# Barns- What do you love or would change about your barn?



## elevan (Mar 6, 2011)

Ok, I'm looking at building new housing for my goats.

I currently have a mix of pygmies and nigerians...with possible plans to add some lamanchas.

So, I'm looking at kidding and milking and general goat areas.

If you could start from scratch (and build it yourself) what what you do?  What amenities would you add?  What materials would you use?

Help me out by telling me what you love (or hate) about your barn.

Give me your ideas!!

Thanks!

eta:  To change subject title.  & *BY ALL MEANS SHOW ME YOUR PICS!*


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## chandasue (Mar 6, 2011)

Big dreams here, I'll forewarn you!   I'd have a nice big barn with several kidding pens and a separate "Grade A" heated milk room with running water, milking machine and all that jazz. It costs way too much especially when you consider that I'm not even selling any dairy products and it's not in my long term plans either. But if money were no issue I would go a lot bigger than what I have and an easier area to milk for sure.


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## Livinwright Farm (Mar 6, 2011)

Honestly, I would find a preexisting horse barn(big enough to house at minimum 12 horses), -and just go to the hilt with heating, water, and drainage.


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## elevan (Mar 6, 2011)

Ok, not saying that money is not an issue    Which is partly why I'm building it myself (I am quite handy with tools, if I do say so myself)...of course I'll have help.

Also it'll include a place for the llama.

My current barn will cost more to fix than to build a new shelter, with the drainage issues and other problems it has...including no electricity  

So...I'm thinking I'll have a boys "barn" on one side with the girls and llama on the other side.  Separating the two would be a milk room / feed room...

Keep your ideas flowing...

I currently have 10 goats and 1 llama to house and of course that goat number will be going up....don't know what my max will be yet...

I don't plan on moving...but maybe tearing down and rebuilding an old barn wouldn't be out of the question...


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## SpeedysBigRed (Mar 6, 2011)

Have you considered a prefabricated metal building that you put up yourself? They come in a zillion sizes, shapes, and price ranges. You can then finish it inside the way you want.


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## The Old Ram-Australia (Mar 6, 2011)

G,day Elevan,how about for a start you post a photo of what you have!..................because you may be able to modify it..............What state are you in? ....How much snow do you get how far will it be from your house?................Does your budget "stretch to one of those barn kits " with a raised section in the middle?.....................What sort of feed do you store EG:small bales or large for your hay?....Do you "milk your goats for the house or to sell?.............

A new barn is a large investment  and you "say" you will not be moving(I never say never),but I would think long and hard about what you can do to make the keeping of your goats "a pleasure ,not a chore".....................T.O.R.............


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## 20kidsonhill (Mar 6, 2011)

I love the fact that our barn has an exended roof on one side, we are able to store a small tractor under it, hay and a space for sick pens or overflow pens. We put a small calf hut in the over flow pen in the winter for added shelter.  

This way sick animals or new animals can be kept out of the barn area, but still under good shelter.


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## elevan (Mar 6, 2011)

The Old Ram-Australia said:
			
		

> G,day Elevan,how about for a start you post a photo of what you have!..................because you may be able to modify it..............What state are you in? ....How much snow do you get how far will it be from your house?................Does your budget "stretch to one of those barn kits " with a raised section in the middle?.....................What sort of feed do you store EG:small bales or large for your hay?....Do you "milk your goats for the house or to sell?.............
> 
> A new barn is a large investment  and you "say" you will not be moving(I never say never),but I would think long and hard about what you can do to make the keeping of your goats "a pleasure ,not a chore".....................T.O.R.............


My current barn was built 30 years ago and built "cheap" then by my grandfather.  Loved him dearly but it was not built to last.  It is a pole style barn with tin siding and roof and this year it has started to leak badly.  It is also situated in a bad area so that water stands around it and in some of it.  To fix it would cost a whole lot more than I would spend on building a new structure.  To be frank I would be ashamed to post a picture of it    The current barn sits approximately 75 yards from the house.

