20kidsonhill
True BYH Addict
We deep liter on dirt, with straw. Of course some hay does get mixed in, but it is a minimal amount of hay. Hay does make more of a smell. We do not loosen or stir it up. Just add straw when needed. We use a tractor with a bucket and a manure spreader to clean out one time every 2 years. It would be an impossible job with out the equipement. But we have 30 adult goats, plus up to 45 kids a year. Personally, If i even had to clean out for 3 or 4 gots by hand, I would probably do it more often. We don't close our barn up, except for a few nights when the does are due to kid. Ventilation is very very important.
We also encourage our goats to go out of the barn as much as possible during the day, so the water is outside and we also feed some hay outside. We don't normally have a build up of snow, but due occasional get a foot or two and it can stay on the ground for a couple weeks. We never bring the water in the barn, but we have had to shovel a path to the water. Of course if there is snow on the ground, the goats spend a quite a bit of time inside.
We also encourage our goats to go out of the barn as much as possible during the day, so the water is outside and we also feed some hay outside. We don't normally have a build up of snow, but due occasional get a foot or two and it can stay on the ground for a couple weeks. We never bring the water in the barn, but we have had to shovel a path to the water. Of course if there is snow on the ground, the goats spend a quite a bit of time inside.