Goslings!

Out of 14 eggs set a little over a month ago, 9 beautiful babies hatched! It was a fun few days. The eggs were due to hatch last Monday. However, it was not until Tuesday that we noticed two of the eggs moving and could hear the first of the peeps from within the eggs. On Wednesday, several of the eggs had cracks in them. Wednesday evening a couple of the babies had 'pipped' through (broken a hole in the shell). Thursday morning the first gosling was born, he literally popped out the eggshell, we were lucky enough to be there to see it. Later that morning I received a call that a second had broken through. That evening I was greeted by 6 wet baby geese. Later that night a 7th came out. The final 2 were born the next morning and afternoon. A total of 9 goslings from 14 eggs. After they had dried, I moved them to a brooder and left the remaining 7 eggs in the incubator an additional 3 days (just in case). At that point I removed the 5 eggs that did not hatch (too old, not viable, or just plain didn't hatch). There are still 3 eggs in the incubator due to hatch next week. Also, the hen is also sitting on a few eggs, though I'm not sure how many she has.

I certainly am enjoying the new babies though! And while I could sex them, I honestly don't care how many are hens and how many ganders. I just love them all!