I am in the U.S.A. in Ohio (a northern state).  We see a decent amount of snow each year...true blizzards happen every 17 years according to statistics here.

We currently store 150 pounds of grain for each type of critter that we have in individual galvanized cans.  Our hay is large square bales mostly.

Our goats are milked and will probably always only be milked for personal use and not sale.

Building a new shelter for the goats while technically a "chore" is not really seen as such by me.  I am a woman who likes to build things and use power tools  

Stats for new barn:  It would be approximately 150 feet from the house making it relatively easy to hook up electricity.  It would also be on much higher ground alleviating the drainage issue of the current barn.  There is a small shed on the spot, so I am thinking to add to the shed leaving it for my "boy" housing.  Possibly building my feed and milking room in between so that I can easily access from both sides.  I want a large communal goat area...but there will also be kiddings and sometimes the need to separate individuals.  Should I build stalls or plan on "moveable" and temporary pens?  I will definitely have a separate feeding stall for the llama as the goats can get pushy with him at times     How big overall do you think?  I'm thinking a crushed limestone floor with some raised sleeping benches...I don't like concrete floors but I also don't like dirt floors.  Wood floors rot, but I could use the "plastic" wood...

And again, no plans to move...this is family land and my Dad is "in" an urn in a memorial garden planted here and my Mom has the same plans so...I can probably be safe in saying that I'm not moving.

Keep the ideas and questions flowing...


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## The Old Ram-Australia (Mar 7, 2011)

G'day elevan,thank for your reply,I think I should clear up the "chore" thing...........I meant that if you replace something ,make sure that what you replace it with operates better than what you had before.The size of the barn "as big as you can afford".

 So you do get a fair amount of "snow".I would put some thought into the "pitch" of the roof,(we have friends in WY and they get "drifts" 6ft deep)think about the weight involved if you have a shallow pitch across say a 30ft roof,and how do you clear same ,before the whole thing collapses.

Consider three separate sections .1 Milking Pa lour.2 Feed Storage.3Area to keep the goats (portable pens for kidding,etc).

  Milking Room,Do you intend to always "hand milk"?.Do you feed concentrates while milking ?I would suggest a concrete floor for this area with power ,water, heating and refrigeration for the milk.Off tasting milk is usually associated with contamination,dust ,feed etc.I would suggest a small area outside the milking room to feed concentrates( the goats soon learn the quicker they give their milk the quicker they get their reward)...How do you milk ,side or behind?..Its all very good to be able to milk two handed into a bucket ,but I found that a narrow topped container "like a quart fruit juice one"(Glass of course )held in one hand and milking one teat at a time ,meant you get all the milk and no hooves in the bucket.Another trick is to get one of those "home haircutting clippers" and take off all those fine hairs when the udder is quite tight,cuts down the "leg lifting at milking time"...While we are on the subject of tricks,before you start on the "teats",rub your hand along the "milk vein" and GENTLY bump the udder ,just like a KID does,tends to calm even "maiden milkers".The first two "squirts" go into something for the chickens.

  Feed Storage can be in a "lean to" on the side of the main structure(it appears that your "grain storage" is rodent proof already.) Concrete flooring seems to be the most appropriate in my view.

I prefer portable pens ,because they are only used for a short period in any year.The larger the open space the better for the goats.For flooring have you considered a "deep litter system?...Hay racks hung on the wall,with the ability to refill them from outside.I would also ensure there is adequate ventilation(not draught'y)in the main goat area.

Do you intend to have yards or a small paddock  running off the barn?If so ,and if you can access one ,a decent sized "boulder",up to about a "ton"(it saves a lot of "hoof trimming").

Hope the above is some "food" for thought................T.O.R............


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## Emmetts Dairy (Mar 7, 2011)

We just finish last fall building a new barn...so I know how you feel.  I spent hours walking around trying to get a flr plan down.   But I have to say...if you are milking...make a milking room for sure...and shevling to put all the tools up and anything that can be stored out there.   

