The next batch of eggs have hatched last night and this morning. These are Embden geese and the parents parade around the yard. Embdens are the classic white goose - sort of like Mother Goose of fairytales. I like the look of geese, but I don't like their temperment. And this little guy, less than a day old, has 'the look' about him to prove me right. Moments before this image was taken he was busy biting me furiously. Something about me and geese...
This guy was the first to hatch while his brothers and sisters were staggered. It always amazes me just how they can break out of a shell, as those shells are very hard. But they seem to always manage it, greeting the world as wet, bedraggled little creatures, who turn into balls of fluff.The eggs have marks on them so that you know which way it was last turned. Incubated eggs need turning several times a day, so a mark on one side helps you remember and make sure they're all turned. In a natural incubation under the goose, she would rearrange the eggs during the day and night and moisture from her feathers would help. Without the goose there, its a little trickier with lots of turning and spraying the eggs with water.
6 comments:
Do you erase the marks to put the new ones on? I would think so or after awhile you would not know where you started. Does it hurt when the babies bite? You can tell I know nothing about baby birds.
wow, fantastic photo. thanks for sharing. I would love to do a little animated film of the hatching. Hand drawn of course....
No Jeanne, its a single mark on one side of the egg that stays during the incubation period. When the eggs are turned over you'd see the plain side and know that you'd turned them all, or vice versa.
These guys can nip quite hard but its not overly painful unless they catch the wrong part of you!
Thanks DF, glad you enjoyed them. That idea for a drawn animation of the hatching would be great!
He does have that look, he might get along with Gracie, who we nicknamed Cujo. What is the wheel above? And does that ball of coloured string turn into a gosling?
Ahhhh - fluffy!
You just tell him that if he doesn't behave you'll give him a silly name!
Geese are rarely nice it seems Paulette..perhaps I'll borrow that Cujo name for this little guy...
The wheel is part of the thermostat mechanism I belive. Its an old incubator but works like a charm.
And yes the litte 'ball of string' fluffs up nicely and turns into a yellow gosling. :)
or send him to Katherine...heheh I know you'd LOVE a nice big white goose to keep the cats company wouldn't you?
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