Any great advantage to making housing shed moveable for goats?

[beanmcnulty]

hi! First post for me over here- I am researching goats and I would like to know if there is a huge advantage to having a moveable shed. I can get a 10x6 storage shed for $200, I doubt I could build anything moveable for that cheap. I would be going for the stationary one for the price alone, unless I can be convinced that moving is the way to go. Also would goats kick or damage steel walls? Thanks

 

[elevan]

Welcome to BYH!

I know the sheds you're talking about and you'd have to put something on the inside of them to make sure that the goats don't buckle the walls out and escape.

In regards to moving it...you could build a floor on runners and pull it with a tractor to move it.

 

[beanmcnulty]

hi! thanks for the info- do you mean build the steel storage shed on runners? also you were talking about the steel walls they would damage, right? I would probably have the shed within their fence (like a run-in, free to come and go) so I don't think escape would be a big deal but if they like to head butt any walls they encounter, my thought was to put some kind of paneling on the inside. Plywood? Plastic? Is anything the best to use? thanks

 

[ThreeBoysChicks]

Depending on the type of goats you are going to have paneling and/or plastic will not really work. I have Boer Croses, a Nigerian and Nubians. They like to head butt things and the like to stand up on it with their front feet.

 

[beanmcnulty]

I am leaning toward Nigerians; so there isn't anything you can do to help with head-butt damage? how about a layer of fencing offset from the walls? just brain-storming here!

 

[abailey13]

A good quetions beanmcnulty. I just joined today myself and just recently purchased our 2 nubain wethers and got 2 pygmy wethers from a freind in the laswt week. They are all around 2 months old and we currently have them in a 4X8 wood shed that we used as a dog house years ago with a dog run of 8X16ft. We let them out at least twice a day to roam around our property while we are outside to watch and play with them. Me and my husband were just talking about what type of premante housing to use as they get older. I would like to hear everyones suggestion and/or pictures of there current housing.

 

[sawfish99]

One possible advantage to a moveable shelter is tax related. Some places do not add property tax on portable shelters, but would tax a permanant shed. If you can prove your shelter (don't say shed) is moved around, then they can't put it in a specific spot on the plot map and may not tax it. It also might be a difference for needing or not needing a building permit.

For me, it is even more basic - I want to be able to move the shelter to a different fecning area on occasions.

If the steel shed for $200 you are referring to is the basic sheet metal design from Home Depot/Lowe's, I wouldn't use that for goats. The floor and frame will not hold up very well to the stress of moving around (if you make it moveable). The sheet metal is so thin, that goats could definitely damage the sides and create sharp edges to cut themselves on.

Here is an inexpensive shelter I built. At this point, we have 3 different shelters. My preference is for the smaller, wood shelters that are easy to move. One big question is how many goats will you have? That makes a difference on the amount of shelter area you need.

 

[beanmcnulty]

Very good point about the taxes, something I had in the back of my mind since I have become very familiar with my zoning regs since acquiring livestock. I know ours say that ag buildings are by a matter of law exempt from zoning requirements (I take that to mean inspections). And good point about the cheapo steel shed siding...is anyone familiar with the Smartside products? It acts like wood but much more durable, bug and rot resistant and is not heavy. Or is just plain old plywood the way to go for the siding? I only plan on a few small goats so it wouldnt need to be large.