Straw or shavings?!

[Southern by choice]

If your concrete is not sealed it is going to begin stinking soon.
Ask me how I know...
The urine penetrates down in and wow
If you seal it then the bedding on top will absorb the urine.
Then when you remove bedding it is as easy as bleach water to mop the surface.
Unsealed you will need to soak bleach water and wet vac it up..

We moved our girls out after a season in the concrete floor building... way more work than it was worth. The bedding cost, because we went through so much more became very expensive.
The floor was cold in the winter which even with bedding and straw (or spent hay) it seemed to keep the building colder.

 

[BlessedWithGoats]

Thanks for asking this question Dogma! I was thinking about getting shavings for bedding for my goats, but maybe I'll get some straw to go along with it! Thanks to all who answered this question too!

 

[Latestarter]

Most folks will tell you; straw/hay doesn't really absorb moisture all that well, but does act as a good insulator for them to lay in and keep warm when it's cold. Bales of straw (or hay) can also be stacked to make wind breaks. You'll also discover (and I've experienced) that straw takes a long time to compost down since it has a waxy coating... Straw is also not best if you are doing deep litter as the mud/poop and straw packs down and becomes cob... folks build "brick" houses out of cob... You may have seen it on the national geographic channel... Anyway... just throwing that out there...

Sawdust will actually absorb better than wood chips, and compost down faster. You could maybe throw down some kitty litter in the mix also... help absorb the urine and keep the smell down? Anyone ever try that? Should work...

"...most of them fall into three distinct categories: clay-based, silica-based, and biodegradable. The best cat litter for your cat will depend on your expectations." http://www.petmd.com/cat/care/evr_ct_what_is_in_cat_litter

 

[goatgurl]

southern brought up something i didn't think to mention. my floor is dirt under all that straw and hay so i don't have that build up of urine since it leaches down into the soil. and i use the deep litter method, only clean the barn out once every two or three years and that is in the spring so i have another layer before winter. i throw a little corn in the hay ever once in a while so the hens keep the top layer fluffed up. the composting litter keeps the barn floor warmer for the goats in the winter.

 

[Dogma]

If your concrete is not sealed it is going to begin stinking soon.
Ask me how I know...
The urine penetrates down in and wow
If you seal it then the bedding on top will absorb the urine.
Then when you remove bedding it is as easy as bleach water to mop the surface.
Unsealed you will need to soak bleach water and wet vac it up..

We moved our girls out after a season in the concrete floor building... way more work than it was worth. The bedding cost, because we went through so much more became very expensive.
The floor was cold in the winter which even with bedding and straw (or spent hay) it seemed to keep the building colder.

are

Thanks. We will look to relocate them...or seal that floor. What type if flooring works best... We can build whatever they need...

 

[Dogma]

southern brought up something i didn't think to mention. my floor is dirt under all that straw and hay so i don't have that build up of urine since it leaches down into the soil. and i use the deep litter method, only clean the barn out once every two or three years and that is in the spring so i have another layer before winter. i throw a little corn in the hay ever once in a while so the hens keep the top layer fluffed up. the composting litter keeps the barn floor warmer for the goats in the winter.

Ho does this deep litter method work?! I've heard it mentioned a few times. Thanks.

 

[Southern by choice]

Everyone does what works for them.
We have done EVERY kind of floor. LOL
We did one season (over winter) of deep litter as we had no choice- RAINS actually 9 months of rain... we got it partially cleaned but literally not a full out clean till the rains ended..

Personally I DETEST deep litter method.
Basically you have poop and pee mixed in decomposing and you just keep throwing more on top. That is why people don't clean it out for 1-3 years... it is awful once you finally due.
You also have to make sure the ceiling is VERY high- as that 7 ft clearance will shrink to 6 ft then 5 ft easily in deep litter.
If you don't have a tractor to clean it out you can forget it.
One it is HEAVY. TWO the stench is unbearable as you get deeper and deeper. Depending on the size it takes forever!

In my experience I see alot more respiratory issues & mite issues in deep litter. I do farm management consults so it is more of what I see on others farms. I also suspect farms with a good deal of mastitis issues is from the deep litter method.

I use a method that we have implemented this year after our friend came out and we had visited some dairies...

Its base is dirt, we picked a higher ground to put our newer temporary barn on. Then we have 6 inches of packed rockdust over top. The rockdust crushes down and looks like dirt but is actually fine rock (here it isn't actually called rock dust it is Chapel Hill Grit- local for our quarries) several people here changed over to it and so far all the friends we have local that have goats have done the same thing... once packed it is easy to sweep or rake the berries off the top... urine goes straight down through and no odor. For winter we do throw cheap hay (not straw) down for them to bed into. We replace that every few days... we don't cover the whole floor. Because it floods so much here we use it in lots of other areas where we need more drainage.

Barns stays immaculately clean. The downside for us in NC is rainy season! The spent hay goes on the ground and if we can't get to the barn for clean out it gets gunky.. We normally do not feed hay in the barn. We have a hay feeder outside, they are given a certain amount each day and the rest of the day they forage... winter we give more hay in the evening.

This works for us.
I have some pics if you want to see.

Trying different things and changing what you do over time is very normal by the way. When we had 2-3 goats things were very different... as our herd grew and grew and then needing kidding stalls, kid paddocks etc... much has changed. Add milkroom and treatment areas ... well it is ever changing.

Some things work for some people that don't work for others.
There really isn't a "one-way" fits all.

Shoot- I am doing drawings of my new barn- you know my dream barn for when we move... who knows if it will ever get off a page of paper. Like I said my... dream barn

 

[goatgurl]

basically what i can tell you is that the deep litter method works very well for me. i used it when i lived in wva where it is a lot colder than here in arklahoma and i still use it here. i have never had problems with mastitis or respiratory issues. the barn is in an area that sheds water instead of holding it and I'm sure that helps a lot. there are pros and cons to every type of floor that you have so you will have to work out which will work for you. hope that helps.

 

[babsbag]

I use the deep litter right now but we have a tractor and we clean it out every year in the spring. I just keep adding more and more straw and the goats jump trample it down, they do fine. The ground underneath is dirt and we aren't in a barn, just a big big 2 sided lean-to so there is a lot of ventilation which is critical if you are going to do the deep litter.

In the new barn I am going to try the rock dust. (I am actually the friend that visited the dairies in NC with Southern). But in some ways the deep litter may be less time consuming. But as Southern said, you have to have a tractor and it does smell during cleanout, but only for a day of so and then it dries out.

I like the idea of tossing the corn in it so the chickens will keep if fluffed. I am going to try that.

 

[OneFineAcre]

I let it build up im the winter
You get new dry hay on top and the decomposing hay and waste underneath generates heat
You do have a big cleanup on the spring but I don't have the time to clean weekly in the winter
My barn has good ventilation so I've never had any respitory issues