[Talana]

At the moment I deep bed my goats a good thick layer of straw and top it up as needed then do a big muck out. This time I have left it longer than normal for the big muck out -I always ask myself why did I leave it so long. But it is a tremendous sense of satisfaction when the jobs done.  my shed has a wooden floor and can be slippery when empty of straw. Doing it more regular I found you use more straw as the bedding gets wetter, even by next morning. i have used wood shavings before and they would need a whole bale to make a comfortable bed for them all and last only a few days before needing replaced and take longer to muck out so i was wondering if anyone has used stable mats and smaller amount of shavings /sawdust to make a comfortable dry bed and  have a quick muck out every day or weekly or any other ideas to keep the goats dry and comfortable with a more little and often and not so big effort system of bedding

[Penninehillbilly]

I have some evo (?) stable mats, they are a thick solid foam, but light for cleaning out. Very comfy. I thought same as you, not quite worked out because they insist on providing their own bedding - from the hay rack!
Planning on trying again when I get the kids away, making some raised beds for them, very slightly sloping.
I did use them in the van as well, gives them surer footing, and soft and warm to lay on, trouble is, they are so comfy goats won't get up and out at the end of the trip :- ).
I use an offcut on my milking buffet, very comfy :- )

[Buttermilk]

I deep littered my goats with shavings, worked a treat and easier to muck out than deep littered straw, less smelly too.  I have never been a fan of drain through mats due to the having to lift and clean underneath if any bedding at all is used.  Maybe because we are flat and on clay and any wash water just puddles without draining.  I use quatro mats that are sealed so do not need lifting with the horses.

[Talana]

Thanks all will definitely look into mats.  I also have a self bedding -with the goats and racks but I do have a plan to sort that it's just a case of doing it. Either buy and fit a feed barrier like a friend of mine (most expensive and takes up most space option, - https://scontent-lhr3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/10405511_649521015189078_464217637270678198_n.jpg?oh=fc54ba41f2d0e0cd6e0a322257d8a3d7&oe=5815BBD8) who has now no wastage or a bit of homemade woodwork. a detachable (for cleaning) plywood section /gate across corner of shed with keyhole shapes for the goats to stick their heads through to the hay and any cut greenery. Heres the Alpine version: https://scontent-lhr3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/378130_275990519113653_621625914_n.jpg?oh=0fc59f66dd57d6b54615b0cdaa99f75b&oe=58178770

[susis]

I use horse matting (have used cow matting as well) with straw ontop.

My goats prefer shavings (there's an old bale from the horse underneath) the goats dug it out and roll lay in that ?

[northernengine]

This is great - thanks for posting everyone. I am having a similar dilemma myself - perhaps someone can simplify the jargon and tell me if what I can imagine, is in fact possible.... a system which does not require mucking out!

Background: We have 2 x Golden Guernseys and 1 x Kinder. Up until recently, the two Guernseys were in a small paddock with a concrete floored shed and lots of climbing apparatus, while our Kinder was at a friends who has a little more space. I seem to spend my whole life mucking out, as the moment the fresh bedding goes down, they like to pee on it. Like our initial poster here, I find that this quickly becomes matted and too heavy to lift. The deep bed idea seems awful unhygienic to me, especially on the concrete. After a few days they start coming out with grubby knees, so its clearly not nice and dry for them for long. Am I missing something??

Anyway, because of this, I have bitten the bullet and given them a much much larger space within some woodland - its hilly, lots to eat and interest them etc, so they're very happy, and I now have space to bring our beloved Kinder back home  . I also gave them 3 new shelters made out of those large green Balmoral oil tanks (ones that had only been used for water though). I cut a door in each, and cut the bottoms out thinking that they would naturally drain and be snug, being just on the soil. They have not been using them for long enough to see if this works, and they still prefer the original shed anyway.... grrrr.

So, my question is (got there eventually!) - if they have a dry space such as one of my tanks, and they are located on  soil, on a slightly sloping hill, will they be snug enough, without bedding, and will this thus reduce / stop mucking out?

If this fails, I plan to build a field shelter with four-fold symmetry, of the design used for bus shelters on the Western Isles! They are basically two walls which form a cross when viewed from above, with a circular roof on. This will give relief from wind from any direction, but the changing wind direction should also air the open fronted sections out well enough to reduce any need to muck out. Wishful thinking?

Sorry if this is all tried / tested / common methods, but everyone I know sticks to the shovel and barrow method!

Thanks!

[pharnorth]

In the summer I just have bare earth in the outside goat shelters. In the winter essentially I lay some straw and occasionally top it up. These are angoras rather than milk goats so I don't know if that makes a difference. I did worry a bit about deep litter until I saw race horses kept on it and realised the muck heep is the warmest place in winter!

[Polyanya]

Coming a bit late to this thread - it's been a busy summer!    I thought I'd add my experiences with bedding. We started last October with a deep litter system and like you said Talana after leaving a fortnight between cleans I'd be thinking 'why on earth have I left it this late to clean out' - hard work and most of the morning spent barrowing  straw away and hosing it all down.  Decided recently to try hemcore, it does sell under different names but it is used mainly for horses I think and is just dried hemp chopped into little bits.

We house the girls in an old byre with concrete floors but have additional rubber matting (which we bought when we kept cows). They are  two, very heavy and thick rubber stable mats about 2 x 1.5 mtrs - so I suppose its not essential to put anything on them but the goats love to stand and pee right under the hay ricks which then just lies around - so what we've started to do and I just love it, its so quick and efficient is - first thing in the morning I sweep up all the berries with dustpan and brush into bucket and then sprinkle on a fine layer of hemcore, thats it! Takes 2 mins, then twice a week I quickly hose the mats down (usually while the goats are still inside as they're so nosy) and don't even bother letting it dry I just sprinkle a couple of handfuls of hemcore again. It smells fresh and clean in the byre now and I have my saturday mornings back.  Yes the hemcore  costs a bit more than sawdust, but as we're organic veg growers we can put the sweepings onto our veg beds without worrying over the issue of nitrogen deprivation which sawdust seems to produce and were not buying any more straw. The goats have their own benches which they seem very happy to sleep on and there is always the mound of hay which is pulled out of the hayricks for them to lie on if they want. Sorted - now all I need to figure out is do I need to build individual stalls for them  .

[Talana]

I have been doing similar working well but need to get feed barrier sorted as hay ends up all over the floor, been using sawdust but maybe try hemcore next time