Goose knob frostbite

[Goose_Willis]

I've got African Geese and this is my first year with them. I'm in New Mexico, zone 6b/7a and our nighttime Temps regularly drop below freezing in the winter (lowest I've seen is like -10°F).

Currently my geese don't use a shelter. I built them a 3.5 sided straw bale house with a roof and they never used it, preferring to sleep in the run. That house is now for my ducks and I have the run separated into a goose section and a duck section because the geese crave chaos.

I've read that African Geese are susceptible to frostbite on their beak knobs so I'm trying to avoid that.

The first option I was thinking of was to get a large dog house for the geese. I'm worried that since they don't like using shelters right now that they'll be stubborn about using it though. I could lock them in it at night but I don't want them to feel cramped and trapped and start bickering with each other. I could also just let them have in/out access to the doghouse and cover the both interior of the run with a thick layer of shavings so that they're at least insulated from the ground if they're too stubborn to use the dog house.

Another option I was considering putting greenhouse plastic over the whole run which should hold some heat but I don't know how much heat it would hold and if it makes a ton of condensation then they'll still be susceptible to frost bite.

Does anyone have experience keeping geese with beak knobs in cold climates? My parents has some type of white medium sized goose when I was very young and those geese just had a dog house that they could use when they were cold and they were totally fine but they also didn't have the beak knobs.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

We can get down to -20 to -30 here in Wisconsin. I had 3 African and they did fine through last winter.

 

[Goose_Willis]

We can get down to -20 to -30 here in Wisconsin. I had 3 African and they did fine through last winter.

What's your nighttime setup for them during the winter?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

What's your nighttime setup for them during the winter?

A large shed with a few open doors. The door the geese use has a flap over it. Nothing secure, but prevailing winds are blocked. Open doors face east and south. They are well bedded, but often will stay outside at night even in the winter. Their choice.

 

[Goose_Willis]

A large shed with a few open doors. The door the geese use has a flap over it. Nothing secure, but prevailing winds are blocked. Open doors face east and south. They are well bedded, but often will stay outside at night even in the winter. Their choice.

Thank you!

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I read about the frostbite too. Never saw it, but can't promise it won't happen. We didn't keep our African geese as they were too rowdy and loud, so only one winter's experience with them. We are zone 4 here, so I would think you would be okay as long as you don't have a lot of humidity in your housing. That can cause problems. Good ventilation is important.

 

[Goose_Willis]

I read about the frostbite too. Never saw it, but can't promise it won't happen. We didn't keep our African geese as they were too rowdy and loud, so only one winter's experience with them. We are zone 4 here, so I would think you would be okay as long as you don't have a lot of humidity in your housing. That can cause problems. Good ventilation is important.

Yeah, I was thinking the large doghouse with a flap door would work better because they're usually ventilated and if it's not I can just drill a few small holes near the roof.

The other setup I mentioned with the greenhouse plastic seems like it would collect condensation even though I'm in the desert. I've seen setups like that on YouTube and Instagram but I don't know how those people ventilate and the setups are usually much, much larger than my little run.

Initially I wasn't worried about humidity at all until I read that waterfowl create tons of condensation with their breath.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Yeah, I was thinking the large doghouse with a flap door would work better because they're usually ventilated and if it's not I can just drill a few small holes near the roof.

The other setup I mentioned with the greenhouse plastic seems like it would collect condensation even though I'm in the desert. I've seen setups like that on YouTube and Instagram but I don't know how those people ventilate and the setups are usually much, much larger than my little run.

Initially I wasn't worried about humidity at all until I read that waterfowl create tons of condensation with their breath.

We originally going to build a small run in shelter for ours. They decided they liked our goats so they live with them.

Geese are pretty hardy. Blocking the winds, a roof and thick bedding is all they seem to need. Not sure if they would willingly go in a doghouse. Ours are always confused by the flap when we add it back in the late fall, so you may need to get them used to the housing before adding a flap. I had to knick the corner so they can peak in, otherwise they can't seem to understand how to push through. They are always happy when we remove it.

 

[Goose_Willis]

We originally going to build a small run in shelter for ours. They decided they liked our goats so they live with them.

Geese are pretty hardy. Blocking the winds, a roof and thick bedding is all they seem to need. Not sure if they would willingly go in a doghouse. Ours are always confused by the flap when we add it back in the late fall, so you may need to get them used to the housing before adding a flap. I had to knick the corner so they can peak in, otherwise they can't seem to understand how to push through. They are always happy when we remove it.

They go inside of my dog's house and investigate it so I'm hoping they'll do the same with one in their run.

That's good to know about the flap, I was thinking about making one out of an old wool blanket or something that's easier to move than a traditional plastic dog door flap.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

They go inside of my dog's house and investigate it so I'm hoping they'll do the same with one in their run.

That's good to know about the flap, I was thinking about making one out of an old wool blanket or something that's easier to move than a traditional plastic dog door flap.

We use either industrial felt, or even rubber back rugs. They break down eventually but are easily replaced. We start with them tacked at an angle so half the door is blocked, and we slowly lower it until we let it down. Once one gets it the rest eventually figure it out.