What causes a nest to fail to hatch?
Geese are very tenacious nesters and actively defend their nests from predators. Despite this behavior, goose nests fail to hatch for several reasons, the most common being abandonment, flooding, or predation. Nests may be abandoned or deserted because the goose is disturbed too often by other geese, people, or predators. In some instances, the female goose may be killed by a predator. Geese like to nest on muskrat houses and islands and frequently loose their nests to flooding when river and marsh water levels rise as a result of spring downpours. Many predators will eat goose eggs, including mink, skunk, raccoon, fox, and coyote. Predation is most common when geese are laying their eggs. Once the eggs are laid, the goose is near the nest nearly 24 hours a day, so it is more difficult for predators to steal eggs. Geese also tend to choose predator-safe nesting sites such as islands and muskrat houses, which improves their chances of hatching a clutch. If a nest is lost during laying o
