Raising Geese
Goose Eggs are very much larger than hen eggs and are usually laid between February 14th and the end of June. Unless your geese have access to water to mate in you will find that very few of these eggs are fertile.
Although the eggs are edible - and believe me when I say you don't need many to make an omlette - the taste is different. Not many goose eggs see the inside of a pan as - if they are believed to be fertile - they can cost around 75p to £1.50 each at auction depending on the demand or are turned into faberge egg style decorations.
The young are also more expensive to buy than chicks. A gosling can bring between £7 and £10 each at auction while a chick can cost anything from 50p to £3 each depending on demand and breed.
One thing to remember though. If your geese lay eggs do not try to remove them while the goose is still sitting - that is if you value your life. Geese can be very protective of their young and will attack should they feel that their potential offspring are threatened.
Although geese often get broody - between February and June - when they are part of a flock who use a communal nest they rarely manage to hatch their own young as the part-incubated eggs are quickly moved further down the pile as new eggs are layed. This is where an automated incubator comes in very handy as - because all of the eggs get turned regularly and are kept at a constant heat - the results are much better. Below is a picture of four 12 hour old Edben and Ebden X goslings that were incubated for four weeks using a Brinsea incubator and hatched out on 12th of April 2007.
