Pick apart my plans please

[hoggie]

I am hoping to build a new goat run in the next couple of months or so. One of the things I have learned in the last few years is that I need to organise things so that some things come easier.

So, I hav a space about 30' by 10' ish behind my barn. One side of it is an earth bank, and I thought I could dig into the bank, place some corrugated tin "tunnels" I have left over from the pigs. I reckon I could fit in 3 tunnels which would give them three run in houses of about 8'x8'. The rest of th epen would be fenced with 6' high mesh panels, with plywood along the bottom of them to a height of about 4' to stop the goats pulling the mesh apart with their horns.

On one end, very near to where my hay is delivered to, I would have a hay wall. They have one of these in the stable they are in at the moment and it works really well - I fill it every evening, but if I have problems of any sort, they can go two days without a refill.

Between the pen and the barn wall, I would have a covered passage about 2'6" wide from which I could feed into a long trough without entering the pen.

I havent' yet figured out how to make water easy, but there is a tap on the wlal of the barn so it is close at hand.

One panel o fthe fence would be a gate also, which would open across the passage so that getting them back in would be easy.

I am not sure at the moment about milking, there is a shed right next to this as well which I could probably run water to and have my milk stand in there and kid pen. My original idea was to have the milk stand in the barn itself, but that makes shifting the goats around more of a chore every day.

Havent' yet figured out whether to try and keep the bucks seperate within this pen or to just continue to keep them all together.

The chicken run is also right next to this pen, and the hens will have a "cat-flap" so they can get in and hoover in the goat run.

Does this plan throw up and obvious "alarm bells" to anyone? Can anyone suggest any ways of making it better?

I only want to build this goat run once LOL

Oh - forgot to say - at the moment i have 5 nannies and 2 billies. That might go down to 3 nannies and 1 billy, or itmight stay as is.

TIA

hoggie

[stranger]

anytime i plan on building for animals, the first concideration i have is how easy it it to clean and will i still be able to clean it when i get up in yrs.

[uncle Will in In.]

HOGGIE <> It is plain to see that you have put a whole heap of thought into your upcoming project. I think you got a good handle on the way it should be over there in Hoggie-Land. A question came to mind most likely because I missed the video. How high will the roof be on the shelters in the bank. Less than 6 feet will be a pain (for you, not the goats)
Also the feedway against the barn? Does the eaves of the barn run water down where you will walk, or is it not that way?
Of course, if I lived on an island, I'd just turn my goats loose and let them free range. After all, they can't run away without swimming! Your neighbors should have fences around their properties. LOL <>Unk

[hoggie]

stranger - cleaning out is something I dont' "think" I can make any easier. One thought I had was doing and area of it (or maybe all if it works) as deep bark chippings. That way hopefully would eliminate some of the problem - have to work on tha tone.

Undle Will - no, the tin shelters will only be between 4'6" and 5' - I have to bend to get into them. I could maybe raise them on concrete blocks to get the extra height. Good point though, bending in to tend to animals is a pain the ........

The passageway would take the run-off from the barn. Which is why I thought to cover it (sort of extend the barn roof out) and hopefully create a covered area for the goats to eat under as well. My biggest problem with that is where to direct the rainwater to (I did consider into the goats' water trough).

I also considered a long water feeder with a ball-valve, but I have run out of places to put it. Have to keep thinking on that one.

Wish I could just turn them out - people round here would go mad. The island is changing so fast. Just along the road from me are some little evergreen hedges. My old goat used to go and stand on the edge of the road and trim the hedges. People used to stop and watch her - she made them smile. This year, a couple of my youngsters started doing the same thing and people were phoning me up telling me my goats were "out". When I said they wouldn't go anywhere and theyjust liked those particular hedges I was greeted by stunned silence LOL. I believe there is an area along the shoreline where you can graze your animals, but I think even there they have to be tethered.

Thaks

hoggie

[uncle Will in In.]

HOGGIE <> How would it work to just make a door in the side of the barn to let the goats out into the pen you could make behind the barn? An eaves trough could run the roof water into a tank for them. You could use the hose in dry weather. Winter weather would be much easier if your goats are cared for and milked in the barn. With an outside pen at their disposal, it wouldn't take much of a pen in the barn to be large enough for them. Seems like that would make your work easier. <>Unk