Help for our Nesting Goose

We have had a White Chinese goose on her nest, and yesterday she hatched out her first gosling. and she had one bad egg explode. there is nothing new this morning, and i am thinking there was about 15 or so eggs. how much longer will it take for her to hatch another?

mainly i am concerned because something suddenly went in and took her gosling without leaving a trace. the cat i suspected has gone to live with peacocks and emus and llamas to learn a new respect for birds. oh, did he freak when he heard his first turkey...

we are very sad about the gosling, but now concerned for the mother goose. worst case scenario, if that was her only good egg and she doens't hatch another, how long will she stay on that nest? she is looking horrible, and it can't be good for her!

consider me overly concerned, this is our first time... any help or ray of hope, or just downright honest answers appreciated. sympathy accepted too ;-(

♥tf

DH just came in and said she has hatched two more and is hiding them under her wings now... i feel so much better for her...

That is wonderful! Now you need a nice big Livestock Protection Dog to guard her in case it wasn't the bad cat. I'm surprised that an adult goose couldn't fight off a cat--but maybe he caught her off guard. Is it her first hatch?

yes, she is only one year old. she is accustomed to the cats. and her nest is behind a tall stack of wooden fencing, the cat was laying on the top of the fencing, as if suning himself after a meal. wish i could see his face when he sees his first emu!

Popeye was guarding her yesterday, and Chuck kept wandering in there too. I put Chuck back in with the bantams for fear she would want another chick so bad she would steal or hurt one. And i had shooed Popeye away so i could get a better look, then he didn't come back...

going to check on her now, before we leave... maybe i'll get a picture...

well, despite out best efforts, she lost one during the night to exposure. we put them under her wing as they were not cooperating. the older one climbed up on her back and died of exposure. when we got out there this AM, she was feaked out, and had gone to the other side of the enclosure to talk to the Daddies. I removed the dead gosling and took the sides off the enclosure.

It was quite a joy watching them! Without the camera though, sorry!

that poor little gosling learned really quick to stay close and walk around tall things. with one Mom and two dads bossing it, tlaking to it, nipping it, pushing it. before long they had it around to where i started a little puddle witht he hose. then all the way to the garden in front of the chicken coop [poor chickens are locked in today so the geese have less trouble], where i poured out some scratch for the poor hungry mama to feast on. they ate some grass too, then went back for more water.

i doubt one tiny little creature has ever had so much protection. so sweet!

so after over an hour of her being away from the nest, i decided she had liekly abandoned it to care for the one she had left. we brought in nine eggs to candle, one was rotten, the other eight have babies and are now in the hatcher with my chicken eggs.

keep your fingers crossed! we would just LOVE to be able to hatch those goslings and take them out to the parents!!! such hard work and dedication from them deserves more babies ^_^

tf