The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Goats => Topic started by: thod92 on April 06, 2011, 11:47:35 am
-
I have kept sheep for many years but are thinking of getting goatsiknow that they need to be inside in the bad weather unlike sheep but what is the best type of housing. and what setups do people have
-
My first thought is to say - something as strong as possible!! Goats can be destructive, they climb, gnaw, butt, and will put anything in their house to the test.
I prefer if possible to keep most of my goats free range - field shelter type of thing, so they have shelter from bad weather. Others have a similar sort of thing but like a large pig ark with a door, and I have just added to these as I find them so good - mobile so you can move them to another part of the field if you need to.
My husband is not at all keen on the goats for the simple reason I am forever asking him to repair something .....either in the house, or the fence. We have had to line the pygmy billy goats shelter with tin sheets, but he is always trying to remove them from the wall.i
I have kept goats for many years, and tried many different sheds, and shelters. We do tend to make our own, then we can use the strongest material possible.
-
We have an adapted shed - not too big (3 pygmy X goats in a shed size approx 8ft sq) which they just use in bad weather as they are in the quarry most of the time - they did start to eat it when we first got them but then we gave them lots of tree branches and trunks to eat and that stopped, thankfully.
-
It really does depend on what type of goats you intend having.
For standard sized animal and if having more than 2...which you will when they kid... I would always consider 10 x 10 loose boxes, pony type. Or, occasionally people do sell stabl;es that are in a range, say 2 or 3 complete with a tackroom. This could double up as a feed room.
These secondhand stables are often considerably cheaper than building anything. Never build too small.. you will regret it. Apart from anything else, stables can be used for so many things.
-
Unfortunately we are on the edge of the Peak National Park, and they do not like any buildings (but seem to like a new Tesco, or hideous trading estate for factories :)) We have to tread carefully, and thats why mine look like pig arks and are moveable......they can, and do come and ask to see it moved. Although nowadays you can get mobile stables, but they are not cheap.