!Attention savy goat friends!

[Mary]

!Attention savy goat friends!

I love to upcycle (take old or unused items and re-purpose them).  A newbie to the goating world I am designing/building the area for my two little does who will be coming home at the end of the month.  I have the shape and size plotted out and their cozy shed plans ready to build, but before going any further thought I'd consort with you knowledgeable folks and see if there are any common items that can be made utilitarian for goat care?

[Rachel Whetzel at MigMog Acres]

I just zip tied it.

[Adrienne]

I so wish that were the case with mine, but I do have some plastic netting I could try...How did you attach it?

Rachel Whetzel said:

It's actually just plastic bird netting! lol and yes. It keeps the little guys in. It's cheap too. They really could break through it if they really tried, but just having something on the other side of the holes they can fit through seems to be enough to keep them from trying.

Adrienne said:

Rachel,

 

Your pens are lined with chicken wire halfway up? does this keep kids in?  I tried something similar, and even all the way up, but it was no match for them...My now 8 month old weather still won't stay in the pen...I have to do something about this because I am getting a very young buckling at the end of this year which will have to be contained somehow...

 

Rachel Whetzel said:

Just FYI... all the hay on the ground is from the whole summer. I've been slacking on getting it picked up.

 

[Rachel Whetzel at MigMog Acres]

It's actually just plastic bird netting! lol and yes. It keeps the little guys in. It's cheap too. They really could break through it if they really tried, but just having something on the other side of the holes they can fit through seems to be enough to keep them from trying.

Adrienne said:

Rachel,

 

Your pens are lined with chicken wire halfway up? does this keep kids in?  I tried something similar, and even all the way up, but it was no match for them...My now 8 month old weather still won't stay in the pen...I have to do something about this because I am getting a very young buckling at the end of this year which will have to be contained somehow...

 

Rachel Whetzel said:

Just FYI... all the hay on the ground is from the whole summer. I've been slacking on getting it picked up.

 

[Rachel Whetzel at MigMog Acres]

Yes. You can't see it TOO well with the hay in there, but the goats love it. It was free, because when we moved here, there was a pile of used tomato cages on the property. :)

Mary said:

awwww cute! great photo!  is this the tomato cage feeder?

Rachel Whetzel said:

Just FYI... all the hay on the ground is from the whole summer. I've been slacking on getting it picked up.

 

[Mary]

Oh my goodness I love both of these ideas!  I recently asked a local car wash for their empty drums so I could make a rainwater irrigation system -- I'm definitely doing this too!

[Marin Waddell]

I'm the Canadian with the kid warmers that Deborah mentioned:-)

We did what she said, cut a 50 gallon drum in half, cut a "door" into it, cut a hole in the top to fit a poultry heater lamp, and used tie wraps to hold the lamp in place. Here's a photo:

 

Deborah has said that the hut would probably work very well in most climates without the heating lamp. It would trap the kids' own body heat.

 

I'm hoping to make PVC mineral feeders sometime soon. This is the link to instructions that I'll base them off of:

http://www.dragonfly.jmkarohl.com/files/Mineral%20feeder%20_PVC_.pdf

 

[Mary]

OoooooOooooo I have pcv; I'd love to see how to fashion that:D

Adrienne said:

Before I bought actual mineral feeders I had a clean cat box....that was once a nesting box that the chickens wouldn't use ...they all like the same one... I also had a milk crate, I stuck the cat box down into the milk crate and then used butter dishes and the like that I had saved up to put each mineral in. I also lined the cat box with some newspaper to catch any spilled minerals making it easier to clean. When the kids were born I put a little wooden box in front of this so that they could reach it from one side. That worked well, but every now and then somebody would jump in. When I was preparing for my bucks to come I decided it was time to order a case of 12 double sided mineral feeders. I did this so I would have a few extra, and be able to change the feeders out and clean the old ones every now and then. If I need to separate anyone I can put a mineral feeder in the new area, and take it down when I don't need it anymore.   Someone on here I think has PVC mineral feeders, those are pretty neat looking.

Mary said:

Thank you for your thoughtful reply:D  for playI have a teeter toter I was going to fashion out of a old bar:)  I think I'm going to use Rachel's idea and collect end tables from yard sales etc and stagger some large log rounds:)  I think I am going to make a slide out of old forced air venting (but will test the material first to make sure it does not get tooo hot in the sun:) for the hay feeder I was thinking of a  iron barred window-box, but until I find one, I LOVE the tomato cage idea because I already have some:D! I'm glad you mentionde drowning cause I was going to use a clawfoot tub, now I'm not sure that is such a great idea:O I am excited to use a old sliding barn door as the gate to the pen *squeals*  Ideas on cute upcycled mineral feeders welcome:D

Adrienne said:

I have seen all sorts of goat housing... Pretty much anything goes for housing as long as it gives them protection from the rain....and the wind if it gets much below freezing where you live.  Please excuse me if I am repeating something you already know, but you will need space for a hay feeder, and mineral feeders, and good way to attach and occasionally, detach them. I have always left my water buckets outside of the house, because it seems to stay cleaner that way, but if you put it inside, which isn't a bad idea if it rains a lot, there are various ways of "tying" the bucket to the house or the fence. This is a good idea. I have never had this happen but I have heard horror stories about kids falling in the water bucket and...getting stuck/ drowning.  Aside from that I would say housing is complete, but you will need toys...anything sturdy the goats can climb on and jump off of...where ever your imagination takes you with that should be fine. Just make sure that  nothing too high is near the fence or you could very well have escapes.  I am sure others will have some really good ideas too! Be sure to take pictures!!

