1st winter with goats!

[goats&moregoats]

. Excellent advice above. I live in central VT...I have done 4 yrs of winters with open door policy for my goats. This was when I had guardian dogs for protection. Only shutting them in on extremely cold nights. Plenty of ventilation is the key when closing them in, protection from the wind...face your doors to the south. I use the deep bed method. That is letting the bedding build up, keeping the top layer as dry as possible. Ton of work for cleaning out( I do half at winter thaw & complete in the Spring), but does generate the warmth needed in the winter. Cleaning off wet areas daily.
Heated buckets are the key for water in the winter. I currently have a four gallon for five goats. I refill each day(as someone usually poops in the bucket over night) using warm water. I have fashioned a way to tie the bucket to the side of the barn so it does not get dumped. The cord is covered by a metal coil so goats can't chew it, and it is plugged in way above their reach. As soon as the buck pen is complete then the bucks will have a 4 gallon & the 2 girls & 1 wether will have a 4 gallon.
I usually let them out by 7 am, unless something drastic comes up, then it's 8am, but no later than 8:30. My barn is ventilated at the top, around roof rafters and open some in the front at the peak. Right now I shut them all in as I do not have a guardian dog and there are predators in my area. I use an electric fence and if the power goes out then they are left unprotected.
I have used 3 sided South facing shelters for my bucks in the past as well as does kidding in Feb & March with success. I happen to believe that if we over protect them from the cold, then they will not develop their natural ability to protect themselves from it. Those nice thick winter coats. None of my shelters are insulated. They are weather and wind proof. That is what counts. Hay! 24/7 as @misfitmorgan said.

As small as your shelter is you can still do deep bedding method as you only have the two goats in there. Most (not all) urine does filter down through the top layer or two, so you only have to spot clean.

Hauling water from the house in 5 gallon buckets is still the only thing I do not like about farming in the winter. Thankfully I usually only have to haul two( one for each heated bucket) Kidding in the winter for me results in at least two more smaller heated buckets.

Wish you the best of luck and look forward to seeing you here again.

 

[Aneesa's Muse]

When I first acquired my Togg girls, Mallory and Hanna-Claire (also twins), I lived in Wausau, WI. They had a calf hut filled with good bedding hay, blankets, and they wore lamb coats (from Hoegger Supply, I believe). You can also get dog coats, in the appropriate size. It's just a little extra, to keep the chill factor off; a layer to maintain a little more body heat.

Of course, be sure they have enough browse or hay, because their metabolism will also keep their body temp up.

If you don't have snow yet, (I left in 2015... we had snow in October, that year.) keep in mind, most goats don't love the wet elements. And, they need to have healthy feet/hooves, so keep an eye on them during winter months.

 

[mamacole4]

Thank you all for such good tips and advice. Right now there shed has one door that is closed all the time and the other door is wide open all day. I only close it when I lock them up at night. What could I do with a vinyl shed to add for ventilation? It has a spot in the back up at the peak 3 vents. I bring them warm water every morning and before lock up. And I’ve been giving them each 1/2 cup of sweet feed. They get alfalfa hay 24/7 and water. As well as there loose minerals and baking soda.

 

[RoahT]

Stack straw bales around their shed! It's great insulation!

 

[OneFineAcre]

Are you saying it has vents ?

 

[mamacole4]

Are you saying it has vents ?

Yes it does have small vents in the back. But someone mentioned I should add more ventilation and was wondering what other ideas.

 

[OneFineAcre]

You could get a large drill bit and drill some holes on the front wall near the top
Maybe an equal amount to what you have in the back for air flow

 

[OneFineAcre]

If the doors are facing south you could probably just leave one door open on most nights
That is unless you are worried about predators

 

[Alaskan]

I would try to figure out how to make bigger vents.

Just how cold does it get where you are?

My goats get lots of air that blows through the barn, I am super paranoid about inadequate ventilation. The goats have a wind break/solid half wall that they can sleep behind, the air goes down the open middle of the barn. The goat pen is the east 1/3 of the barn with a solid half wall.

The first winter we had kids we stuck them into a dry water trough at night, bedding thick with hay, super strong wood gate on top (predator protection with lots of openings for air...like a fence).

Last winter the kids got coats for a few days and a bedding box with heating blanket for awhile.

Anyway, it worked well, they grew well.