# Will this house work for my goats?



## TwoDogFarm

Hi. We recently purchased our first goats--two Nigerian dwarfs and one Silkie miniature fainting goat. Right now, we let them out on a pasture during the day and put them up in a 10 x10 dog kennel at night. We are in the process of trying to get everything ready for winter. We've found the goat house below and are thinking about purchasing it for our three goats. This house is 54" long x 36" wide. For those of you who already have goats, would this be something that could work for them or should we look into something else? Thanks in advance.


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## SA Farm

Personally, I would be okay with putting two NDs in there, but not 3. As an always open lean-to for keeping them out of the weather, sure, but not for winter housing (unless you have winter that's very different from what I have!). I have 2 adults or 1 adult with kids in a 5x5 shed.


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## goats&moregoats

I don't believe it's big enough for three adult goats for winter use, then again as stated above, it depends on how your winters are.


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## jodief100

I think size wise it is fine for three little goats.  A full size goat needs about 5 ft^2.  That shelter is 14 ft^2, that should be plenty since they have access to the outdoors.  What kind of ventilation does it have?  I see the front has a gap at the roof but not the sides.  Does the back?  You want cross ventilation.  I also don't  like wooden floors with my shelters, they tend to get nasty and rot. 

What kind of winters and summers you have could make a difference.  More ventilation for extreme heat.  Extreme cold and you will want to pile the hay deep and it might not be tall enough.


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## TwoDogFarm

We were planning on leaving this open and putting it in a pasture area, so they wouldn't be confined to this space. They would just go in it to get warm. Sorry, I didn't specify that in my post above. 

As far as ventilation goes, it has a door on the side as well as ventilation through the top of the roof. 

We live in northern North Carolina. Usually, our winters here are pretty mild in comparison to those in the North. Last winter was an exception, though and we found it really hard to keep our chickens and ducks warm through the winter.


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## OneFineAcre

The wood floor will need a lot of cleaning.  I'm in North Carolina, and my goats sleep outside most of the time.  Even when it is very cold, if it isn't windy or wet they prefer to stay outside.  About the only time mine stay in the house is when it is raining.


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## TwoDogFarm

OneFineAcre said:


> The wood floor will need a lot of cleaning.  I'm in North Carolina, and my goats sleep outside most of the time.  Even when it is very cold, if it isn't windy or wet they prefer to stay outside.  About the only time mine stay in the house is when it is raining.



If you don't mind me asking, what kind of area do you have set up for your goats? We live around the Greensboro area. We had considered putting some of those rubber mats on the wooden floor so we would have the option of keeping it cleaner since I've heard that the wood will rot. 

Right now in the dog kennel we have them in, we have one of those large pet carriers in there and most of the time they sleep on top of it rather than inside of it...Of course, it is the summer now though. I just want to have some kind of nice area set up for them so when the winter gets here, we won't have to worry about them being in the elements too much. And since you live around here, you know how unusual and cold last winter was. Did yours sleep outside then too?


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## goats&moregoats

If your winters are mild then the should be fine, I live in VT and my goats are outside a lot even in the winter, just real cold times they are inside.


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## OneFineAcre

TwoDogFarm said:


> If you don't mind me asking, what kind of area do you have set up for your goats? We live around the Greensboro area. We had considered putting some of those rubber mats on the wooden floor so we would have the option of keeping it cleaner since I've heard that the wood will rot.
> 
> Right now in the dog kennel we have them in, we have one of those large pet carriers in there and most of the time they sleep on top of it rather than inside of it...Of course, it is the summer now though. I just want to have some kind of nice area set up for them so when the winter gets here, we won't have to worry about them being in the elements too much. And since you live around here, you know how unusual and cold last winter was. Did yours sleep outside then too?