 

[Adrienne]

Rachel,

 

Your pens are lined with chicken wire halfway up? does this keep kids in?  I tried something similar, and even all the way up, but it was no match for them...My now 8 month old weather still won't stay in the pen...I have to do something about this because I am getting a very young buckling at the end of this year which will have to be contained somehow...

 

Rachel Whetzel said:

Just FYI... all the hay on the ground is from the whole summer. I've been slacking on getting it picked up.

 

[Adrienne]

Before I bought actual mineral feeders I had a clean cat box....that was once a nesting box that the chickens wouldn't use ...they all like the same one... I also had a milk crate, I stuck the cat box down into the milk crate and then used butter dishes and the like that I had saved up to put each mineral in. I also lined the cat box with some newspaper to catch any spilled minerals making it easier to clean. When the kids were born I put a little wooden box in front of this so that they could reach it from one side. That worked well, but every now and then somebody would jump in. When I was preparing for my bucks to come I decided it was time to order a case of 12 double sided mineral feeders. I did this so I would have a few extra, and be able to change the feeders out and clean the old ones every now and then. If I need to separate anyone I can put a mineral feeder in the new area, and take it down when I don't need it anymore.   Someone on here I think has PVC mineral feeders, those are pretty neat looking.

Mary said:

Thank you for your thoughtful reply:D  for playI have a teeter toter I was going to fashion out of a old bar:)  I think I'm going to use Rachel's idea and collect end tables from yard sales etc and stagger some large log rounds:)  I think I am going to make a slide out of old forced air venting (but will test the material first to make sure it does not get tooo hot in the sun:) for the hay feeder I was thinking of a  iron barred window-box, but until I find one, I LOVE the tomato cage idea because I already have some:D! I'm glad you mentionde drowning cause I was going to use a clawfoot tub, now I'm not sure that is such a great idea:O I am excited to use a old sliding barn door as the gate to the pen *squeals*  Ideas on cute upcycled mineral feeders welcome:D

Adrienne said:

I have seen all sorts of goat housing... Pretty much anything goes for housing as long as it gives them protection from the rain....and the wind if it gets much below freezing where you live.  Please excuse me if I am repeating something you already know, but you will need space for a hay feeder, and mineral feeders, and good way to attach and occasionally, detach them. I have always left my water buckets outside of the house, because it seems to stay cleaner that way, but if you put it inside, which isn't a bad idea if it rains a lot, there are various ways of "tying" the bucket to the house or the fence. This is a good idea. I have never had this happen but I have heard horror stories about kids falling in the water bucket and...getting stuck/ drowning.  Aside from that I would say housing is complete, but you will need toys...anything sturdy the goats can climb on and jump off of...where ever your imagination takes you with that should be fine. Just make sure that  nothing too high is near the fence or you could very well have escapes.  I am sure others will have some really good ideas too! Be sure to take pictures!!

 

[Mary]

Thank you for your thoughtful reply:D  for playI have a teeter toter I was going to fashion out of a old bar:)  I think I'm going to use Rachel's idea and collect end tables from yard sales etc and stagger some large log rounds:)  I think I am going to make a slide out of old forced air venting (but will test the material first to make sure it does not get tooo hot in the sun:) for the hay feeder I was thinking of a  iron barred window-box, but until I find one, I LOVE the tomato cage idea because I already have some:D! I'm glad you mentionde drowning cause I was going to use a clawfoot tub, now I'm not sure that is such a great idea:O I am excited to use a old sliding barn door as the gate to the pen *squeals*  Ideas on cute upcycled mineral feeders welcome:D

Adrienne said:

I have seen all sorts of goat housing... Pretty much anything goes for housing as long as it gives them protection from the rain....and the wind if it gets much below freezing where you live.  Please excuse me if I am repeating something you already know, but you will need space for a hay feeder, and mineral feeders, and good way to attach and occasionally, detach them. I have always left my water buckets outside of the house, because it seems to stay cleaner that way, but if you put it inside, which isn't a bad idea if it rains a lot, there are various ways of "tying" the bucket to the house or the fence. This is a good idea. I have never had this happen but I have heard horror stories about kids falling in the water bucket and...getting stuck/ drowning.  Aside from that I would say housing is complete, but you will need toys...anything sturdy the goats can climb on and jump off of...where ever your imagination takes you with that should be fine. Just make sure that  nothing too high is near the fence or you could very well have escapes.  I am sure others will have some really good ideas too! Be sure to take pictures!!