Posted by Mark on April 19, 2010 at 6:32am in Goats 101
I am going to be getting 2 nigerian dwarf wethers and i plan on making the pen 16ft by 16 ft and using a calf hutch that is 4by 8ft , with a plywood frame bottom that is raised off the ground.The pen floor will be covered with of wood chips because we live in a woods and dont have any grass. Does anyone see a problem with this setup? Is it big enough?
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As Deborah stated, I use livestock panels as a movable pen for my goats. I have four 16ft panels that make enough space for four goats and two spools. If the pen is attached tightly it is super easy to move and I really prefer it to actually rotating set-up pens, because making the permanate pens in a lot of work! Also, in the winter I can put the pen where I want - out of the way of snow drifts! And I love putting the goats right up next to the house and enjoying looking out the window to see them playing around!
Check out this photo below of my goats playing in the hay field, with thier movable pen!
The reason for the wood floor is more to elevate it off the ground. Not only do we live in a wooded area with not much grass but we also live on a sidehill, so I am concerned about drainage when we get heavy rains. Moving the panels in the summer is an option but not in the winter months. Thanks for the reply!!
16 X 16 is the size of livestock panels (cattle panels, pig panels), so if that's what you're using, you can just move them on a regular basis. That way you won't need wood chips. You also don't need to put a floor in the calf hutch. In winter, just put in a lot of straw for bedding, because the ground is cold. Even if you have a wood floor in there, you'd have to have the straw for bedding, and I can't imagine how difficult it would be to clean out the calf hut if it had a wood floor.
Hopefully WG4 will chime in because she uses livestock panels for a portable pen.
Replies
As Deborah stated, I use livestock panels as a movable pen for my goats. I have four 16ft panels that make enough space for four goats and two spools. If the pen is attached tightly it is super easy to move and I really prefer it to actually rotating set-up pens, because making the permanate pens in a lot of work! Also, in the winter I can put the pen where I want - out of the way of snow drifts! And I love putting the goats right up next to the house and enjoying looking out the window to see them playing around!
Check out this photo below of my goats playing in the hay field, with thier movable pen!
Hope this helps!
WG4
Hopefully WG4 will chime in because she uses livestock panels for a portable pen.