
One final remark is that you should ideally weigh the eggs at roughly the same time every day to get the most accurate results if you are using whole days in the calculation, although I suppose there would be nothing stopping you including a part day in the calculation.
Good luck with your hatch!
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