Suggestions please on my goat shelter idea

[The Tin Mom]

Thank you for all who posted on my thread about what building to use to house my goats. I think my husband and I have come up with a pretty good "compromise" between his stuff and my goats.

First, I looked at the chicken coop and it has been used for too much storage. There are places where oil, etc. have dripped down the walls and there are tons of nails in the walls that have been used to hang things. The electric is exposed and within reach of curious goats. I think we will eventually just tear it down.

I purchased two 10 x 14 storage buildings for a decent price. One will house the stuff my husband has right now in the quonset and the other I will set up to store my supplies and maybe a milking stand. I figure if my building won't work for a milking area, I can use it to store gardening and other tools at least, although I will probably milk in the garage then and my husband has already said he didn't like that idea.

We have decided to use the quonset, which is about 15x30 or bigger. We will put chain link fence for a yard around the quonset (have lots of that which my husband wanted to move anyway).

I will put tarp over the metal roof that is already there and cover the portion without metal and then tarp over that. Then, I will put a wall (fencing? wood? Something else?) about 5-10 feet in at the west end and stack straw bales between the wall and the west end of the quonset. This should insulate that side of the building and provide storage for my straw.

I had thought about putting up walls (wood? Something else?) along the sides about six feet high and putting the feeding stanchions along those. Then, in the back (against my new west wall) I would make two pens and put some sort of raised beds in them. I still haven't gotten this completely figured out, but I would like to insulate between the walls and the sides of the quonset. (We have insulation left over from when we built the house or I could use straw and then make my walls out of fencing?)

For the floor, I would put pallets (we have lots) with OSB (we have a lot left over from when we built - although my husband wants some of it) and then rubber mats on those. Then I would cover that with bedding materials.

One thing that I would like, but am not sure how to do is to put a ceiling with insulation. Then, I could put a vent in that and let the air flow out from between the ceiling and the top of the quonset.

We should have most of the materials around here. My husband saves everything and I really appreciate it now. I figure I will need to buy:

Storage buildings (most expensive item but were really pretty reasonable)
Some metal for the exposed area on the quonset
Tarps
Rubber mats for the floors
Any insulation that we don't already have
Straw (which I would need anyway)

If you have managed to read this far - I appreciate it. I am very excited about this idea but am a newbie and appreciate any suggestions.

[billooo2]

I would suggest that you forget the insulation.

The cold temps do not seem to bother goats, as long as they can stay dry. And they do a lot better with plenty of fresh air.

Years ago I lived in New Hampshire. A woman I knew thought that she was being kind to her goats.......insulated building, closed up, "coats on all the goats, etc. (in NH the temps usually get down to -20-25 below zero). Most of her goats were getting sick. She was taking them to the vet. He came out to see her barn.......his advice was to get those coats off....open the doors and windows....... She never had another goat with pneumonia.

[The Tin Mom]

Originally Posted by billooo2

I would suggest that you forget the insulation.

The cold temps do not seem to bother goats, as long as they can stay dry. And they do a lot better with plenty of fresh air.

Years ago I lived in New Hampshire. A woman I knew thought that she was being kind to her goats.......insulated building, closed up, "coats on all the goats, etc. (in NH the temps usually get down to -20-25 below zero). Most of her goats were getting sick. She was taking them to the vet. He came out to see her barn.......his advice was to get those coats off....open the doors and windows....... She never had another goat with pneumonia.

Mostly I wanted to insulate because of the heat. Summers here are humid and hot (90-100 and July/August are brutal). That is why I would vent out the top of the ceiling and the east side would usually be at least partially open. Is there a better way to protect against the heat? I could leave the west side of the quonset open in the summer, and that would allow a cross draft but I wasn't sure about the sun coming in from the west.

I'm not so worried about the cold. We sometimes have days in the teens but not usually for long periods at once, maybe a day here and there. Winter temps are closer to 20-30. Pretty strong winds, though.

Thanks!

[Nancy_in_GA]

Our barn is rather low with a galvanized roof. We had to put insulation under the roof because it was so hot in there in the summer. It would actually burn your hand to touch it when the sun shined on it. We left a 2" breather space just at the bottom of the roof. It really helps with the heat. We attached a shed roof to the barn later without insulation and it's hotter out there (with 3 sides open) in the summer than in the main part.

