Goats on rocks/gravel?

[Lil Chickie Mama]

I am getting goats in spring and I need to know how to set up their pen. Heavy rains have caused a bit of standing water and I read that can cause hoof rot. I can't afford to put sand over the whole area, but what about gravel or rocks or something? Would it hurt their hooves? Would it be good wear on their hooves so I don't have to trim as often (maybe)? I can spread some hay but I'm afraid of it getting moldy. What do I do? I was originally planning on leaving it as dirt, but the rain turned my neighbor's pasture into a "lake" so I don't want the goaties to live in something like that here, even though we're higher elevation.

 

[dkluzier]

I put wood pallets (which you can get free at some places) over the low spots in my yard. My goats love the sound of their hooves on them, I think. I read on here somewhere that most folks don't care for the gravel because it holds the poops and is hard to keep clean.

I plan on making a cement patio for mine this coming year to help wear down their hooves. I can't keep up with that job.

 

[Mini-M Ranch]

We use wooden pallets, too. We lay them down over low or extremely trampled areas. Works great and they love to TROMP, TROMP, TROMP on way, turn around and TROMP, TROMP, TROMP back the other way. lol

Edited to add: We tried gravel, too. But you would literally have to have TONS to make a difference. Yes, the poo gets all mixed in and you can't get it out, and their little goat feet just push those gravels right down into the mud, where they disappear forever. Seriously. We put out 600 pounds of gravel in the pen in September and it's all gone now. that's when we went with pallets.

 

[Lil Chickie Mama]

Ooh Ooh Ooh Thank you so much!!! I would never have thought of uncovered pallets! I plan to use pallets in the area I set up for kidding covered with plywood (so it's solid) and a stall mat then straw, but out in the open I hadn't thought of. I am planning to use electrical spools bridged together with a sturdy plank and covered with roofing shingles to help with hoof wear but my main concern was the water. And of course, what am I thinking, I should have known about the gravel getting mixed up with the droppings. Dumb me. Thank you again!

 

[Goatzilla]

Just curious, has anyone ever experienced ankle/leg injuries with their goats bouncing around on those pallets? Maybe I'm just paranoid, but it would seem pretty easy for a goat to slip a hoove awkwardly into one of those slots/spaces between the boards. I can only speak for my goats, but when 2 of them are "sparring" and bouncing around like nuts, they seldom care about where they're putting their feet.

 

[DonnaBelle]

I was thinking the same thing about the slots in the pallets.

Wouldn't those be a problem??

DonnaBelle

 

[freemotion]

When I was a teen, I had the unhappy opportunity to find one of our doelings with a broken leg.....from climbing up on a box with a space between boards that was just big enough for her leg to slip into. I have two piles of pallets as play toys in my goat's pens, but the top pallet in each pile has a top that has teensy tiny spaces between the boards, too small for a little hoofie.