Goat housing

[annabelle333]

You can get a lot for $5000
They don't need to be closed in
3 sided is fine
Mine does not have any doors to close of
If you look on my farm thread you can see a recent building I did and also how I did my kidding stalls
I built myself but you could do that type of construction and hire someone for less than 5k

I used one of those kit sheds, similar to what Southern By Choice has shown you here. It was an 8x10 wooden shed, like the kind you get from Lowes or Home Depot. You might find one within your budget there. I made stalls inside the shed and one side was a walk way where I also stored hay. It was perfect for my pygmy's. Although they loved to chew on the doors. LOL You can use thin sheet metal to cover exposed areas of the doors or other ares they might chew on.

Thanks for the info- how do I get to your farm thread? I checked out your website it didn't see barn pics. Beautiful goats though!

 

[OneFineAcre]

Title is One Fine Acre - linear appraisal farmers market and cup of sunshine
Building starts on page 20
If you go through I have pics of the stalls later
There are some stall pics in my kidding thread too
And thanks about my goats

 

[Latestarter]

Hi Annabelle333, I think he's referring to his thread here:
http://www.backyardherds.com/thread...l-farmers-market-and-a-cup-of-sunshine.29447/
He posted the same info... I wasn't fast enough

 

[annabelle333]

I found it! Wow- what a great thread full of good info. I love your barn setup and of course then got hooked by your baby pics! I am starting to look at prefab kits and will let you know what I decide on. Again- thank you so much for your help everyone!

 

[Ridgetop]

Whatever you decide to buy, get it BIGGER than you think you will ever need. This is because your herd WILL grow. We all tell ourselves that it won't - that we will only keep XXX amount of goats but we are all liars! We will HAVE to keep just one more or that adorable one because her face or her color or her perfect comformation or whatever! Get the largest building youi can in the configuration that is right for your area and needs.

Goats need air circulation because if they are closed in too tight the moisture in the air (from them breathing in an enclosed space) can cause pneumonia. You hay needs to be protected from rain blosing in from the sides which can be done with tarps down the sides. However, YOU will appreciate an enclosed milking area where you can be warmer when milking, trimming feet,and doctoring goats.

Kidding stalls can be simple and removable. You can use plywood partitions to make several stalls out of a larger one. Also, you can build them out of straw bales in an emergency or use the straw bales to put around the sides of open fencing as a wind break. We had to do that during one particularly unpleasant winter with freezing winds (we sit on a ridge top with no protection). Speaking of winter, in Oklahoma since you have very low temps, don't worry about cleaning out the stalls during the winter. Just put a new straw layer on every few days. The manure and pee underneath the straw will compost keeping the top layer warm and dry for kidding and sleeping. It also works to keep the animals off the ground if you have snow and frequent thaws. For a couple years we had El Nino so bad that we had 2" of standing water on the barn floor constantly all winter long. By using this method, the animals stayed dry and warm. In the spring it will be hard work to clean out unless you have a tractor (we didn't) but if you dump all that bedding where you are putting your garden it will be great for your soil.

Also electricity is good but not mandatory. I like to be able to hang a shop light with a floodlight bulb over a corner of the kid pen in the winter. Make sure rain can't reach it and tie the cord up away from curious kids.) I used to use a heat bulb, but even though our weather dips from 90 to 35 in the winter, I found that a reflective shop light with a floodlight bulb, or even just a 100 watt bulb is usually enough. If you don't have electricity you can use a good LED battery operated lantern for light when milking, feeding, or kidding after dark. I keep one in the house by the back door and one in the barn.

There are tons of easy plans in lots of goat books for easy feeders, etc. My favorite and the best and easiest feeder for goats is a key hole type. Measure the adult goats head at the largest part and find a plate or lid the same size. Use that as a pattern and trace it on a piece of plywood. Then measure the adult goats neck width and height and draw a slot that wide from the bottom of the circle about the width of the neck and longer than the neck height. The finished drawing should look like an old fashioned keyhole. the hold should be high enough up on the board that the goat can put their head through the hold and the neck should slide down into the slot (comfortably, but just tight enough that the head can't get out the slot) while the goat is eating. The goat has to pull it's head up through the slot to the hole to back out of the feeder. Usually the goat will drop any hay back into the feeder instead of dragging hay out onto the ground to be wasted. Goats will not eat what they spill. Drill holes in the 4 corners, and tie the keyhole board into a corner of the stall. Fill by putting hay in behind the board. Make sure the board is tall enough that the goats don't jump over it. Our first one was too short (we made it for kids) and the kids jumped into the hay and went to sleep!

Take your time buying. It is a big purchase and a lot of work to install and you don't want to have get another barn next year. Have fun!

 

[TwoCrows]

@annabelle333 Some of these hardware stores will even build them and deliver them to your place. There may be an additional cost involved, but this way you can have an instant barn for your goats.

 

[annabelle333]

The need for airflow makes sense now! I also like the idea of compost keeping the floors warm- I will have solar on my barn- a perk to having a solar installer for a husband So I will be able to keep some good lighting in the barn. Again thanks for all the pointers. I am getting increasingly excited but still have a lot of prep work- barn and fencing - before I get started.

TwoCrows- I think I will see about that option- I don't have extended carpentry skills or experience and my husband is too busy with his work...Thanks for the tip!

 

[Southern by choice]

Personally I hate the deep litter method. We did that one year when it was horrible cold and rained and rained and rained and we had no other option to do otherwise.
The following year we transformed a whole other building as there was no way I was ever doing that again.

The clean out , we also did not have a tractor that could fit under the roofing, was horrific! It took forever and the smell was the worst.

This year we built a temporary building as we are going to move soon... and we did the grit 6 inches deep. It is awesome. No odor easy to sweep berries every morning and when it was still cold we could put the straw in bedding areas and every 2 days pitchfork it out. Stayed warm, smells fine, and is clean.
It can get behind if you don't sweep up the berries and they start trampling them down. oe the straw... then you will get urine odor ut if cleaned every morning then all is good.
We put shutters on the new building on the front and back so in the day the air and sun could come in... it has worked well.

I don't do deep litter anything... not for chicken houses either.

If you live somewhere real cold then it might be your only option.
But if so build it high enough to get a small tractor or bobcat in there or you will be

also Ridgetop mentions the MOST important thing... GO BIGGER THAN YOU THINK YOU WILL NEED!

I am up to 41 goats. Started with 2 a month later 1 more and then another and another and it doesn't stop. It is addictive as goats are wonderful and you will love them and then you will want another breed and it will escalate... look at @babsbag her addiction has now caused her to open a grade A Dairy!

My goal is to get back to 12 does and 8-10 bucks.

 

[annabelle333]

I am starting to understand how a herd could grow quickly! I have started looking at barn options and am wondering if the direction of the barn matters and if being in the sun or shade is a better option?

 

[Latestarter]

The direction matters only in so much as you mentioned solar panels and you would want the "flat" of your roof facing s-sw to maximize the panel's exposure to the sun... Not sure where you're located, but the prevailing wind direction matters as well as to where you put the "open end" or main openings/doors.