Today I built a backyard water feature. it's more like a mini pond. It's knee deep and about 5ft long. i think it should be big enough for a gosling. Tomorrow my sister and I are going to get some aquatic plants and some fish to put in the pond so we can make an ecosystem. This morning I asked my mom if I could build a water feature in the back yard because there was nothing really out there. She said sure. :-) Even though she doesn't know what its completely for yet, she loves it. I've been wanting to do something with the back yard anyway. I had to start somewhere. next I'm gonna try and plant some better grass and maybe some bamboo. We'll see how it all goes. I'm post a picture of the 'pond' when it's completed. Tonight is just is a blue tarp in a hole in the ground with rocks on the bottom. oh, and there is a lot of water too.
:-)
Goodnight Franklin!! I'm gonna take good care of you.
I like seeing blogs of people incubating and hatching their eggs! I have kept my own for the past few years. I actually have a goose egg at about 18 days right now, although to be honest, I pulled the egg after it had been incubated for a while so I've lost track! (Which is never a good thing). It's quite a lot bigger than Franklin. I do have a few questions about your incubator...
ReplyDeleteFirst, temperature.
It is possible Franklin is developing too slowly, or at least started slow. I'll show you some pictures of my goose eggs at around day 15. I don't want to scare you or anything, but my embryos at 17 days were significantly larger than Franklin is.
Here is a link to a picture of one of my pilgrim goose eggs on day 17:
http://xa.yimg.com/kq/groups/20150095/sn/1734273103/name/IMG_1811.jpg
What type of thermometer are you using? I would suggest buying another. What I do is buy thermometers for fevers (expensive ones for about $19.99) and stick them through a hole in the side of the incubator, so it's sort of like sticking a thermometer in your ear. Then I take the temperature after the thermometer has sat there for a good while. This gives an accurate reading. My incubator is always around 99.2-99.7, no higher or lower. You want to make sure yours is higher because it does appear it may be too low (not all thermometers are accurate) and low temperatures can cause issues. Franklin looks healthy but you just never know.
Franklin's air cell is also looking a tad small. What is your humidity in his incubator? I have hatched lots of eggs and my biggest problem is always humidity. Goose eggs can be especially susceptible to problems with humidity, although I've found duck eggs are worse. Here are some tips:
Make sure your hygrometer is accurate! In my experience, digital ones are worse. I bought a cheap analogue-type hygrometer from the pet store for terrariums, analogue meaning that it has a dial rather than a number displayed, and it works better than all the digitals I've had. They also don't die as easily. Get at least 2. When you buy them, look to see what % they measure in the store. With analogues, you can do this. Pick one that's sort of the medium of all of them, or compare it to more expensive models. That works for me.
Humidity should be no higher than 60% in the incubator at this point in time, but honestly, I prefer 55% or less. At hatching, I like it to be at 80%, but you want to make sure the air cell gets big enough. Eggs must lose about 13% of their initial weight for hatching. If the humidity is too high, he could suffocate in his egg and die, because there would be too much water and he may be positioned wrongly. If he's in the wrong position, he may suffocate on his own yolk, as some of mine have in the past. If he's too dry, you can at least assist hatch, and that can be done. You cannot save them if they are upside down and submersed in fluid.
Also, another tip - stop turning 4 days before hatching, not 3. A whole four. And don't touch him much until you're sure he's internally pipped (can be heard pecking against the shell; shadows in the air cell). To candle him at this point, just hold the flashlight up to his air cell rather than picking up the egg.
Please, if you need any further instruction or help at any point, just email me... I've hatched lots of geese and also have experience with assist hatches if it should ever come to that. I just don't want anything to happen to your little egg as well, and would be glad to help to ensure he hatches healthily...
You can drop me an email at a.vancha@ymail.com any time. Good luck! :)
Wow, you really had me all paranoid after reading your comment. I just wanted to thank you for your advice. its really encouraging to read that you wanted to help us. :-)
ReplyDeleteI rechecked the temp and the humidity like you said. They both checked out. I have explained our incubator in an earlier post if you want to see what it looks like. Yeah, i didn't go with the digital hydrometer either.
I don't know exactly what breed of geese Franklin is, i just know that he is a goose. I also posted the story of how we found him in an earlier post if you want to check that out as well. He wasn't put into our incubator right away. He was without an incubator for about a day and a half if that has anything to do with when he started developing. I'm not sure if it matters or not. I really want him to be healthy. it might just taking him longer to develop. if you read my later posts, what do you believe is the reason that he isn't as developed as he should be. We turn him, the incubator is fine, I really don't know what else to do.
Thank you again for your help. I'll keep you updated on our progress. :-)