The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Goats => Topic started by: devonlady on October 02, 2014, 05:16:36 pm
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I haven't kept goats for many years and always had a building to keep them in. I have a fancy now to get a couple of Anglo-Nubians and wonder whether a calf hutch, straw filled, will keep them warm and comfortable What do you think?
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I have calf hutches in my fields for my sheep. They are very good but I would worry that for goats, knowing how they hate rain, I have goats as well, that you would have to keep turning them round according to the prevailing weather. I have thought that a piece across the top on the open side, like that at the back ,would help. The ventilation should be OK. See what others think :excited:
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I would be most worried about the ground underneath. If there is no floor, and heavy rain, it will come up underneath and soak the straw. If you make a floor, either paving slabs or filled in pallets it would be better. It might depend on what soil you have obviously- you might have very light quick draining soil, unlike us who have clay.
What size are the calf hutches? Anglo-nubians are quite large....
Beth
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Hmm, will need a lot of thinking about :thinking:
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Well if you want to milk your goats you will need somewhere covered (ideally) to milk them and having to trudge through a field to get there (and back with full milk buckets) may not be that funny on a rainy/stormy/snowy autumn/winter morning.
I also would have thought that being able to stand up in your milking parlour would be necessary, and most calf hutches are not that tall?
I think people use them successfully as field shelters for youngstock over the summer, but not for accommodation for milkers, especially over winter.
You should be able to get a garden shed type building, strengthen the floor (with heavy boards) and sides(with OSB boards), add some extra ventilation above head height and hey presto goat shed...
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How about an old caravan? Take out the flooring and replace with stockboard so that it doesn't rot and you have a mobile shelter with good ventilation when you open all the windows but snug and warm in the winter.
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Of course! One of my old caravans :thumbsup: Are you reading this SadieD.?
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The calf hutch I have is for several calves and you can stand up in it even if you are 6ft. It has thick wood on all four sides that you could probably do something with to attach a floor but it would then make it difficult to move, and although the 6ft farmer next door can move it himself by putting his shoulders into one of the bends on the side, if its going any distance he uses he forks on the tractor to lift and relocate it. So yes plenty to think about. My big one was about £500 + vat. Even more to think about !!!! :excited:
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Thank you Melmarsh. You couldn't move stone buildings so why move a calf hutch? That is really something to consider :)
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You might have to be able to move it if you would need planing permission for a permanent one !!! :relief:
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I think it depends pn what you want the calf hutch for - we use pig arcs for our goats as field shelters and they are out most of the year. They are bedded up well with straw and are in the driest part of the fields. Never had a problem.
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We have one wooden purpose built shed and one calf hutch.
The calf hutch is placed around some concrete slabs and it took 3 of us to lift and carry it up a very steep hill over our heads, with about 3 stops for breath so not too bad. The goats tend to use the wooden shed but this is back up for anyone being bullied out of the wooden one in a rain storm and it does get well used.
Our wooden shed has a self closing door that the goats have learned to open with the noses but the calf shed has no door - as a result we often find remnants of the foxes dinner (rabbits, pheasants... ) all scattered about within, yuk!