How to Addle and Oil Eggs

Egg addling and oiling are effective ways to manage goose populations, but they require a commitment of time and are not always easy to do. As a result, some communities enlist volunteers or hire companies that specialize in nuisance wildlife problems.

Apply for egg oiling and addling permits in January or February so you can be ready when the nesting season begins in March and April. Before applying, consider how many nests you usually have every year on your property. You can do this by estimating the number of goslings produced in previous years on your property and on that of your neighbors and divide by five.

Besides a permit, you will also need the following:

Next, locate all the nests. This is usually fairly easy, although some Canada geese may hide their nests on islands, beneath shrubbery, in high grass or on roof tops. Simply walking around the perimeter of the lake will usually allow you to locate 90 percent of all nests.

Because Canada geese tenaciously defend their nests, you should be accompanied by another person or a dog to help fend off goose attacks while you addle or oil the eggs.

Addling eggs
When addling eggs to help manage geese populations, keep accurate records on a Egg/Nest Destruction Data Sheet. Be sure to apply for a permit in January or February before undertaking this management program.

Dan McMurtry photo

Hint: Geese may be easily repelled by stiff-arming them and gently pushing them back to the ground. This will help reduce chances of injury as most injuries associated with goose attacks are related to falling rather than being struck by a wing or being bitten.

After fending off the geese, check the incubation stage of the eggs. If they are cool to the touch, the female has not finished laying her entire clutch and incubation has not begun. Record this information, on your data sheet and return in one week.

If the eggs are warm, take one or two eggs and place them in a pail of water. By looking at the egg flotation chart below, note how the egg is floating in the water and record the incubation stage number.

If the eggs are in stage 5 or 6, they can be removed and disposed of by burying. When eggs are at these stages, it means that the geese have nested for at least three weeks and the egg follicles in the female have dried up so no new eggs can be laid.

Warning: If any of the eggs are pipping, leave the nest alone. The eggs are about ready to hatch, and your permit does not allow you to destroy eggs in this stage.

If the egg is in stages 1 through 4, you can oil the entire clutch. It is not necessary to pick up any of the remaining eggs. Apply the oil to the top two-thirds of each egg.When the top of a round object is sprayed well, excess oil will cover the remaining one third of the egg. It only takes a small amount of oil to prevent the gases from diffusing through the pores of the egg, which cause the embryo to die of asphyxiation.

Checking the nest
The geese may become aggressive when you approach the nest to oil the eggs. Bring along a dog or another person to help you.

Dan McMurtry photo

If shaking eggs, be sure you check and shake each one separately. It is almost impossible to successfully shake an egg in stage 1.Wait until the egg is in stage 2 or 3, when it can be successfully shaken in a few seconds. Vigorously shake each egg until you hear sloshing sounds inside the egg.

After you have either shaken or oiled all eggs, refer to the egg floatation chart below and record the nest stage so you will know when to remove the eggs.

Geese must be allowed to nest for at least three weeks. A nest treated in stage 2 has been incubating for four to eight days; so the waiting period to pick up the eggs is 15 days, which would total three weeks.

You must return to the nest after the waiting period and remove the eggs. If you don't, the female goose will remain on the nest too long, deplete her food reserves and suffer needlessly.

Warning: Take extreme care when removing eggs from the nest after the waiting period. Because spoiled eggs may explode if dropped, do not toss them. Gently place them in a hole, and bury them as soon as possible.

Egg flotation chart