[Minelson]

Sounds like a great plan and you already have a lot of material on hand. Make sure to have easy access to the straw with the wall while still being able to keep the goats off it. Where are you going to keep hay & feed? I love rubber stall mats...they are heavy. I have a dirt floor and use one stall mat. In the winter I use shavings to cover the dirt. Those electrical spools make great resting spots for the goats.
Here are some pictures from when I just had the one goat. I don't use straw anymore and the little bed/hut has been replaced with a larger insulated one.
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b7...D550/ry%3D400/
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b7...D550/ry%3D400/
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b7...D550/ry%3D400/
New hut
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b8...D550/ry%3D400/

[The Tin Mom]

Originally Posted by Nancy_in_GA

Our barn is rather low with a galvanized roof. We had to put insulation under the roof because it was so hot in there in the summer. It would actually burn your hand to touch it when the sun shined on it. We left a 2" breather space just at the bottom of the roof. It really helps with the heat. We attached a shed roof to the barn later without insulation and it's hotter out there (with 3 sides open) in the summer than in the main part.

Did you just use fiberglass insulation or a different kind? We have the usual Owens Corning but I can get a different kind if I need to. How did you keep it away from the goats? I would put OSB or some other kind of wood - is there something better?

Thanks!

[The Tin Mom]

Originally Posted by Minelson

Sounds like a great plan and you already have a lot of material on hand. Make sure to have easy access to the straw with the wall while still being able to keep the goats off it. Where are you going to keep hay & feed? I love rubber stall mats...they are heavy. I have a dirt floor and use one stall mat. In the winter I use shavings to cover the dirt. Those electrical spools make great resting spots for the goats.
Here are some pictures from when I just had the one goat. I don't use straw anymore and the little bed/hut has been replaced with a larger insulated one.
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b7...D550/ry%3D400/
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b7...D550/ry%3D400/
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b7...D550/ry%3D400/
New hut
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b8...D550/ry%3D400/

Thanks!

Oh, Man! I love those pics - that is really nice!

I thought I would keep hay & feed in the storage building with my milking stand - or maybe on the other side of the straw? How much room would I need for it? I am only getting two goats for now. Eventually, I could snag my husband's storage building when he builds whatever he wants to build with all the lumber I am going to move out of the quonset.....

I measured the quonset - it is 45x15. Right now about 18' is uncovered. If I build walls 6' high it would take 3' off each side. So, my goats would have about 9x?? (depends on how much I need for the straw). The roof is 8' at the peak.

How much room should I leave to store the straw? I had thought 10 - 15 feet would be plenty but I would like to use less.... Also, would it be better to have access to it from the east side? I planned to leave the west side open and haul it around to the other side to use - but that could get troublesome - I am just not sure how to accomplish access from the inside of the building.

Also, with the fence we have, I could easily fence an area about 1125 sq ft for my goat yard around the quonset - should I plan on more? I can do this but it would be tough.

THANKS!

[Minelson]

I'm sorry I don't know how much room you will need...not much with just 2 goats. I have horses too so I get a lot of hay. Make sure they can't jump on it unless it's covered with a tarp...they will poop and pee on the bales and you will have a mess...btdt.
Keep wind in mind when planning the openings...it may not be an issue where you are but it is the MAIN weather issue here in South Dakota. One thing I have learned is to always plan bigger when you can..if in doubt, go bigger never smaller. I also keep any 50# bags of feed in the the house and fill up small containers (used rolled oat containers) to keep outside and I keep those in an old dishwasher in the barn. That way nobody can get to it and if I do leave something out by accident it won't be a lot if they do.

[xoxoGOATSxoxo]

If you do go with the insulation, just make sure it isnt plastic. I hear that those get all condensation-y.

Whatever you use for your walls, make sure its high and sturdy. If its not, the goats will bend, break, or poke holes in it with their pointy little feet when they try to climb it.

A warning about straw walls.... I made a straw windbreak one time and the goats wrecked it within a few months. They climbed all over it and pulled mouthfulls out of the bales. So make sure you cover it with something.

You house sounds pretty good.

[crisco41]

When I was in Mn we had a wooden dog housie structure andin t he winter I owuld use hay bales to insulate it..just piled em up on the outside. In my case they lasted all winter and did a great job of making them cozy.Course at the endof winter the hay was just trash.