It made things so nice..to put em on the stanchion and have most everything I need around me!!  

How exciting for you!! Have fun. Im thrilled with our new barn!!  

A few stahls are important too!  Keep in mind..kiddings, illness's etc.

Best of luck!!!  

PS We have added sand to the bottom of the barn in lieu of soils...it made a world of differance for us this year because the sand works well for keeping wetness down!!  It carries the liquid away...almost like a leach field!!  It really does make a differance!!  The soils will hold alot...Sometimes my husband can be brillant!!!  Shhh dont tell him that!!!! LOL


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## julieq (Mar 7, 2011)

I love our 100 year old dairy barn and it's plenty big enough for the goats, but if I had the money to build another barn I'd make it big enough to house our two horses also.


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## goodhors (Mar 7, 2011)

Rather than going further away from house, maybe you could make a "raised bed" area to put the new barn on.  We did that for our horses. all the ground here is low.  It was an enormous pile of dirt, left to weather over two winters while we saved up for the barn itself.  Being exposed to rain, snow, cold, got the sand, fill mix, settled well before we needed to use it.  After all the building, shell and horse stalls inside, we poured cement floors.  I think in the 36' x 60' building, there is one floor crack and that is from a woodchuck getting under. 

Having the barn raised has aided stall drainage, keeps everything above any flooding from the drainage ditch going nearby.  And we do get some flash floods since we are on the down side of the field drain before it runs off to the river.  Horses have dry beds, hay storage stays dry.

We put in enough dirt to raise everything about 5 ft, after the dirt settled.  Every time you got some money ahead, we ordered some more fill mix.  This is not sand, or dirt, kind of a road mix fill.  Dirt advice was from BIL, who was a pole barn builder, did the barn part for us.  With new construction there is ALWAYS some settling of things.  Having "old dirt base" means much less movement or issues over time. 

Doing construction in stages helps spread out the costs as well.  Shell sat a year before we had time and money to build the stalls and cement the floors.  Handy as husband is, we had to wait to buy roughsawn lumber for stalls.  Paying cash saves on getting a loan, and we had a very small barn that horses stayed in until we finished this one.

Here in Michigan, that overhang really was never much use to us.  Just drifted full of snow blocking the horse trailer in solid, not wide enough at 8ft to keep the rain off when the wind was blowing.  A few years later we added on a lean-to shed for parking vehicles in using the overhan as part of the roof.  Extended roof out another 14ft, with a new sidewall.  That worked out very well.  Doing it over, I would have moved my outer walls to rafter edge and skipped the overhang.  Would have been NICE to have more inside space.

Consider having sliding half doors or a garage overhead door.  Either is easier to use in winter weather than full size door.  I want to be able to drive into my barn, so BIG doors are required for trucks and wagons of hay.  I have a 12ft aisle front to back, very easy to use tractor, spreader, drive the horses and carriages thru, get the farrier truck inside.  I would never want an aisle narrower, they get congested too easily.  Even with goats as the main occupants, being able to get things in and out is a big priority.  I back the truck in to unload grain BESIDE the feed room.  Saves carrying those heavy bags over distances.  That gains more importance as you age!!

Something else to plan well is a year-around driveway with a solid base.  You do want to be able to drive back there, not get stuck with a load of hay or trailer to load animals into.

A paper model with correct dimensions of house, other barn, garden and paddock areas, then your "accessories" of truck, tractor, ATV, that will be working around the farm, can show where a handy gate, WIDER driveway between things, will help.  Do you have a parking area if you have machinery to keep it out of the way?  A good area for turning around with a hay wagon or trailer, for deliveries.   Making a tight fit in good weather, leaves you no wiggle room if you have to plow snow or ground is icy to drive on, you start sliding.  I LOVE gates, they save me steps, ease how I can work around the place, so I have a LOT.  Think about having them in convenient places for your layout.  Mine are all 14ft to get moderate farm equipment thru, with a couple 4ft walk-thrus for the yard exits into barnyard.  Some will swing to open or close off the barnyard to pasture choices.  EXTREMELY handy.

