Hatching goose eggs requires the right temperature and sufficient humidity.
Use this guide for optimal hatching success.
Enjoy reading and good luck!
Here’s What You Need to Hatch Goose Eggs”
- Fertilised goose eggs
- A suitable incubator
- A shearing lamp
- Use a hatching plan for goose eggs
You only need an extra incubation thermometer if you want to be on the safe side when checking the temperature and your incubator does not have a fan that swirls the air in the incubator. This is because without air turbulence, it is colder in the lower area than in the upper area of the machine.
A digital hygrometer if you want to measure the relative humidity and your incubator does not have such a function.
The Incubation Parameters for Hatching Goose Eggs
Temperature During Incubation
The optimum temperature for hatching goose eggs is: 37.5 °C
If you are using a motorised incubator for incubating goose eggs, you should set this to a temperature of 37.5 °C.
If, on the other hand, you are using a surface incubator, you should set a temperature of 38 – 38.2 °C on this appliance.
The reason for this is that surface incubators usually do not have a motor that whirls up the air. This results in different temperatures at the top and bottom edges of the egg.
Humidity During Incubation
The optimum relative humidity value for hatching goose eggs is 60 – 70 %
And shortly before or during the hatching days approx. 80 % relative humidity
Finding Fertilized Goose Eggs and Checking for Fertilization
Get fertilised goose eggs; you can find fertilised goose eggs at poultry farmers or on farms in your area. There are certainly also suppliers on the internet who sell and send fertilised goose eggs.
The best way to determine whether a goose egg is fertilised is from day 7-8 of incubation by shining a shearing lamp through the hatching eggs.
Do you have no experience with shearing?
Then you can illuminate the fresh eggs before they are hatched. This will give you a feeling when you notice the difference on day 8 of hatching by shearing.
Guide to Incubating Goose Eggs
Obtain and Mark Goose Eggs
If you have obtained fertilised goose eggs, it is best to mark them before hatching!
I recommend that you draw a circle or a dot on one side (sideways). Then make a cross on the opposite side.
Have the goose eggs been transported?
Then be sure to let them rest on the tip of the egg for at least 24 hours before placing them in the incubator!
This increases the hatching success.
This gives the hail line in the egg time to align the contents of the goose egg after the shocks of transport.
Storage of Fertilized Goose Eggs
Fertilised goose eggs can usually be stored on the egg tip for up to 14 days without any problems and without negatively affecting the hatchability.
To do this, you need a cool place with an ambient temperature of 10 – 18 °C. A humidity of more than 50 % is also recommended.
The goose eggs should also be protected from sunlight and draughts.
After 14 days of storage, you must reckon with reduced hatching success.
Do you not have a suitable egg tray available to store the fertilised goose eggs on top?
Then you may be able to use the empty wrapping from tea lights or the cardboard roll from
Cleaning the Goose Egg
When using artificial incubation in an incubator, you should always ensure that the goose eggs are clean!
Otherwise germs and bacteria can develop in the incubator, which can have fatal consequences.
If the damp cloth is not enough to get the goose eggs nice and clean, you can try very fine and wet sandpaper.
Approximately 18% hydrochloric acid diluted in 4-5 litres of lukewarm water is also very suitable for removing dirt without damaging the goose egg.
You will probably not find a ready-made 18 % solution of hydrochloric acid on the market. You will have to dilute a suitable hydrochloric acid with distilled water yourself.
Prepare the Incubator
Place the incubator in a safe place.
There must be no draughts and sunlight should also be avoided.
Bring the incubator up to temperature 1-2 days before laying the hatching eggs.
Motorised incubators; 37.5 °C, surface incubators approx. 38 °C.
Has your incubator been cleaned and disinfected? You can find out the best way to clean your incubator in the article below.
Place the Fertilized Goose Eggs in the Incubator
Have the fertilised goose eggs been transported? As already mentioned in these instructions, they should then rest on the egg tip for at least 24 hours.
If you have done everything so far, you can now place the goose eggs sideways in the incubator.
Incubation Period of Goose Eggs
The incubation period for goose eggs is usually 28 – 35 days
Turning the Goose Eggs
Turn goose eggs at least 3 times a day, each time by 180 °C. (Morning / Midday / Evening)
As goose eggs are quite large, you will hardly find an incubator that has suitable turning trays. At best, fully automatic incubators with roller trays will relieve you of the manual turning of the eggs.
If you do not have an incubator that turns the eggs automatically, you will have no choice but to turn the goose eggs yourself.
During the Incubation Process
From Day 8
Shell the goose eggs for the first time to check whether they have been fertilised.
Sort out any unfertilised eggs.
If you are not sure about the eggs, you can repeat this process after a further 3 days.
The eggs should be cooled for 5 minutes every day from day 8.
Open the incubator for 5 minutes to optimise the exchange of stale air with fresh oxygen.
Do not forget to close the incubator!
From Day 12
Now add the moistening of the goose eggs.
Increase the duration of the cooling phase to approx. 10 minutes
After cooling, you should spray the eggs with lukewarm water.
From Day 18
Increase the duration of the cooling phase to 2 x 20 minutes
Also spray the goose eggs with lukewarm water after each cooling phase.
