Research of Laying Cycles

I started gathering information about each egg I collected and thankfully it has proved to be rather important in many ways. Not only has it shown me when geese laid the best but it also helps me to find out about how old a goose was when they first started laying. The laying cycles may depend on the region, seasons, weather, how the goose is raised, their ancestry, and what line they hail from. But hopefully the information may be enough for an approximate estimate of when geese lay their best and at least when geese from my stock will be likeliest to start laying. 

There is information out there saying that geese take two years to start laying and this may indeed be true for certain geese or maybe even most geese but it is definitely not true for mine. 

December 2019 - Sassafras 
7 eggs

January 2020 - Sassafras 
1 egg

February 2020 - Siberian Elm, Gingko, and Common Fig
17 eggs

March 2020 - Siberian Elm, Gingko, Stansbury Cliffrose, Mockernut Hickory, and Rocky Mountain Juniper
37 eggs

April 2020 - Siberian Elm, Stansbury Cliffrose, Rocky Mountain Juniper, and Black Tupelo. Possibly at the very end of the month Mockernut Hickory laid
21 eggs

May 2020 - Siberian Elm, Rocky Mountain Juniper, and Mockernut Hickory
12 eggs

June 2020 - Mockernut Hickory, Rocky Mountain Juniper, Cinnamon, and Gingko
10 eggs

July 2020 - Cinnamon and Gingko
11 eggs

August 2020 - Cinnamon, Russian Olive, Gingko, and Black Tupelo
31 eggs

October 2020 - Gingko 
7 eggs

November 2020 - Gingko, Southern Magnolia (White Chinese), and Chickasaw Plum (White Chinese)
12 eggs

December 2020 - Chickasaw Plum. Quite a few eggs most of which are unknown. One was 5.1 ounces suggested an experienced layer -- likely Gingko
12 eggs

​How many months old a goose was when they first laid:

• Siberian Elm - Hatched May 26-29, 2019, first laid February 2020, and was about 9 months
• Gingko - Hatched June 20, 2019, first laid February 2020, and was about 8 months
• Common Fig - Hatched approximately in the second week of June 2019, first laid February 2020, and was about 8 months
• Stansbury Cliffrose - Hatched May 26-29, 2019, first laid March 2020, and was about 10 months
• Hickory - not recorded
• Juniper - not recorded
• Black Tupelo - Hatched May 26-29, 2019, first laid April 2020, and was about 11 months
• Cinnamon - Hatched January 28, 2020, first laid at the end of July 2020, and was about 6 months
• Russian Olive - Hatched February 9, 2020, may have laid at the end of July 2020 and if not first laid August 2020, and was about 6 months
• Southern Magnolia - Hatched May 26, 2020, first laid November 2020, and was about 6 months
• Chickasaw Plum - Hatched May 26, 2020, first laid November 2020, and was about 6 months
• Green Ash - Hatched April 25, 2020, first laid January 2020, and was about 8 months
• Blue Jacaranda - Hatched May 26, 2020, first laid January 2020, and was 7 months
• Japanese Zelkova - Hatched June 1, 2020, first laid January 2020, and was about 7 months
• Tulip Tree- Hatched May 26, 2020, first laid January 2020, and was about 7 months
• White Ash - Hatched April 27, 2019, first laid September 2019, and was about 5 months

4 geese at 6 months
3 geese at 8 months
​2 geese at 7 months
1 goose at 5 months
1 goose at 9 months
1 goose at 10 months
1 goose at 11 months