How to Hatch Wild Goose Eggs

The natural incubation of wild goose eggs makes the entire hatching process seem simple. A mother goose lays eggs, sits on them and out pops a gaggle of geese. The process is more complex than the mother goose makes it seem. Hatching wild goose eggs in a manufactured incubator is a delicate process. Successful hatching requires careful temperature and humidity control. Despite the complexities, with careful monitoring you can incubate and hatch wild goose eggs.

Things You'll Need

• Wild goose eggs
• Incubator
• Accurate thermometer
• Accurate wet-bulb thermometer
• Pencil
• Water
• Non-medicated chicken starter

Instructions

1. Place the wild goose eggs in an incubator set at 99.5 degrees. Monitor the temperature closely.

2. 

   Wild geese are very protective of their nest.

   Maintain relative humidity levels of 63 percent, raising them to 70 percent the last three days of incubation or when the goslings first begin cracking through the shells. Humidity can be measured using the relative humidity temperature bulb included in most incubators. The wick end should be placed in the water pan and remain wet at all times. Because geese are aquatic animals requiring high humidity, either add an extra pan of water to the incubator or mist the eggs daily to raise the humidity levels.

3. Mark one side of the wild goose eggs with an X and the other with an O. Turn the eggs at least every eight hours, flipping from the X to the O or vice versa. Rotate the eggs in a different direction each time. Continue until the last three or four days of incubation. Incubation can last anywhere from 25 to 35 days, depending on the breed of goose, but most hatch at around 30 days. If you are unsure, stop turning after 25 days and definitely when you see the first cracks or beaks poking through the shells.

4. Ventilate the incubator either by opening the vents for a brief time or opening the incubator for a moment. Be sure to spray the wild goose eggs again after ventilating to keep the internal atmosphere from losing too much humidity.

5. Watch but do not assist a hatching bird. Provide hatchlings with water and non-medicated chicken starter. After a week the geese will be ready for grass clippings or grazing.

Tips & Warnings

• You can check the progress of your wild goose eggs by holding them up to a flashlight and catching a glimpse of the embryo's growth inside the egg. You might even be able to make out the shape of its beak near hatching time.

• Do not overheat the eggs.

References

• UC Davis: Raising Geese
• Farming Friends: Incubating Goose Eggs
• Trek Nature: Hatching Goose Eggs
• Oregon State University: Hatching Small Numbers of Eggs
• Hinterland Who's Who: Canada Goose

Resources

• Wild Bird Watching: I Found a Bird Egg