From Day 25
Do not turn the eggs from the 25th day!
Increase the relative humidity to 70-80% until the first goslings start to hatch.
You are now welcome to illuminate the goslings again with a egg candle lamp.
Do you use a rolling tray? Then place the eggs on the brooder now!
Cool for 2 x 20 minutes and spray each time.
From Day 27
Do not spray the incubating goose eggs from day 27 onwards.
Last day with cooling phases of 2 x 20 minutes.
Day 28 to 35 – Goslings Hatch – After the Goslings Hatch
It can take some time for the goslings to hatch.
Depending on the breed of goose, hatching can take up to 35 days!
Once the first chicks have hatched, you should leave them in the incubator for a few hours.
This allows the down to dry.
This is because wet feathers and excessively cold ambient air or draughts quickly lead to illness in the animals.
Leave the goslings in the incubator for at least another 4 hours. Then check whether the down has dried.
It is then advisable to move the first goslings at least two at a time into the rearing box so that they remain in company.
Give the chicks that have not yet hatched enough time and close the incubator.
Normally you should refrain from helping the chicks to hatch in any way.
Hatching is a real feat of strength, but the chicks can do it on their own!
Then place the goslings in the rearing box.
Brooder Box for Goslings
Would you like to build a rearing box for goslings yourself? You don’t need much!
You will need a box with sufficient space for the goslings.
After 2-3 weeks, you should move the goslings to a larger enclosure than the rearing box and allow them to run around as soon as possible.
Depending on how many goslings you are expecting after hatching, I recommend at least 1 m² of space for a maximum of 11 goslings for the first 2 weeks.
For example, you can build something yourself out of wood, use a rabbit cage or simply one or more large moving boxes.
The floor can be littered with cut straw.
If you decide to use kitchen paper, you can also lay newspaper underneath to absorb the moisture better.
I cannot recommend sawdust here, as it is definitely too ‘fine’ for goslings and could be eaten by them.
If your chicks are already very active after a week and leave a lot of droppings, you can also place newspaper under the cut straw.
Food, Water, and Light
If you plan to offer a bowl for drinking, the geese may bathe in it and soil it with faeces.
Which is why I would recommend a drinking trough so that the chicks can drink without contaminating the water.
For the initial period, it is worth having one or more feeding bowls.
You can use the goose starter feed from deuka as feed for the goslings for the first 2-4 weeks and offer it throughout the day.
After a few days you can also offer oats, green fodder and white cabbage in between.
Use a heating plate for chicks as a heat source.
The chicks then go to the hot plate on their own if necessary.
Alternatively, a heat lamp will also do.
I myself prefer the warming plate and offer the chicks as much natural light as possible by keeping them near a window. Otherwise, a warm white, yellowish or reddish light is advisable for their well-being.
If possible, the light source should never be switched off abruptly (nor should it be switched on abruptly) so that the chicks suddenly find themselves in darkness.
The sudden change in light causes the chicks to panic. Before the light goes out completely, it would be ideal if you dimmed it for a while first.
However, such an artificial ‘sunset’ is only associated with more effort and costs.
At least you know if your chicks suddenly panic that it might have something to do with the light
Opinions differ when it comes to choosing the right light source.
Daylight is always the best choice, if it weren’t for the window panes, which filter out UV components.
The fact is that birds have different eyes to humans and also have a different light spectrum (approx. 320-700 nm) and a different colour perception system.
This means that some birds can also perceive in the UV range. LEDs are not suitable at all in a certain frequency range. For birds, this would be pure disco.
In any case, the chicks need a light source to support their growth process, among other things.
I recommend the following accessories as an artificial light source:
- UVA UVB heat lamp for E27 socket, no ballast required.
- Alternative: Bird lamp or Arcadia E27 socket
- Ceramic socket
- Reflector or a long reflector (pay attention to the dimensions of the light source used)
When Should You Offer Food and Water to the Goslings for the First Time?
Once you have moved the goslings from the incubator to the rearing box, immediately provide them with water in a drinking trough.
You should wait at least one night or 10-12 hours before feeding them.
Before the chicks hatch, they will draw in the rest of the yolk sac, which they will feed on for a short time.
To show the chicks how to eat and drink, it is advisable to poke the drinker and food dish several times with your index finger.
Some Goslings Don’t Hatch? – Causes and Troubleshooting
- The parents were ill
- Brooding temperature too low or too high
- Humidity too high or low in the first 24 days
- Humidity too low from day 25
- Poor storage before hatching
- No acclimatisation carried out before hatching began
- Goose eggs not left to rest for at least 24 hours after transport
- Not turned often enough up to and including day 25
- Incubator not cleaned and disinfected
- Incubator opened too often and for too long and eggs allowed to cool down
Don’t Forget! Clean the Incubator!
To clean the incubator, you can use a cloth moistened with warm water.
You should also disinfect the appliance once afterwards. This cleaning agent is suitable for this.
Leave the incubator to air out for a while until everything is dry.
Use Incubation Plan for Goose Eggs
A breeding plan can help to keep track of things during breeding.
Made it!
Finally, I would like to tell you that experience is essential when incubating goose eggs.
I hope I have been able to help you with these instructions.
I hope you have fun and enjoy hatching goose eggs!
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