# bedding for goat house



## marlowmanor

What is the best bedding to use for goat housing? They are in a dogloo right now. We are currently using pine shavings in the goats house, but I am wondering if there is something else that is better to keep them warm during the winter months. I'm afraid to use hay because they will be pooping on it in the house and I don't want to waste hay they could be eating. I wouldn't want them eating hay they pooped on. I am curious about straw and pine needles as options too. Anyone have experience with any of these options?


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## Queen Mum

They won't eat hay they have pooped on.  Goats waste a lot of hay.  It's their nature.  They will eat pine chips, cedar chips, pine needles and pelleted bedding as well until they've been laying on it, peeing on it and pooping on it.  They they won't touch it with their mouths.  So you can use whatever you want.  The question is,  what is easiest to remove after they have pee'd and pooped on it?  And, what can you afford?  

Straw is easy to fork out.   Chips can be shoveled out.  Pelleted bedding is nice because you can rake through it and the icky junk kind of comes to the top and you can rake it out.   The wet spots are easy to find and you can pull them out as well.  Pine needles are fine too.  

The next question is what do you have lots of?

The most important question of all is what will keep them warm? IF you winters are REALLY cold then you can buy a bunch of bales of straw and surround them with it, then break them down as you need them.  

Your call!


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## marlowmanor

Well we live in the middle of NC, we don't get majorly harsh winters here (thankfully, since I hate the cold!). We rarely get snow and when we do it's usually nothing major. We can get some cold weather but nothing like up north does or anything. The pine shaving are working well right now. They don't seem to be eating them, and it's not too hard to clean out the house when they get lots of poop in it. They seem to be able to cuddle up with each other at night for warmth and the wind can't get into the dogloo unless it's from the front. I'll wait to see if anyone else chimes in.


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## daisychick

I use straw inside my goats shelter.  When it gets packed down I remove any wet spots or soiled spots and then just sprinkle some more on top.   When it all gets dirty I just rake it out and put it right on my garden in the winter.   For a small shelter, a bale of straw goes a long way.   If I have a nice Winter day where the ground is not hard I till the dirty straw into the soil in the garden, then in early Spring I till it again.    I only have 2 goats so their little "house" really doesn't take too much bedding.  My goats also won't eat hay they have pooped on, in fact they consider it "dirty" if it even touches the ground, picky picky girls!     In case you are worried, mine DO NOT ever try to eat the straw.


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## elevan

I use a combination of pine shavings and straw.  Pine shavings being my primary bedding topped with straw.  My goats tend to eat 50% of the straw so I need the pine shavings below it.  Why not just use pine shavings?  Personal choice only...no real reason one way or the other.


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## marlowmanor

elevan said:
			
		

> I use a combination of pine shavings and straw.  Pine shavings being my primary bedding topped with straw.  My goats tend to eat 50% of the straw so I need the pine shavings below it.  Why not just use pine shavings?  Personal choice only...no real reason one way or the other.


Right now we are just using pine shavings. So far works well and we only have to clean it out every 2 weeks or so. DH and my FIL just mentioned maybe adding something else for warmth. They are worried about the goats staying warm.


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## elevan

marlowmanor said:
			
		

> elevan said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I use a combination of pine shavings and straw.  Pine shavings being my primary bedding topped with straw.  My goats tend to eat 50% of the straw so I need the pine shavings below it.  Why not just use pine shavings?  Personal choice only...no real reason one way or the other.
> 
> 
> 
> Right now we are just using pine shavings. So far works well and we only have to clean it out every 2 weeks or so. DH and my FIL just mentioned maybe adding something else for warmth. They are worried about the goats staying warm.
Click to expand...

My goats have a barn, cuddle together and I use the deep litter method - so I think they would be fine with just the shavings but I like to give them the "extra".


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## 20kidsonhill

We use the deep litter method as well, and use straw to freshen the top.  My personal opinion, is that wasted hay makes terrible bedding, it adds to the smell of the barn and produces more ammonia than straw bedding. 

Ideally, I would love to have a sand floor with bedding on top of that.


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## sawfish99

For those using the deep litter method, how often do you fully strip and put in new bedding?


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## elevan

sawfish99 said:
			
		

> For those using the deep litter method, how often do you fully strip and put in new bedding?


I strip it in the spring - one time.  Then spring through early fall the dirt floor just gets raked as needed.  Mid fall is when I start putting down the shaving and straw...I'm a little late doing it this year as we've had some odd weather (supposed to be 67* today).


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## elevan

20kidsonhill said:
			
		

> We use the deep litter method as well, and use straw to freshen the top.  My personal opinion, is that wasted hay makes terrible bedding, it adds to the smell of the barn and produces more ammonia than straw bedding.
> 
> Ideally, I would love to have a sand floor with bedding on top of that.


I agree on the wasted hay - it gets NASTY!  DOUBLE NASTY!  

My plan (due to my environment) is to eventually put in a crushed limestone floor instead of the dirt that is there now.  Bedding would go on that.  Sand would be problematic with winters here.


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## sawfish99

We use sawdust from a local sawmill that processes almost 100% pine.  I use that as bedding for the horse stalls, goats, chickens, etc.  It only costs $15 for a pickup load.  So far none of the animals have complained.  Additionally, it breaks down easily in teh compost pile.


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