Most of the time they slept outside.  If it is windy, or wet they get inside.  I've seen clear, calm nights in the 20s and they stay outside.  There coats get really thick in the winter.  I will have to take a picture because I don't have one handy, but most of my houses are 3 sided shelters.  I face the opening towards the south/southwest because in the winter time if it is cold the wind blows from the north/north east.  But, mine are completely open on one end.  I had always had dirt floors up until last year when it was just so wet all of the time.  I added wood to cover about half of the shelter so they can get off of the ground.  But, I do have to clean alot.  If you put some wood shavings and straw it will soak up most of the urine.

The house in your picture is nice.  It just looks like it would be hard to keep clean.


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## TwoDogFarm

OneFineAcre said:


> Most of the time they slept outside.  If it is windy, or wet they get inside.  I've seen clear, calm nights in the 20s and they stay outside.  There coats get really thick in the winter.  I will have to take a picture because I don't have one handy, but most of my houses are 3 sided shelters.  I face the opening towards the south/southwest because in the winter time if it is cold the wind blows from the north/north east.  But, mine are completely open on one end.  I had always had dirt floors up until last year when it was just so wet all of the time.  I added wood to cover about half of the shelter so they can get off of the ground.  But, I do have to clean alot.  If you put some wood shavings and straw it will soak up most of the urine.
> 
> The house in your picture is nice.  It just looks like it would be hard to keep clean.



Thanks. What about this? We could get this from the same place.


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## ragdollcatlady

The first house looks fine, But I think mine would prefer the more open house more often. They will lay in the shade of the shelters in the hot summer too, but like to see everything around them. You can always deep bed or add a removable cover over part of the opening if the winter gets too extreme.


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## BijuBuck

> The first house looks fine, But I think mine would prefer the more open house more often. They will lay in the shade of the shelters in the hot summer too, but like to see everything around them. You can always deep bed or add a removable cover over part of the opening if the winter gets too extreme.


I agree with you! Rather get the open one that you can cover with something else if the winter gets too extreme!


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## goats&moregoats

Much better!  just be sure you have the opening facing away form the normal winter wind direction.


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## OneFineAcre

IMO that one would be better.
Like I said, face the opening to the S-SW.


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## TwoDogFarm

Thanks for the guidance and info. We'll probably go with the second one then.


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## jodief100

Agreed, the second is much better for your area.  They will love the open side where they can get some shade and be out of the sun and wind.


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## Goat Whisperer

I think the second one is a better choice


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## aascvd01

I love it! It should be big enough for three goats.


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## SheepGirl

The second one looks like it may also have a wooden floor? It's hard to tell.


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## MDres

If you end up getting a house with a wooden floor, I would NOT put rubber mats on the wooden floor. The mats will just hold the urine/moisture on the wood, without any air circulation to dry the moisture out. Instead, I would look at applying a "Rhino lining" type product directly on the wood and up the sides about 6". That type of product will bond directly with the wood, and any moisture will sit on top and be absorbed into the bedding. You can find those products in the liquid roofing section of Lowe's or Home Depot. They are pretty smelly, so you will want the shelter/house to air out for quite a while before you put the goats in it...


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## Bryan99705

I'm currently 20 years in interior Alaska but having spent several years at Ft Bragg, I realize the old adage is true "If you don't like the weather, give it 5 minutes and it will change" really applies to NC.  Your choice of shelters is totally up to you as to how much you want to spend and how fancy you want to get.  I wintered 2 goats (a Togg and a Nigerian) thru 3 winters with a Walmart tarp garage and a couple extra tarps for sides and it was -40 and colder a lot of time.  As long as they can get out of the rain / wind / snow, have plenty of good hay and clean unfrozen water they will thrive.  I had their manger under the cover too so the hay way dry and the wasted hay /poop / urine composted it and generated heat for them too (deep bedding method).  As for you in NC, you probably need to focus more on hot sun protection than cold weather protection.

PS.  If you go with wood floor, consider covering the floor and part way up the sides with a scrap piece of linoleum.  Then you can hose it out


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