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Yesterday, after 28 days in the incubator, these goose eggs moved from the turning rack to the hatching tray. That's 10 of the 12 we originally put in (2 did not develop). Several of them pipped (making a little crack in the egg). Then, they rested for the day.
Throughout they were trilling away at each other. It sounds very sweet, but may also help coordinate that they all come out around the same time. In the evening the first 3 of them went to work on getting out of their eggs, first by widening the little pip.
Then they rotate inside the egg and work their way around the egg so that they can eventually push a whole section of the egg out.
Then, they do one big shove (well, quite a few, even this takes longer than people think) and try to scramble out. With this particular breed (West of England geese, which are auto-sexing), we can at this stage immediately see whether they are female (front) or male (back).
Once they had warmed up in the incubator and then under a sweater, they moved to a box with a heat lamp. With these guys that was perhaps 20 hours after they first pipped, but it has also taken longer than that in the past.
By the next morning they are now quite fluffy and are making their first attempts at walking. After all, their wild ancestors would have to follow their parents around almost immediately. Luckily, these guys can take it a bit slower, but they'll do their first trip outside later.
They are now also starting to eat gosling food from our finger tips and showing interest when we dip their beaks into water. At the moment going for a blade of grass is still a fight they may loose, but soon enough they will be little lawnmowers.
They were also joined by another sister (in one case she's even a biological sister) that hatched this morning and cannot quite stand up, yet. The remaining 7 eggs are all pipped or in the process of opening up a wider hole. Hopefully, they'll all make it, too.
They will meet their biological parents later. That image is from a previous year, but it shows how curious the adults are. However, we'll be a bit careful with the females, who do know that the goslings did not hatch under them. The ganders seem to think they might be theirs...
We will co-parent for a bit with the adult geese. The goslings will go in a covered pen (protection against crows) in the garden when outside. That way the adults can stand next to them and get acquainted. Once they are big enough, the adults will take over the parenting.
The little ones will still keep running to us though, when we come out. Of course, they may loose interest quickly and go back to chomping on grass.
An added benefit is that they end up being quite tame and friendly, but spend enough times with geese to learn how to be a goose.
Once it does stop raining, it will be lovely to sit with these guys outside. By the way, this is a gosling pile. That's how they'll go to sleep next to us when we sit with them on the lawn.
Amazingly, they will approximately double their weight once a week. They grow up fast and by late summer/early autumn you'll have to know what to look for in order to tell they are not full adults.