[The Tin Mom]

Originally Posted by Minelson

I'm sorry I don't know how much room you will need...not much with just 2 goats. I have horses too so I get a lot of hay. Make sure they can't jump on it unless it's covered with a tarp...they will poop and pee on the bales and you will have a mess...btdt.
Keep wind in mind when planning the openings...it may not be an issue where you are but it is the MAIN weather issue here in South Dakota. One thing I have learned is to always plan bigger when you can..if in doubt, go bigger never smaller. I also keep any 50# bags of feed in the the house and fill up small containers (used rolled oat containers) to keep outside and I keep those in an old dishwasher in the barn. That way nobody can get to it and if I do leave something out by accident it won't be a lot if they do.

I would like to end up with 4 goats total - 2 this year then keep 1 or 2 next year and/or the year after that.

Yuck! That would be a mess! I planned on keeping the straw on the other side of the walls - definitely will do that now!! I am considering making all of the "walls" out of fencing and going floor to ceiling with that. Then, I will stuff the "crevices" with straw to be used. I will be sure to keep it covered with a tarp now, too!!!!

Wind is a big issue in Kansas, too. What would you suggest for the east side? I could build a wall with a door - we have the materials - just not sure how would be best to support this. What about the stall walls? Would those be sufficient?

Great idea on the feed! Not one I would have thought of on my own either! Thanks!

BTW - we drove across SD to Mt Rushmore and the Badlands last September (on our way to Yellowstone). It is a beautiful state! We almost stopped at DeSmet to visit the Wilder homestead - but ran out of time & it was just enough out of the way.

[The Tin Mom]

Originally Posted by xoxoGOATSxoxo

If you do go with the insulation, just make sure it isnt plastic. I hear that those get all condensation-y.

Whatever you use for your walls, make sure its high and sturdy. If its not, the goats will bend, break, or poke holes in it with their pointy little feet when they try to climb it.

A warning about straw walls.... I made a straw windbreak one time and the goats wrecked it within a few months. They climbed all over it and pulled mouthfulls out of the bales. So make sure you cover it with something.

You house sounds pretty good.

Would building the walls from wire & then stuffing behind with the straw work?

Thanks for the tip on the insulation - I think my dh does have some of that plasticy sheet stuff & I was going to ask him if I could use it - guess not now!

Thank you! I am very excited about it & wish the storage buildings were here so I could get started!!

[Nancy_in_GA]

Originally Posted by The Tin Mom

Did you just use fiberglass insulation or a different kind? We have the usual Owens Corning but I can get a different kind if I need to. How did you keep it away from the goats? I would put OSB or some other kind of wood - is there something better?

Thanks!

Yes we used the Corning type rolls. Ours was only in the ceiling but they still stood on their hind legs and tried to pull it down. We finally had success by stapling up rolls of plastic screening on top of the insulation. So far (2.5 years now) it has worked. If you're going to insulate all the way around to the bottom then you'll probably have to put up some sturdy walls over it.

We used some cheap 4x8 panels from Lowes, called Barn Siding, for our walls, and they haven't mess with it much. Just chewed off some of the paint on the outside.

[Minelson]

With weather and wind (around here) it's best to be able to completely block west and north for sure. When we do get a east wind it's really sharp and damp feeling but not very common. Most people have their buildings open facing south...this lets the sun in to warm it up cuz it gets so dang cold here. In our barn, we have a large overhead door facing south....usually only closed at night. we have a regular size door on the west side that the horses use to come in and out whenever they want. We really wish that door was on the east side and may make changes..it would require us to re-do (flip-flop) our whole set-up. But it would be worth it because when the front door is open and we have a west wind it really blows through the entire barn...just from that tiny door! I hung some of those plastic curtain strips from it and that helps a little.
More pics
This is looking in from the south overhead door. The west (left) is 2 horse stalls...one being used as the goat pen pictured in the previous post. In the back is where the 2 horses have access through the little west door. The east side has all the hay.
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b7...D550/ry%3D400/
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b8...D550/ry%3D400/
This was during construction
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b6...D550/ry%3D400/
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b6...D550/ry%3D400/
This is the south door...you can see the chicken coop in the corner of the building
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b8...D550/ry%3D400/
This is the goats summer house...we have to pen them up during the day when no one is home in the summer months. This little building is completely insulated and stays nice and cool in the summer..I keep it heated in the winter for the cats.
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b8...D550/ry%3D400/
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b8...D550/ry%3D400/