A BIT ABOUT FEMALE GEESE

Rocky Mountain Juniper

Both male and female geese are great fun. The females love to eat the grass, lay in in the grass, and walk on the grass. The ganders stand alert while the ones they care for carry out these procedures. What makes a female different from a male? It is definitely easy to tell when your female lays her egg but there are other ways to tell. The females are usually smaller and shaped differently. They tend to be lower to the ground. They also have a pouch in between their legs when they are mature. 

Common Fig

Black Tupelo

Fig and Tupelo both have pouches. This has to do with laying. Females may sometimes have big knobs but so far I have never seen one with a gander-like knob. Females sound different but I have never been very good at differentiating by their pitches. It is said that the males have a higher pitch than the females and I am sure that this is the case. 

When females finally begin to lay you will notice if you are buddies with the goose that they do not act exactly like themselves. They will wander around checking out places to lay and even leave the entire flock during the search. The best way to explain what is unusual about their personality is that they seem distracted. They will eventually lay an egg. If they are disturbed too much from their nest they may wait an entire day before finally laying. New geese lay eggs smaller than 5 ounces. Once they have been laying a while the size will go up to 4 ounces and eventually to 5 ounces. 

Some females will make a small hollow, lay, and leave the egg uncovered. Others will make a small nest and mostly cover the egg. Others will bury their eggs. While others are excellent nest builders. It all depends on their personalities. Sometimes even the good egg-coverers will leave the eggs uncovered if they are scared by something. My first goose who laid had hid her eggs so well that I did not know they were there until I found her laying in her nest. She moved her nest after that and continued to move it. I suppose she knew that her eggs were being taken and was trying to find a place where they would be safe. 

Not all geese realize this. Some will lay in the same spot for quite a while. But if there are continued interruptions when they are in the nest they might finally find a new spot to lay. If their nest loses the adequate materials to nest properly they may also move. Some geese will also become broody. If the goose does not get off the nest at any point to eat and drink I recommend trying to break her because it will weaken her greatly and I do not believe it is possible she will be able to hatch anything. It may work to pick her up every day from the nest when she is brooding until she stops. I had to do this for a long time with one of my geese. I had also tried to give her a gosling but although she was excited about the gosling she was not a very good mother. 

That is it for now. Next post will be about one of my favorite geese named Tupelo.