# Help with goat shelter is this gonna work? Ideas?



## Dovahkiin (Jun 13, 2020)

I have two nigerian dwarf goats both females coming to us the last week of July they will both be 8 weeks old and weaned. We found this for super cheap and it's very sturdy but it definitely needs some work. It was designed for a rather large and aggressive dog so Im thinking it will hold up fairly well. We are planning on putting new roofing material of some kind on top its regular house asphalt tile roofing now but its falling off. We are gonna scrub it and repaint it and add a foot of wood around the base of it to fix were the previous tenant had a few midnight snacks. We are also think of adding a door for better clean out and a hay rack feeder inside. Do I need to add some kind of door to the opening for them? The backyard is fenced with a 6 foot high fence and we have a great dane whose bark usually drives off predators in the area. I was thinking of adding a little 4foot high fence in the front like a play area and then letting them out in the mornings like I do my chickens. Are these good ideas? Will this work at all? This is my first time with goats and I want to give them the best home possible!


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## Dovahkiin (Jun 13, 2020)

This is it from farther away I have a nice area around it I was thinking of growing alfalfa for them


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## frustratedearthmother (Jun 13, 2020)

Pretty view!


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## CntryBoy777 (Jun 13, 2020)

.....I know ya are excited!!....
There are a few things to consider about your "plans"....I've never had nigerian dwarf goats, but have had meat goats....all goats need a well ventilated shelter and ya need room to be able to work around them in case of an emergency....they do not like being wet and will stay inside during rainy weather....this means there will be plenty of waste inside, because they respond to the urge and let it go....in a shelter as ya have it, the ammonia will build up and can create respiratory issues for them....also, the fencing should be a knotted wire fence....many animals and humans have been injured with welded wire, as the welds are easily popped and the wires separate....goats will put pressure on any fence....even smaller goats....and they can jump much higher than ya might think....they are curious and think it is their "job" to test every inch of your enclosure for "weaknesses" to show ya, so ya can fix em...........another thing to consider is how far from the house are they....reason...ya may have to tend to them in bad weather and ya may even have to shelter with them to feed em or to wait out a downpour....so, these are things to mull over and think thru before ya get things setup and then have to change it after ya get them....


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## Dovahkiin (Jun 13, 2020)

frustratedearthmother said:


> Pretty view!


Thank you!


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## Dovahkiin (Jun 13, 2020)

CntryBoy777 said:


> .....I know ya are excited!!....
> There are a few things to consider about your "plans"....I've never had nigerian dwarf goats, but have had meat goats....all goats need a well ventilated shelter and ya need room to be able to work around them in case of an emergency....they do not like being wet and will stay inside during rainy weather....this means there will be plenty of waste inside, because they respond to the urge and let it go....in a shelter as ya have it, the ammonia will build up and can create respiratory issues for them....also, the fencing should be a knotted wire fence....many animals and humans have been injured with welded wire, as the welds are easily popped and the wires separate....goats will put pressure on any fence....even smaller goats....and they can jump much higher than ya might think....they are curious and think it is their "job" to test every inch of your enclosure for "weaknesses" to show ya, so ya can fix em...........another thing to consider is how far from the house are they....reason...ya may have to tend to them in bad weather and ya may even have to shelter with them to feed em or to wait out a downpour....so, these are things to mull over and think thru before ya get things setup and then have to change it after ya get them....


Thank you for all the advice! We currently have the entire backyard it's big enclose in a 6 foot chain link fence. And I was going to put a wood fence around thier area. I will definitely be adding ventilation now thank you! As well as an easy way to muck out the enclosure. It was totally waterproof before the tiles came off and we will fix it properly donuts water proof again. We are getting them for milk goats so the goal is to keep it as clean as one can. We also will be getting some play equipment for them so they dont get too bored. Right now there house is about 20 to 30 feet from the backporch amd we are making a path there for easy walking! We also have a local vet that helps with farm animals as needed!


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## CntryBoy777 (Jun 13, 2020)

If ya want an easy "fix" for the ventilation....I would take the roof off and use 2x4s or 2x6s as spacers and then put the roof back on it....if ya use corrugated tin, I'd leave a 1-2' overhang on front and back for added rain protection....if ya are rainsing it off the ground....I'd put a porch/deck on it....it will be multi-functional and will keep them off the ground when it is wet....sit on while trimming hooves, and ya won't have to bend/squat as far.....ya can put a headstock on it and even milk on it.....as far as the path goes....use the bigger concrete squarez from Walmart or Lowes....they will keep ya outta the mud and file the hooves, so less trimming.....  

..
This is an old chicken coop that I renovated into a goat house and some of the squares I had for them.....


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## Dovahkiin (Jun 13, 2020)

CntryBoy777 said:


> If ya want an easy "fix" for the ventilation....I would take the roof off and use 2x4s or 2x6s as spacers and then put the roof back on it....if ya use corrugated tin, I'd leave a 1-2' overhang on front and back for added rain protection....if ya are rainsing it off the ground....I'd put a porch/deck on it....it will be multi-functional and will keep them off the ground when it is wet....sit on while trimming hooves, and ya won't have to bend/squat as far.....ya can put a headstock on it and even milk on it.....as far as the path goes....use the bigger concrete squarez from Walmart or Lowes....they will keep ya outta the mud and file the hooves, so less trimming.....
> 
> View attachment 75113..View attachment 75114
> This is an old chicken coop that I renovated into a goat house and some of the squares I had for them.....


Thank you for the tips! We probably raise the roof somehow add the overhang when we do the roof. I'm wondering how you keep the balance between properly ventilated and warm in the winter/cool in the summer. Right now the house has 4x4 beams as a base so its raised up. I'm not sure if we should raise it more than that or not. The deck looks awesome on your goat house something like that would be cool! I have lots of pallet wood to make something similar with. I'll have to add some cement stones for there hooves! And me lol.


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## CntryBoy777 (Jun 13, 2020)

As far as cold, you can use extra straw or hay for bedding old rags can fill some of the space between the rafters....goats can tolerate the cold fairly well as they grow their winter coats and a bit more grain on cold nights will be fine....water is the difficult thing to "deal with" during super cold days.....


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## Dovahkiin (Jun 14, 2020)

We were planning on doing straw and lots of fresh hay. I was also thinking of putting boards on top of the studs inside and stuffing them with straw too like housing insulation essentially. We want to rig up some kind of no freeze water system but also we are full time on the homestead so we do check the animals water fairly often.


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## CntryBoy777 (Jun 14, 2020)

I wouldn't put hay/straw in the walls....it will encourage lice and mites to gather and multiply....there are many here that raise em further north than where ya are, so it isn't as harsh on them as ya think....I think ya will do fine....  ....looking forward to your "adventures"....


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## Kristie (Jun 17, 2020)

We built a small barn for our two NDwarfs. One thing to consider is a sleeping bench inside. Not sure it's a necessity, but the breeder we bought from suggested it and it was mentioned in several books I read. My girls put themselves to bed every night when it gets dark. When I go to lock up (there is a half-door that I close to their barn just to be on the safe side), they are crashed out on their bench!


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