I WANT TO BE A GOOSE MOM

April 16, 2023 7:19 PM

My dog, scourge of the seven seas and most lakes and ponds, stole a canadian goose egg. it is intact and unharmed. I am unable to return it to the nest and would like to try to incubate it. I am willing to throw money at this problem. How do I best incubate a kidnapped canadian goose egg?

I am very open to suggestions for how to incubate this egg best without an incubator. I am also willing to purchase an incubator if I know it will work with canadian goose eggs. I am less open to advice you have about chicken or duck eggs if you are unsure if they will work with canadian geese.

The geese have been on the lake for at least 2 weeks so I think it's fertilized.

posted by Grandysaur to Pets & Animals (15 answers total)

Best answer: In the US, Canada Geese are protected by federal law. You should return the egg or get it to a legal wildlife rehabilitation center. All birds are protected by the Migratory Bird Act. If you are successful in hatching it, you would harm the goose because it would imprint on you, and you would be in illegal possession of a migratory bird.
posted by j810c at 7:43 PM on April 16, 2023 [28 favorites]

Best answer: Hard agree with the above. Even in Canada they're protected by the same law as in the US.
posted by fiercekitten at 7:52 PM on April 16, 2023 [5 favorites]

Best answer: Oh my goodness! I will keep warm overnight and try to find the nest again first thing in the morning, and if not, contact my local rehab. Thank you!
posted by Grandysaur at 7:55 PM on April 16, 2023 [10 favorites]

Best answer: I want to encourage you to google your local wildlife folks or bird society, Audobon, etc. for information about local occurrences of disease. specifically avian flu, in your local duck and goose population. Are you in Vermont?

Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) has now been detected in 72 wild birds in Vermont, including bald eagles, red tailed hawks, Canada geese, wood ducks, mallards, black ducks, and turkey vultures. Infected birds have been found in all regions of Vermont.

I don't know if it's a good idea for you to continue handling this egg or if you should try to return it to its nest, but I'd encourage you to contact Vermont Fish & Wildlife at fwinformation@vermont. gov or 802 828 1000 or your local bird society folks to find out.
posted by bluedaisy at 8:05 PM on April 16, 2023 [2 favorites]

Wildlife rehabbers are awesome. They will advise you about what to do. You might be able to search for some specializing in birds in your state, near you, and just call them.
posted by amtho at 8:18 PM on April 16, 2023 [1 favorite]

Best answer: So…what you have there is an egg from a resident Canada goose, a genetically distinct population from the migratory Canada goose. It is technically true that resident Canada geese are covered by the migratory bird act, but because resident geese are such a pain and are busily overpopulating themselves, they actually even have a carve-out in the US code that allows for things like no bag limits. Any landowner can register to get a permit to destroy resident Canada Goose eggs. If this egg were to be given a good shake (called addling) and thrown away, the world would carry on just fine.

It is, of course, a terrible idea to try and raise a Canada goose. It will imprint on you, be an incredible, extreme asshole, and possibly live for 30 years!
posted by rockindata at 8:47 PM on April 16, 2023 [45 favorites]

Best answer: Here is the carve out in the us code for resident geese and egg destruction. It’s entirely possible that the egg your dog found has already been sprayed with corn oil (the type of oil added to the code by our friends in the corn lobby) by your local park district. Finally, if you really are concerned, this early in the season the goose will just add another egg to the clutch.
posted by rockindata at 9:05 PM on April 16, 2023 [4 favorites]

Also, j810c, not all birds are protected by the migratory bird act. Wild Turkeys, and 19 of their galliform compatriots do not migrate(and hence do not tend to cross state lines), are not protected by the migratory bird act or treaties. . This is why you can legally collect a turkey feather you find in the woods, but not an eagle feather.

House sparrows, starlings, and other introduced birds are also not covered.
posted by rockindata at 4:10 AM on April 17, 2023 [1 favorite]

Best answer: I came in to mention that the goose would imprint on you and be your own personal asshole attack goose forever, but I see that's covered.

All of these great answers above deserve a picture of the egg thief.
posted by deludingmyself at 9:15 AM on April 17, 2023 [5 favorites]

Best answer: Just to be clear, any Canada Goose nesting in the lower 48 is considered resident, and you should apply to shake their eggs into omelettes because the resident Canada goose is harmful to nature, properly and people.

Migratory Canada Goose do not nest in the contiguous us.
posted by Geckwoistmeinauto at 9:49 AM on April 17, 2023 [4 favorites]

Best answer: This thread is such a wild ride! I'm personally rooting to see your your dog and your personal attack goose be best buddies who solve crime but OP I hope you will update us on the status of your surrender/ goose baby/ delicious omelette as the case may be.

If you do decide to have the goose baby I nominate it as MeFi mascot, may Goose protect and preserve us all.
posted by MiraK at 12:16 PM on April 17, 2023 [5 favorites]

Response by poster: A current update: I have made a homemade incubator based on the advice of a chicken farmer friend, done a lot of googling, and best case scenario is that I have a asshole guard goose that’s imprinted on my Anatolian shepherd for 30 years. Worst case scenario is that I have an asshole guard goose that’s imprinted on my Anatolian shepherd for 30 years.

Most likely outcome is that my temperature and humidity isn’t exactly right and I end up with a rotten goose egg.
posted by Grandysaur at 12:52 PM on April 17, 2023 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: The egg thief/potential goose dad in question.
posted by Grandysaur at 12:54 PM on April 17, 2023 [1 favorite]

Best answer: From a federal bird law perspective you are putting yourself in a not-ideal space, just so you understand that. It’s not like the horribly under resourced Fish and Wildlife Service is out looking for people who have decided to adopt a goose, but there is a legal structure for destroying eggs, and there is a legal structure for harvesting adult geese with no bag limit during specific hunting seasons, but there is not a legal structure for raising and owning one of these assholes, or even owning a single goose feather(unless that feather is attached to a legally harvested goose, properly tagged as such.)

The risk:reward ratio for this adventure is…not high.
posted by rockindata at 6:54 PM on April 17, 2023 [3 favorites]

Best answer: In BC, a teen was fined for keeping a presumably migratory Canada Goose as a pet, and had to surrender it.

If you lived, for example, in Vermont, then on top of strict federal wildlife laws and migratory bird laws:
https://wildlifehelp.org/animals/vermont/canada-goose

Possession of Wildlife
It is illegal to possess living, wild animals in Vermont. A furbearing animal can only be possessed when moving the animal to a more appropriate place for dispatch. https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/10APPENDIX/001/00044

I would pass it on to a rehabber, who, considering local goose populations, and further considering the fact that this is an egg and not a bird, might just feed it to a grateful skunk or corvid they were rehabbing.

It's an egg, not a bird.
posted by sebastienbailard at 8:36 PM on April 17, 2023