Waterfowl - Raising Poultry - page 205

in incubators. The eggs take 35 days to hatch and the Muscovy hen does a fabulous
job. Muscovy hens frequently hatch all of the many eggs she is sitting on (I have seen
clutches of more than 20) and will raise them all with great confidence and affection.
Geese
Much of what has been written in this chapter about ducks is true for geese, except geese
are bigger and even hardier than ducks. Talk about attitude! Goslings will start talking
back to you even before hatching as they are pipping their way into the world. (Pipping
is when the young fowl starts chipping away at the shell as it makes its way to the out-
side world.) Once out of the shell, they usually start life by extending their necks and
giving you a good scolding.
Geese are the true sophisticates of the poultry yard. I often call them the snobs. They
clearly feel that they are at the top of the poultry pecking order. Rarely do they give in
to other poultry species. If in a mixed flock, they spend most of their time scolding and
bossing everyone else around. However, in the end, it's the guineas that almost always
rule the poultry yard.
Chinese