Building goose coop, do you guys insulate in very cold climates?

[VermontGoose]

I now have 3 geese and will need to build a coop for them. My gander did fine in his first Vermont winter, probably got to -25F a few times. Bedded down in small coop with pine shavings and 6ml plastic insulation sheet wrapped around most of coop overnight.

I’m building a plywood and board coop. I’m planning the dimensions and such.

I know from forum searches here over the last year I’ve seen that many people’s geese will sleep out in a blizzard and don’t like to come into a coop at night. I have too many predators to not put them in coop.

Thoughts?

 

[Goosebaby]

Geese will stay warmer if they have a shelter that blocks them from wind and rain. Some geese can tough it out if they’re in their prime and they’re acclimated, but very young, elderly, and those with health problems can’t.

I‘m in California, and I keep mine in 10 x 6‘ kennels at night and in bad weather. I insulate mine with tarps in the winter and sometimes to keep the Sun off of them. Winters at my house range between 25 degrees to 14 degrees and most of the geese do just fine. Mine are of course used to our warmer winters compared to yours!
I have a few with sensitive health conditions that require a little extra insulation and a heat lamp of cold nights. I’m considering switching Them to a heat pad so they aren’t kept awake all night. Any heat source comes with serious fire risks so that’s something to consider if you’re ever in that situation.

Some things that you can try is adding cracked corn of cold nights, it heats up the body as they metabolize it. 20% feed through the winter months is a must.
30% game bird start or dry cat food normally shouldn’t be fed to geese but if they’re sick or on especially cold nights it can also help to keep them warmer.

 

[Callender Girl]

My two American Buff geese live in a small, uninsulated shelter -- plywood sides and top, hardware cloth across the bottom, short end and the door. My silly geese are among those that will lie out in the snow during Iowa's frigid winters. We can go many, many days without reaching a number above zero degrees.

It gets really windy here, so I have put tarps up on the (used!) chain link panels that form their pen -- sometimes, I don't want them wandering all over the place (they are "free ranged" in the daytime when I am home). However; it has been SO windy that the tarps have acted like sails and the pen has been moved a couple of feet!

Like you, there are too many predators here NOT to coop them at night.

Best wishes with your build!

 

[FoodFreedomNow]

I raise Pilgrims and have a sizable gaggle (seems to grow each year ). IMO, regardless of where you live, not securing geese at night is asking for trouble. I live in an area that has several types of hawks, foxes, coyotes, occasional stray/loose dogs, and great horned owls. If you've never seen a great horned owl, think silent, well-camouflaged, bald eagle-sized raptor that hunts at night. Beautiful but formidable predators. Birds not cooped at night usually don't greet the morning.

My goose coop is uninsulated, and we have temps down to the negative teens (typically) in the winter - this winter, we had a spell where the temps were down to -40 with the wind chill. Lots of ventilation is important, but so is their ability to be protected from drafts blowing directly onto them. I have deep litter flooring composed mostly of pine shavings, and the walls of the coop are higher than their heads. Everyone weathered the wicked cold without issues like frostbite. Geese are amazingly hardy creatures!

Best wishes for your coop build!