What do you use for bedding in the summer?

[homebirtha]

Our goat shed has a dirt floor. We'd been straw or hay, but when we mucked it out, it was still reeeally wet underneath. So now we're thinking no bedding until it gets cooler. What do you do?

[trappmountain]

I put some hay on the bottom. IF you have electric or are close enough to run an extention cord I run a fan during the day during this humid weather. It seems to help a lot. My goats are kept in a stall during the night so I can set on outside of the stall but you can get many of them that can hang if you have an open area for them to go in and out of. But I think leaving them on the dirt in the warm weather would probably be ok too. But I would wait until someone with more experience than I have to reply.

[bill not in oh]

You could put a couple of inches of gravel down and then the straw on top of the gravel. Having this kind of 'buffer' between the animal and the moisture is a pretty good idea IMHO. It allows the moisture to escape more easily and voila, drier floor. Alternative: Put straw on half leaving the other half exposed to dry out then switch. A fan certainly would expedite the drying process. Alternative 2: Remove 6-8 inches of dirt from the floor to a tarp in the direct sunlight. Partially fill the excavation with 2" gravel then when the original dirt is dry replace it to the original level (this one's a lot of work....).

[TwoAcresAndAGoat]

my goat stall has a block floor, then I put down a solid surface wooden pallet to raise their sleeping area four inches. Over that I put down a bed of wood shavings.

[Jen H]

My barn has a concrete floor (it was here when we bought the place). In the summer, they really like lying on the bare concrete but I do have straw piled up in a corner in case they want to use it.