How about water supplies?  If the ground freezes, you will want any waterline deeper than normal if you drive over it.  Tire weight seems to "push" the frozen crystals deeper into the ground with traffic.  Is the well protected from animal runoff?  Perhaps a run of drain tile could reduce mud, speed runoff of low water places in spring.   Husband says dirt is cheaper than dealing with water and spoiled hay, bedding after flooding.  French drains are VERY popular around barns.

And even just putting on a new roof, that older barn could be great for storage, vehicle parking when the new barn is set up.  We still use that little barn quite a bit for many things.


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## patandchickens (Mar 7, 2011)

It isn't goat-specific, but to me the very biggest thing for a barn is that it be built on high ground with EXTREMELY EXCELLENT drainage and a gravel-amended well-compacted area around it to be all-weather and relatively mudproof.

Even if you put the new barn on a hilltop you STILL would really really benefit from doing the gravel or roadbase area around it. Mud happens pretty much _everywhere_, in Ohio, from what I recall 

Good luck, have fun,

Pat


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## elevan (Mar 7, 2011)

Thank you for the input everyone!  Keep the ideas coming.  I'm sure this post will help more people than just me  



> Do you intend to always "hand milk"?.Do you feed concentrates while milking ?I would suggest a concrete floor for this area with power ,water, heating and refrigeration for the milk.Off tasting milk is usually associated with contamination,dust ,feed etc.I would suggest a small area outside the milking room to feed concentrates( the goats soon learn the quicker they give their milk the quicker they get their reward)...How do you milk ,side or behind?..


I milk with a suction based hand milker.  Not any plans to add a machine.  I will be adding electricity so considering a refrigerator is a good idea.



> Do you intend to have yards or a small paddock  running off the barn?If so ,and if you can access one ,a decent sized "boulder",up to about a "ton"(it saves a lot of "hoof trimming").


The boys will have a "yard" and the girls will have a much larger area.
Thank you for the idea of the boulder...I'll have to see if I can incorporate that.



> We just finish last fall building a new barn...so I know how you feel.  I spent hours walking around trying to get a flr plan down.   But I have to say...if you are milking...make a milking room for sure...and shevling to put all the tools up and anything that can be stored out there.


Shelves are definitely a great idea that I'll incorporate.  Thank you.



> PS We have added sand to the bottom of the barn in lieu of soils...it made a world of differance for us this year because the sand works well for keeping wetness down!!  It carries the liquid away...almost like a leach field!!  It really does make a differance!!  The soils will hold alot...Sometimes my husband can be brillant!!!  Shhh dont tell him that!!!! LOL wink


I have thought about crushed limestone.  It would compact down to be like concrete but still allow good drainage since it is porous.  Has anyone used this method?



> Rather than going further away from house


It's actually much closer to the house.  I listed the current barn in yards from house and the new one in feet from the house...so the current barn is about 225 feet from the house and the new one would be between 100-150 feet from the house.



> Consider having sliding half doors or a garage overhead door.  Either is easier to use in winter weather than full size door.
> 
> Something else to plan well is a year-around driveway with a solid base.  You do want to be able to drive back there, not get stuck with a load of hay or trailer to load animals into.


I definitely want sliding doors.  Opening my chicken coop has been such a chore this winter with it's normal doors that swing open. argh!

The new barn would be situated perfectly with the existing driveway to alleviate the need to hand carry feed.  



> How about water supplies?  If the ground freezes, you will want any waterline deeper than normal if you drive over it.  Tire weight seems to "push" the frozen crystals deeper into the ground with traffic.  Is the well protected from animal runoff?  Perhaps a run of drain tile could reduce mud, speed runoff of low water places in spring.   Husband says dirt is cheaper than dealing with water and spoiled hay, bedding after flooding.  French drains are VERY popular around barns.


Running water is definitely something that I want to incorporate...there is an older existing well right next to the spot...plan to see if it is still viable  



> t isn't goat-specific, but to me the very biggest thing for a barn is that it be built on high ground with EXTREMELY EXCELLENT drainage and a gravel-amended well-compacted area around it to be all-weather and relatively mudproof.
> 
> Even if you put the new barn on a hilltop you STILL would really really benefit from doing the gravel or roadbase area around it. Mud happens pretty much everywhere, in Ohio, from what I recall wink


And thanks for making me think about adding drainage even though it will sit on higher ground.



> And even just putting on a new roof, that older barn could be great for storage, vehicle parking when the new barn is set up.  We still use that little barn quite a bit for many things.


The plan is to gradually refurb the old barn for storage or as a hay barn with raised floors.


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## rebelINny (Mar 8, 2011)

I love the fact that we have a pretty large barn but for starters I would LOVE to have more stalls. I currently have five stalls for kidding and whatnot but I would like to be able to have 2 goats per stall especially in the winter to make sure they all eat the same amount of hay and grain and no one gets shortchanged because they aren't as aggressive as the others. During the summer they love to stay outside anyway except when it rains but I definitely would like to have about five or six more stalls, but then I would need another barn or at least an addition


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## elevan (Mar 18, 2011)

Ok sooooooo......looks like we may redo the old barn after all.

Talked to the guy the other day who put in our pond and looks like he still owes us some labor time...so he's gonna fix the drainage around the barn.  He lost one of his laborers last time (broken ankle) and I filled in running some of the heavy machinery (course didn't get paid) so that's where he's coming from on it    Doesn't matter either way that water problem needs fixed.  And maybe I'll get to run some heavy machinery again!    He offered me a job last time! If I wasn't a married woman and would have had to travel out of state with an old man I barely know (though he was a friend of my Dad) then I would have taken it!  

We still need to add on a little to have everything that we want.  And of course it needs a new roof  

We'll get pictures of old and new and post here when complete.  But I'm not posting old until I can post new   

Thanks for all the input.  Feel free to keep adding more!


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## RockyToggRanch (Mar 18, 2011)

Want to see pix? I'm very proud of mine 

Although I do have a drainage issue on the horse side this time of the yr when the bazillion ft of snow melt. I'll be dealing with that this summer for sure.


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## AlaskanShepherdess (Mar 18, 2011)

Maybe we should start a thread fro pictures of everyones barns. I am in the middle of planning my barn as well.


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## elevan (Mar 18, 2011)

CrownofThornsNDGoats said:
			
		

> Maybe we should start a thread fro pictures of everyones barns. I am in the middle of planning my barn as well.


just add them here


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## elevan (Mar 18, 2011)

RockyToggRanch said:
			
		

> Want to see pix? I'm very proud of mine
> 
> Although I do have a drainage issue on the horse side this time of the yr when the bazillion ft of snow melt. I'll be dealing with that this summer for sure.


Sure RockyToggRanch!  Post away!


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## mogolady (Mar 18, 2011)

Something we have and really enjoy is a dutch door in one end of barn. That way if I have to put someone  in, they can still see others and get some sunshine. Or if they are just loafing in and out I can shut the top and leave bottom open to help keep out rain.

Also, we added on to our original barn, an area about 12 x 40. It is along narrow addition that runs the length of our barn. We wanted to make it dual purpose to save on money as much as possible. So, we set up portable kidding pens in there for April and May. They get cleaned out and limed when kidding over with, then in June we cut and bale hay and store in there. We use hay from there first during winter so it is empty and ready for spring kidding again.

It also has double opening doors in the end, so we can run tractor/loader in and clean out or if it is really hot, I open doors, put a panel across it and it air flow through to help keep cool in summer.

These are the things I like, it would take a long time to list the things I don't.


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