The Okanagan Valley Goose Management Program will be returning for a 16th year.
Supported by local governments in the Okanagan, the program’s goal is to find a balance between the public and the region’s nesting Canada geese.
The program says egg addling is an important population management tool, calling it the least invasive form of population control. Crews will be egg addling until mid-May.
Egg addling involves shaking geese eggs or coating them with non-toxic, biodegradable food-grade corn oil within 14 days of incubation to make them non-viable.
Once the eggs are addled, they are returned to the nest.
“Geese continue to incubate until they realize the eggs will not hatch,” according to the program. “By then, it is generally too late in the year to produce more eggs. Adults are not harmed and will continue with their regular annual life cycle.”
The program says in the past 15 years, more than 20,000 eggs have been addled, which it says equates to an estimated 11,000 to 15,000 geese not being born.
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“This does not include the thousands of offspring that those (unborn) geese could have produced over the years,” said the program.
Kate Hagmeier of the program says egg addling is being done because Canada geese aren’t a natural species in the region, adding several different subspecies were introduced to the Okanagan in the 1960s and ’70s.
The program is asked to report lone geese, pairs of geese or nest locations by either emailing coordinator@okanagangooseplan.com or calling either calling 1-877-943-3209.
The public is also asked to stay away from goose nests and to not touch the eggs.
More information is available on the Okanagan Valley Goose Management Program website.
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