new to livestock! Please tell me how you keep the barn clean

[20kidsonhill]

I clean out once a month. I put a thin layer of straw down and then the goats are great at spreading (i.e. wasting) hay over top of it. I just can't let it go more than that. I can't stand how thick it gets and I have to be able to clean it out with a pitch fork, shovel and wheelbarrow. So keep that in mind. If you let it go for a year, do you have a way to bring a bobcat or something in to clean it out.

that is a good point, we use a tractor and a manure spreader, but then again we have 20 plus goats in ours.

 

[Cara Peachick]

With straw, I use a standard pitchfork (maybe 8-10 tine?) to throw straw against a wall in the corner. As the pile grows, a lot of the goat berries roll down the sides and collect at the bottom. I clean these out with a shovel and clean out any wet spots, then spread the straw back out. This method doesn't make the straw perfectly clean, but it removes a lot of the berries. I only do this every several weeks, and just do a through clean out as needed. It doesn't get stinky if it isn't too wet (like if it's in a covered area) and when I do a thorough clean-out, I find that the layers have partially composted, so I can use it directly on some of my more hardy plants.

I cleaned a lot more often when I started. I was used to working at horse stables where the stalls were cleaned well daily. I found that it's just not necessary, at least for my taste.

When I have new kids, I do keep their stall quite clean for the first couple weeks. Their milk poops and mom's post-birth discharge can make it nasty pretty quick in there

 

[RPC]

I am like 20 I let it build up then I clean it out. I also only have a shovel, pitchfork, and wheelbarrow. A few weeks ago we cleaned 2 of the 4 pens and it was 40 loads but that was 4-5 months worth that we let build up. I am working on another pen and am about 1/3 done and have already dumped 6 loads. Its alot of work and I only have 2 hours of sun light when I get home from work.

 

[GLENMAR]

Are all those animals in a 20x20 pen??? Maybe that is why it is hard to clean?

 

[elevan]

Straw works best when it is chopped. You can do this with a wood chipper and store the chopped straw in old feed bags until you need it. It will also make a bale last 3-4 times longer.

We use a combination of straw and pine shavings here. And we do the deep litter method that has already been described. We also clean out by hand in the Spring. It's hard work and takes a few days, but we have a fairly large barn.

Our chickens help to break down the waste and hasten the composting process while the bedding is still in the barn. So come Spring we have a great "product" perfect for the garden.

We have 11 goats and a llama in the area that I'm talking about.

 

[redtailgal]

lol, We are super lazy here.

We put the hay feeder in the sleeping area, and the goats spread their own bedding, the fresh clean stuff is always on top. I do have an extra pile of straw in one corner that they sleep in.

We've started the process of cleaning it out now. We are using the winters worth of wasted hay bedding as a "mattress" style mulch for the tomato garden.

It was our first year trying this but it has worked wonderful!

 

[Queen Mum]

Clean? People actually KEEP the barn clean? I clean mine but it never stays that way.

I have goats.

Five minutes after I pull out all the yucky stuff, lime the floor, put in more straw or chips or whatever, they feel it's too clean and go in and pee on the floor and poop all over the place.

 

[hcppam]

lol, We are super lazy here.

We put the hay feeder in the sleeping area, and the goats spread their own bedding, the fresh clean stuff is always on top. I do have an extra pile of straw in one corner that they sleep in.

We've started the process of cleaning it out now. We are using the winters worth of wasted hay bedding as a "mattress" style mulch for the tomato garden.

It was our first year trying this but it has worked wonderful!

I like it!

 

[mydakota]

I pick the wet, nastier spots out every couple of weeks, but only do a Down-To-The-Dirt cleaning once a year, right before the first kids are due. I keep it pretty clean through kidding, and then just worry about the top layer being clean and dry. The kidding pen is bedded with straw, but all other enclosures are bedded with pine shavings.

 

[Bunny-kids]

I actually had mine briefly on concrete. That's super-easy to clean but the goats need wood beds to get off the floor. I had good luck with hard-packed dirt for some time too.

Right now I spread the wasted hay in their stalls and just add more weekly or so. With new kids it's starting to smell slightly for the first time. We're due ten days of rain too so I'm not quite sure how I'm going to manage that. I can't easily do a down to the dirt cleaning with all the goats in there with me. I may have to break down and buy a round bale of straw. At least I can compost it ...