A New Shelter for My Geese

August 5, 2019

My gaggle of geese is thriving at my Bedford, New York farm.

I now have a total of 11 beautiful geese - Sebastopol geese, Toulouse geese and of course my two Pomeranian guard geese. If you follow this blog regularly, you may recall that the youngest of these gorgeous birds were incubated and hatched right in my kitchen - I am so happy to report all are doing well and enjoying each other’s company. Last spring, Pete, from my outdoor grounds crew, built a larger shelter for them, so they could all huddle together for shade or protection from inclement weather when needed.

Here are some photos - enjoy.

: Geese are very good to have around the coop. Thanks to their honks, geese make excellent guardians for my chickens. They can scare off any animals that would otherwise bother the hens, and they are known to be great at spotting aerial predators, such as hawks and falcons.

: I have always had a separate hutch for my geese, but now that they are growing so big, I decided it was time to build them a bigger enclosure in the largest part of my chicken yard. Here are the first ground pieces for the frame. It measures about 13-feet by five-feet.

: Pete and Fernando are excellent carpenters and do many of the smaller building projects around the farm. Fernando holds the wood in place while Pete screws the bottom frame pieces together.

: The frame is assembled using two and a half inch screws.

: First the base is screwed together on all four sides.

: And then the uprights – everything is measured twice and leveled perfectly.

: Next, the two create the roof using good quality plywood boards we already had at the farm. I always keep extra building pieces together in a safe place, so they are always available and easy to find when projects like these arise.

: The plywood is placed on top of the frame – these will fit just right. The shelter will not only keep the birds dry and free from drafts, but also provide additional space for nesting.

: Pete carefully nails the roof pieces to the rest of the frame.

: And then uses more plywood to create the back wall. The geese will continue to have their smaller hutches, but I knew they would love this larger size where they could all gather together – they have become a close group.

: Wood pieces are added to the corners for better support.

: Pete also screws additional pieces along the back wall to keep it secure.

: Here is the inside of the new shelter – it is coming together very nicely. The main difference between waterfowl housing and a chicken coop is that geese don’t need roosts. They are just as happy in a quiet, corner on the ground. Geese also don’t require nesting boxes. Ducks and geese lay their eggs on the ground, pulling bedding or leaves around them to hide their eggs, and selecting areas that offer privacy and security. Once this shelter is finished, we will line it with plenty of straw.

: Once all the woodwork is complete, Fernando begins painting the structure in my signature “Bedford Gray”.

: Here is one side drying. Fernando puts two coats of paint on all the walls, so it is well covered.

: Even the trim pieces are painted “Bedford Gray.”

: Next, Pete prepares the shingles for the roof.

: Pete cuts all the shingles and lines them up perfectly.

: Using a separate piece of wood, Pete makes a straight line across the entire roof, so the new shingles are completely straight.

: Next, Pete screws each shingle into place. Two screws in each, so every one is very secure. Here is the finished roof. The cedar will darken to gray after time.

: This part of the process takes some time since all the shingles are nailed individually, each overlapping the one above it.

: And here is the new goose shelter – ready and lined with straw for comfort and nesting.

: And not a moment too soon – here come the geese ready to check out their new home.

: These geese love interacting with the chickens in the yard – I am so pleased everyone gets along. These geese are pretty fast runners – they’re running through the large yard quickly to check out all the activity.