nubian goat stall management please help?

[peakfarms]

I have a small heard of nubians, all does and one whether. They have full range on pasture, and used to have small houses in the pastures. Well, I have one large doe, one large doe who is also largely pregnant.
I noticed her out in the weather the other day and realized she is too big to fit through the door.
We have an old metal shed. We use it to house grain, our tractor and farm truck etc. It does have a small stall for new moms. I just recently made a new stall area in it, so all of my goats have shelter from the winter weather, Im here in mid Missouri.
Currently I have straw on the dirt floor for them. Is there anything else I can use for "poopy" managment?
I have heard of lime, any opinions on this? Do I have to use a certain kind of lime?
Also I have two goats coming back from a case of worms, so you know its going to get nasty quick.
Any advice is appreciatted.
Regina Peak

[Jen H]

In the winter I just put down a clean layer of straw every week and let the bedding (poop and all) build up underneath. The top surface stays dry, there isn't any ammonia smell I can detect when I kneel down to check the straw, and the composting poop helps keep everyone warm (it got down to 15* last night, and it's snowing now). I'd clean up the "soupy" areas with a pitchfork and not worry much about the rest of it.

Be careful with the lime. Some types can burn the critters if they paw down to it.

[mpillow]

We use pine shavings when its close to kidding time....just scattered hay the rest of the time.

[Stacy Adams]

There is a product called Sweet-PDZ found at most feed stores.. I don't know if it works better than lime, but it does keep the ammonia from building up and I use it all the time now.. I use the granulated kind...
On the dirt floor, I'll layer the SPDZ untill the floor is white and covered well, then I put down a thick layer of shavings and whatever hay accumulates on top.. I'll even scoop hay that has fallen in the walkway back into the barn.. when it starts composting, it'll keep their sleeping quarters nice and warm...

[Vicki McGaugh TX Nubians]

Like Stacy I use a similar product called Stall Dry, both our Coop and Tractor Supply carry this. I put it under my shavings, and add it to the top of the shavings when I add more throughout the winter. I keep my stalls raked with a leaf rake, trying to just pull up berries and not dirt, then fill the barns with shavings during the last 50 days of pregnancy. By May I want the barns empty again, just back to raking shavings. I feed little to no hay in the barns and don't want hay being part of my bedding, it's heavy when urine soaked and it also puts weed and grass seeds into my garden! I have people who come to the farm for my barn leavings, they don't want it with hay in it. Vicki

[Stacy Adams]

Originally Posted by Vicki McGaugh TX Nubians

I feed little to no hay in the barns Vicki

Where do you feed 'em hay if not in the barn?? it sure does get heavy.!!

[peakfarms]

Thank you very much. Sounds like you two Nubian owners from Texas both use pine shavings, I might have to look into that. My husband was considering hay. Maybe Im niave, but I was concerned about them munching on the hay.
I hope to see more posts from you guys, I enjoy talking to goat people, especially Nubian owners.
REgina

[Freeholder]

My goats are housed in a portable carport-type shelter, with the east end open (most of our wind is out of the west, but the manger does provide some shelter on the open end, if the wind switches around). It gets pretty cold here, has been down to around eight degrees already and will get colder before spring. I'd prefer to bed the stall with shavings, but because the goats don't eat the coarse stems in the alfalfa hay, and I don't have anything else to feed the stems to, I've been using them for bedding. It's getting pretty deep, stays clean and dry on top, and no smell. I know it will be a pain to clean out in the spring, though.

Kathleen

[Vicki McGaugh TX Nubians]

Hi Stacy, my hay feeders are outside, connected to the side of the barns, just outside their doors, I pitch fork any hay on the ground (which isn't alot with them on alfalfa pellets) into the grass just before mowing, so it's carried off to pasture not onto the compost pile. The outside of my barn has little metal awnings that come out about 4 feet (like on old timey houses) which protect the hay from the rain (well nothing protects anything from our Texas rain when it rains sideways and the sun. It's enough room to cover the hay, and for them to eat without being rained on, but not enough room to congregate and make a mess, or spend their time pulling the hay out onto the ground.

The milkers 10 foot long hay feeder made from a utility panel is the best hay feeder I have ever had, the holes are small so they can only get their nose and mouth in to eat, no getting that whole head in and dragging out hay. It's is being moved out into the pasture this winter, to the old 3 sided emu barn, which the tractor fits through to drag out any mess they make.

Vicki

[Stacy Adams]

Originally Posted by Vicki McGaugh TX Nubians

The outside of my barn has little metal awnings that come out about 4 feet (like on old timey houses) which protect the hay from the rain (well nothing protects anything from our Texas rain when it rains sideways and the sun. It's enough room to cover the hay, and for them to eat without being rained on, but not enough room to congregate and make a mess, or spend their time pulling the hay out onto the ground. Vicki

I have one of those types of awnings too on the side of my barn, I just never thougth to put the hay there :haha:
There's an interesting article in one of my sisters Llama mgs, where this woman had a 16ft hayrack made from a hog pannel.. it was stapled with those U nails at the bottom and attached at the top with 3 long double sided clips, one on either end and one in the middle.... I think if I put it high enough, and put some concrete blocks at the bottom for them to stand on (and you know how they love to do that!!) It'll give me something to do with that utility panel out behind the chicken coop!
Thanks Vicki.!! don't know why I thought they had to eat their hay indoors.. :haha: :haha: :haha: