Got any original concepts for designing a goat shelter?
This would be a permanent structure for housing 5 mature, full-size (think Boer, LaMancha, etc.) goats within fenced grazing areas, not necessarily near an actual barn.
Mini-barns, pre-fab, and lean-to styles don’t count.
Must be cost-effective, durable, and protect during seasonal weather extremes (Fahrenheit temps from teens to high 90’s).
Ability for minimum-hassle seasonal conversions is a huge plus. Show us your ag design-fu. Got pics? If they’re your own original designs, please feel free to share links to your publicly hosted images (please make sure you’ve secured your copyrights to any such images first, thanks!).
This is a legitimate question I was requested to ask on behalf of a neighbor who does not have internet access. The first B.S. response was merely down-voted. The second was reported by me as it was completely out of line. Other people who are seriously interested in Y!A’s "Agriculture" category are encouraged to help maintain some sort of minimum acceptable standards within this community. Thank you.
Shellybell - That sounds soooo cool!
P.S. To the Omnipotents of Y!A: Please accept my humble thanks for deleting response #2. ;oD
Thanks, circarocker06, but I can crank out designs in my sleep. What my neighbor’s looking for is adequately outlined in the original query. Now the focus is more on what’s innovative and practical vs. standard and predictable.
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picture a builing shaped like a triangle but the sides aren’t slanted straight down, but made with (exterior) stairs. Goats love to climb, and a shelter that had stairs on each side would prevent (falling) accidents, but still allow them to climb. I’d make the top at least 3-5′ wide for "room". I think it should be either triangle or pyrimid shaped, but flat in front surface.
The first thing that came to mind was a modified tree house. Not too high on stilts but high enough to be above average snow levels. Shade in the summer, built on the leeward side of the tree, protected in the winter. Plywood…with a ramp approach. Vent ‘windows’ instead of regular to keep them from butting each other out during ‘king of the mountain’ games.
I am an architect for one of the world’s premier goat shelter designers and builders. Unfortunately I’ve signed an extensive non-compete agreement and can’t share any info or pictures. The only hint I can give is ‘multi-story’.
Good luck
If you IM me, I can draft up a decent yet affordable goat shelter that you will like.
Have one that I used and tested. Put it up in Flagstaff AZ - it withstood winds, cold temps, not quite high 90s but it could. I’m planning to put one up here in AL. It’s easy to put up - 1-2 people an hour or so. It’s inexpensive, somewhat portable.
Materials - 3 cattle panels - the 50"X16′ ones; plastic and tarp, baling twine, tent stakes, 1 sheet of plywood, wire.
Starting this is the hardest part - take a cattle panel and you’re going to make an upside down U with the open end on the ground 8′ apart. Stake it; on one end (prevailing wind side) wire the plywood to the panel. There will be an open space at the top you can cut something to fit it in cold weather if desired or leave it as is for ventilation. Once these are wired and secure on the open end put another panel - secure it with tent stakes and wire it to the first. Repeat on the third one. Cover the whole thing with plastic (better for shedding water) then the tarp…zigzag baling twine across it and tie it down securely.
I used this for standard dairy goats, housing the milking stand and hay/feed, housing kids. It stood up to 60-70 mph winds (positioning is key!). You can also use another sheet of plywood and enclose it and put a door on that end. I left it open and just ran a couple pallets along it to keep critters out - and if you already have a few panels sitting around this is REALLY cheap. In cold weather it was always a bit warmer inside than out - without heaters. Warmer weather at times it could get a bit stuffy but if you alter it to where that top area in the back is open that should provide enough of a breeze/ventilation area it won’t be as bad. It sheds rain and snow and kept the hay inside dry. When it wasn’t needed simply take the whole thing apart, use the materials elsewhere and it’s like it never existed. Mine stood independently - I didn’t have a barn. The goats had wood shelters but they cost more than this!
I have another one too I’ve used - shelters that are open on one side - like a small scale 3 sided shelter. They were about 4X8′ - back was 3-1/2′ front was 4′. Full sized dairy goat bucks easily rested in them as did large breed rams. They’d also work for calves. I just made a 2X4 frame for the back, roof, front. On the roof and back I used "seconds" of tin (cut crooked - the goats didn’t care!) like normally used for roofing/barns. One end I used tin the other end I used a pallet. The front was open so they could come in or out and so one boss couldn’t keep the others out. They were freestanding and used in Oklahoma - worked well in high winds (they weren’t high enough to catch the wind), were small enough to be portable (two people or an ATV would move them) and yet sturdy enough to look decent and give the goats a place out of the sun, rain and snow. There was an article about this in a back issue of Countryside magazine with pictures in it - it’s not online. The whole thing, including purchasing lumber, nails etc ran about $200 for 2 shelters…took about 3 hours to make. (I’m not going to claim being a whiz builder either!).
I’m not sure if either of these would help you but I know they work for goats because I’ve done it.