# Keeping the goat house clean



## dhansen (Feb 26, 2012)

Have any of you used cat litter to soak up/make smell better areas where your goats pee often?  My goats have a huge fiel to graze in, but as soon as I call them in, then run to the feeding area and all pee.  It gets nasty, even though I clean the area daily.  I was thinking of trying cat littler to soak up some of the yuck and maybe take care of some of the stink.  It's also cheap, which I like.


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## redtailgal (Feb 26, 2012)

We tried that in an area where horses were peeing.  The cat litter STUNK and the area got slippery (it was NOT clay type litter).

We use compressed sawdust granules now.  They are pelletized sawdust and they soak up the wet very good, then fall apart into loose sawdust that will dry quickly.  We get it out of the bedding section of the farm store.


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## ksalvagno (Feb 26, 2012)

You can try stuff like Stall Dry or woodstove pellets or pine shavings. I think the cat litter would be too dusty and it might get into their lungs.


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## dhansen (Feb 26, 2012)

I may try it anyway just to see how it works.  I think it is made out of clay anyway.


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## EggsForIHOP (Feb 26, 2012)

I had a cat litter spill right outside my feed room door...trust me...DON'T USE KITTY LITTER!  It was dry at the time, since it was fresh litter (I busted the bag and went all over) I forgot about it...until it rained!

I ended up with a slip-n-slide that needed to be dug out later because after it dried up it became a giant ROCK FORMATION that would turn slippery again when wet...it took two good cycles of rain/dry/rain/dry before I figured this out and dug that stuff up and outta there (I had hoped it would wash away - nope...no luck)...and it still keeps a slickness to it when it rains in that area even months later.

Try the pelleted pine bedding at TSC - I have a friend raising hogs for 4H and they SWEAR that is the best bedding ever!

Also...what I do in our covered barn area for stinky spots....just plain old baking soda.  Can't hurt anything that eats it...doesn't need to be monitored like chemicals...just buy a big giant bag of the stuff and keep it around - when I smell stinky pee goats...I go in, rake out old straw, shake a TON of baking soda...put down new straw.  Getting the old stuff out seems to help, and the baking soda seems to work.  My girls also prefer to pee in one spot - right where the stand to munch hay!  So it makes a nasty little mess there when we have several rainy days in a row and I can't stand that smell either!


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## dhansen (Feb 26, 2012)

Thank you.  I will try the baking soda as it is cheap at Costco and comes in a huge bag.


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## that's*satyrical (Feb 26, 2012)

Wet cat litter is nasty unless you get the scoopable kind. I have the litter box in our laundry room & trust me you don't want to clean up nasty wet cat litter.


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## EggsForIHOP (Feb 26, 2012)

And remember - it's one thing to be "clean" and it's another to be OCD with it...sometimes livestock STINKS!! It just can't be helped. Hot days, wet days...they don't help.  It took me a year of OVER cleaning things to realize I was too worried and making myself TOO TIRED to enjoy my animals 

  Seriously...I was going in the pen daily and sweeping away poo and dirt with it with a dust pan on a stick and a broom!....and soon their pen was 6 inches SHORTER inside the fence than the land surrounding it!  The neighbors were laughing at me and I had  a GIANT pile of "manure" growing....I had a "come to terms with it" moment....

Now I have regular cleaning days and I actually enjoy being outside just sitting with my goats...and sometimes things are dirty...you should see my freaking kitchen at the moment!  UGH! (DH just broke a plate as I type too!)  But I'm taking more moments to RELAX and enjoy the nice days right now and I think my blood pressure is thanking me for it 

Remember - if you're always cleaning, they can't be goats and you can't be happy


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## dianneS (Feb 26, 2012)

ksalvagno said:
			
		

> You can try stuff like Stall Dry or woodstove pellets or pine shavings. I think the cat litter would be too dusty and it might get into their lungs.


Are woodstove pellets the same thing as the pelleted bedding for horses?  Or is there a danger that there may be hardwood sawdust in them that would be harmful to horses?  I've always wondered if the wood stove pellets could be a substitute for horse bedding?


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## ksalvagno (Feb 26, 2012)

The difference is that there is nothing in it to deodorize the smell. I used it for rabbit litter so I'm sure you could use it for the horses. The woodstove pellets is what we are talking about.


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## hcppam (Feb 26, 2012)

dhansen said:
			
		

> I may try it anyway just to see how it works.  I think it is made out of clay anyway.


It will make a slick, nasty mess.


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## dhansen (Feb 27, 2012)

I threw out some baking soda in the nasty spots yesterday and it wasn't nearly as stinky!


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## crochetrat (Jan 29, 2018)

You need to use deep litter in the barn and deep litter in the run. Dig it out about 12 inches and fill with wood shavings. I use my chickens to keep the litter turned over nicely. They keep the goat berries mixed in with the wood shavings. I also use dried leaves and chuck in kitchen scraps, garden waste, chicken feed etc. It all ends up making a lovely odor-eating bed. It just smells earthy. Saves my back and my time.
I should add that the goat run is covered. They use it when it rains a lot, or it’s too hot. The chickens are crucial to make it work, so you don’t have to. And, of course, they add their own nitrogen to it too!


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## Latestarter (Jan 29, 2018)

Greetings and welcome to BYH @crochetrat  So glad you joined us. The thread you chose to "enter" on was last posted to almost 6 years ago. Hope you'll take a moment and visit the new member thread and do a brief introduction so folks can welcome you better.  https://www.backyardherds.com/forums/new-member-introductions.17/ 

There's a wealth of info, knowledge and experience shared in the multitude of threads. Browse around and see what interesting stuff you can find. By all means post away when the desire strikes you, especially if you have questions (provide as much detail/info as possible and pictures truly help)... With all the great folks here, generally someone will respond in no time at all. Please make yourself at home!

Oh, if you haven't done so already, PLEASE put at least your general location in your profile. It could be very important if/when you ask for or offer help or advice. You know, climate issues and such. Old folks like me   will never remember from this thread. To add it, mouse hover over Account top right and a drop down will appear. Click on Personal Details and scan down. You'll see the spot for Location. Then go to the bottom and save changes.  Thanks! Hope you enjoy the site!


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## Finnie (May 17, 2018)

@crochetrat 
@Latestarter 

I for one am glad she bumped this thread. I am considering getting a couple of goats, so I have been browsing the goat section looking for general goat keeping tips. I don't even know what I need to find out, so I check random different subjects. 

I'm really happy to have a heads up about goats making a stinky mess around their feeder. And happy to see several people's solutions to that. I'll add this to my knowledge about if/when/and where to put them. Thanks!


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