[ScotsGirl]

Can any of you experienced goat owners advise on different bedding choices. I currently use straw but it is bulky to dispose of and seems quite wet. I try and put up like the horse bed to air it and lift out really wet stuff before putting down at night but worried feet aren't getting a chance to dry out.


I use a 12'x12' shelter at the moment for 6 boer x girls. Is this big enough and should I put some slabs down in part of it to give a solid base? I don't want to lay concrete and trying to make life easier for myself. Are shavings any good or too expensive?

[wytsend]

Paving slabs excellent................try rubber mats,   a lot of people use secondhand conveyor belting in stables.
I got all my shaving from a factory making bee hive etc,   all whitewood....dont use cedar shavings - can be toxic.    Paid very little for huge bags which are equivalent to a compressed bale.
Try furniture makers or anybody like this......usually only too glad to get rid of it.
Straw is heavy ...........  I had to give it up because of arthritis................only use it now for kidding.
This winter I reckon I have saved 75% of previous costs by tracking down these shavings.

[sokel]

We have tried all sorts of stuff for bedding over the years but always go back to straw
They love snuggling down into a deep fresh bed and nibbling the straw when its fresh
We use 2 big round bales a month for the goats and donkeys
We tried shavings but they ate them and I am sure that's what set them off wood chewing as untill then they had never done it

[kja]

imho nothing will beat straw for bedding.

[HelenVF]

We use Easibed as they are in with my pony, and that is what suits her. 

Helen

[Anke]

I know people use Hemcore as it is easier to muck out (not too heavy) and seems to soak up more of the liquids. Quite expensive though.
I use straw as I get my bales in exchange for a couple of jars of honey...
If you put paving slabs on soil rats will most likely burrow under it.

[kja]

If you put paving slabs on soil rats will most likely burrow under it.

likewise for pretty much any standing with the exception of concrete.

maybe worth thinking about a solid floor rats can bring in all sorts of nasties as well as the damage they cause.

[Ina]

If the straw seems so wet, maybe a lack of drainage is the problem? When I had my two goats, I put a pallet down in one corner of the pen to keep the straw off the ground and built up a nice warm straw mat on that over winter, and that's what they slept on. The entire pen floor (concrete) was on a slight slope, though, so unless we had heavy rains (not unheard of here  ), it wasn't ever too wet.

[fifixx]

We let the straw build up throughout the winter - deep litter system.  So far we have used 2 big bales of straw and the straw on the ground is now about 10 inches deep - with the top layer lovely and dry.  If you dig down, it is compacted and wet, although the floor is chalk so liquids drains away.

The vet likes it and so do the goats as it is soft.  They have a stack of stones, bricks and paving slabs to clamber on against one wall too.

I got a man and digger in to clear it last spring and take it to the muckheap - a couple of hours work.

[Anke]

I got a man and digger in to clear it last spring and take it to the muckheap - a couple of hours work.

I wish..... , I get "my" man and his wheelbarrow and between us we muck out in spring... exhausting job, but we can do it one pen (5ft by 8ft and at least 1ft 1/2 high) at a time....
But it is amazing how warm the deep bedding gets!

[jaykay]

I semi-deep litter mine, using straw, I clean it out (me, a gripe and a quad-bike trailer, it's a day's very hard work ) every 2-3 months.

The straw on top stays pleasant and dry, I keep adding to it over the weeks. The stuff underneath is smelly and awful but you only find that out when you clean out.

I put mine in the corner of a field, let it rot down and then use it in flowerbeds.

I'd certainly put down paving slabs, rats will burrow under them and in due course you may need to lift them and re-do them. If you can put them onto 20mm chippings or bigger, that will both improve drainage and make it harder for digging rats.

[Lesley Silvester]

My problem is getting rid of the stuff.  I have five big bins made from pallets and they are nearly all full.  I can give it away on Freecycle in the spring but no one wants it now.  Any ideas?  Can't get a digger in here unless it will go through a three foot gateway.

[ScotsGirl]

I have same issue with disposal and no "man" to do the hard work. Also not enough access for a tractor even if I could find one. I think I will try a combination of some slabs along entrance and pallets. Roof sheets coming tomorrow so if I can find some muscle power to help at weekend hopefully new shelter will be up    better still maybe Father Christmas will do it for me 

[Dogwalker]

My problem is getting rid of the stuff.  I have five big bins made from pallets and they are nearly all full.  I can give it away on Freecycle in the spring but no one wants it now.  Any ideas?  Can't get a digger in here unless it will go through a three foot gateway.

Are there any allotments local to you?
Where I lived before and had an allotment, someone brought a load of muck, piled it in the corner and anyone could help themselves, always wanted more.

[ScotsGirl]

Good thinking, I may ask although had a bit of an issue a few years ago.  Someone sprayed my field, god knows what with but someone took some manure from the pile and it killed all their veg and prize roses! Oops!