Is my goose experiencing hypothermia?

[570446]

Hi there,

I live in northwestern Wisconsin and we are experiencing a cold snap. All my ducks and goose are looking a little rugged, with ice freezing on their feathers. I put a little heating lamp in their coop, keeping their water and food bowls filled.

However, I think I made a mistake. My goose had poop frozen to his butt and I was worried about it clogging his butt hole and potentially backing him up. I filled up their kitty pool with warm water for a quick bath but now my boy is shivering even more. I brought him inside my house to warm up and I am not too sure if I made the right decision. Please help

 

[Isaac 0]

I suspect there are compromisations in the thermoregulatory proprieties of the feathers, which is allowing moisture to penetrate into the skin causing cooling. The first goal which you have already done is bringing him inside - you'll want to keep him inside in a warm spot until the whole integument is dry, to speed the process you can gently blow dry his body, aiming in the "grain" of the feathers.

If there is an excessive amount of fecal matter surrounding his vent, I would try to gently trim the feces off without exposing the skin too much. Afterward, you can return him outside, but only provide head deep water to prevent the processes from occurring. Once warm weather permits, attempt to introduce body deep water so feather condition can be improved.