Winter is around the corner so it's likely time we get a real start on the goat barn. Though the girls love being where they are and it's very convenient having them just outside my kitchen through the garage to the patio, they really should have their very own space. Hoping to have kids in the spring, they will need more space and though I could make more room on the patio, perhaps it's better they have a real barn rather than part of the patio even though it looks like a barn from the outside (cedar stained wood walls)<g>.
Right now, their floor (patio floor) is ballast stone blocks (think like concrete) covered with wasted hay. When they first moved here, I put straw and hay there about 6-8 inches thick for comfort with Capri going to kid. However, early in the summer, I cleaned out the last of the original bedding (even the unsoiled corners) and now keep it only 2-3 inches thick. Capri sleeps outside on the spool as Summer often does but sometimes on the hay bale inside; Ginger sleeps in the crate. Occasionally in the morning, I will look out and Capri will be laying down beside her like she thinks she is lonely in the crate.
Their barn will measure 8 ft. by 12 ft. It will have "shelves" at the top around three sides for hay, one bale high. Inside, it will have divisions for at least three spaces so kidding can be separate, details to be determined later. Two sides will have large openable windows for hot weather; I have lots of recycled windows available to use for that. With those and the large door, there will be lots of air circulation.
My main question is about the floor. I want it rodent proof but not certain I want concrete. I am thinking about a layer of compacted gravel with chain link fence over it and hardware cloth over that and another generous layer of compacted gravel over that. I'm not certain I want the girls on straw/hay directly on gravel and am debating about putting a layer of loose (but tight) bricks/blocks over it. That would allow urine to drain into the ground and hopefully keep the bedding drier longer. Even though they will have sleeping shelves, I'm sure they will want regular bedding as well. If I do decide to put in a concrete floor, it will, of course, have a drain. I also have plenty of 1x6 lumber from a cedar fence that could be flooring (with tiny space between for drainage).
When we built the chicken house (6x12), we made the foundation two courses of concrete blocks and the floor concrete with a drain. We also put piping in the floor in case I later wanted passive heating there for that little bit of additional warmth during cold weather. The idea was to put the compost bin at the end, two or three feet into the ground, and run the piping through the bottom of it into the floor. That part has not been done, not yet anyway, but it is set up so it can be. I am seriously thinking also of putting piping in the floor of the barn, only better laid out as the goats would need the warmth more than the hens do. Even a couple of 100-watt light bulbs would keep the water circulating for warmth on the floor or warmed with a small heater. The beauty of in-floor heating is no heat lamps/heaters to tip over which lends more weight to a concrete floor.
In past years, it was common to have a second block/rock wall 3-5 feet away around a barn (with a block/rock lower wall/foundation) and put the manure in that space which would compost and provide heat for the barn (and good compost for the fields the following year).
What are your opinions/thoughts on the floor - gravel only, blocks/bricks over gravel, concrete, or wood? Pros and cons of each?
Replies
Now I have read more and I like all these ideas like the in floor pipe and heating and rock wall around barn for manure etc. So cool! I personally would still just go for the earth floor and straw or hay bales, pine straw bales would probably be good, and I would think they would help keep out any snakes. I love pallets and they make great beds when topped with a piece of plywood. Even spools could be used inside.
My hubby and I agree using actual windows with glass is a no no for us! Sounds very dangerous to me. I may be paranoid but I have problems with the idea of them jumping and hitting glass while playing around or even jumping up to look out and having a hoof go through. That could be deadly! I suggest instead that you make openings to be covered by wood doors/shutters, something along those lines or if you want the sunlight and vision perhaps thick plexi-glass. I would love to have lots of windows to convert into a greenhouse!
Your fence boards would be great for using on the kidding pens. If you turn them long ways. you could use them to separate each area with a little wall made of them or you can use pallets for kidding walls especially with the fence boards used over some of the pallet spaces that are to wide. Great materials you have available there.
Considering that fence jumping your stinker did this year, I would really avoid her being around the glass, I would be real paranoid about that. I'd build me a greenhouse fenced off from the goats.
Best wishes on however you decide to do this. I know it will turn out great. You put so much into all you do for them and are such a thoughtful mommy!
I have a sandy gravel mix for my floor in my goat barn. It can be a pain in the butt when it comes to cleaning the ground, but I like it and the goats seem to to. I just put some shavings down when I'm done cleaning and the hay they don't eat that falls out of the hay rack adds to the bedding.
Glenna, I have to tell you first off that, I have NOT read this post yet. Only have a minute and will read later. But I do see a little about the floor and agree with Patty about that cement etc. See Patty's "earth of some kind" phrase. I feel sure that EARTH is best. I know your girls love their pallets with plywood on top. Patty's like the hay bales. I feel strongly that a combo of those two things is your best bet on insulation from the cold earth and that the earth floor is best. If you leave an earth floor and put in a couple of pallets covered with wood and a couple of hay bales you can replace those occasionally to provide a new clean floor and you can't do that with a complete wood floor. Cement is not only hard to warm but is to hard. It causes far too much stress on the body structure and any kind of gravel or such will cause a stress point for each individual piece of stone. This hard flooring can cause serious issues. Yes, Patty that wood will rot, unfortunately, you can bet that it is full of bacteria right now while you are waiting for the rot. Wood harbors bacteria severely. You can not wash them out of wood.
I have a concrete floor in my barn, and I agree it's not the best. I think the blocks would probably heave around and make cleaning up hard, but I could be wrong about that.
My buck shed has a wood floor, and I'm sure that's going to rot and need replacing. I would never choose wood or concrete, given the option.
The main problem with the concrete floor is that it is cold and damp and can't as easily warm up from the deep bedding as it would if it were earth of some kind. It's also slippery when cleaning it, and hard to scrape all the slimy muck off of once I get to the final layer.
I live in northern MN, though, as far north as you could go in the state. I'm about 20 miles from the Canadian border. Needless to say, it gets cold here! We often have weeks of weather hovering around 10 to 20 degrees below zero and occasionally colder. The girls did fine all winter last year with no extra heat of any kind, and just a deep bedding on the concrete floor. I did put a couple of straw bales on the floor so they had a platform to jump onto and be off the floor. They seemed to like that a lot, and I may do it again this winter.
I can't wait to see what you come up with! :)