Goats in a barn

[Topshelf782]

Hello everyone,

I recently purchased a home that sits on just about 3 acres. I have a nice large yard and a large barn that is leftover from when the lot was ten acres. We moved in and settled about a month ago, and I am happy with the little workshop I have now, but upon inspecting the barn I realized there was something missing. I triple checked the building and realized there was more space on the outside of the building than inside, and I discovered behind the overgrown two and a half meter tall weeds behind the barn in a animal pen, there was another door. After about an hour with a machete and some leather gloves, I cut away enough of the weeds to find the door.

The space is about 4x4 meters, a rough estimate. When I got a hold of the previous owner's daughter, the one who sold the property to us, she explained she used to keep two horses back there. the room is empty, and has been for the better part of a year.

My question is, what do I need to do, if anything, to make this room prepped for a couple of goats? As in, do I need to clean it out? Its a dirt floor, wooden wall construction, its mostly weather proof. But do I need to clean anything in particular? is there any special attention I need to be aware of? I would hate to purchase a couple of wethers to find out they got sick because I failed to properly prepare their living area. And after its all prepared, what do I need to watch for when it comes to pests or disease that are easily avoided common mistakes? Thanks for your time everyone, and thanks for the help.

 

[Mandy Onderwater]

I truly don't know much about goats, other than that they are escape artists. If there's a way, they will find it. If there isn't - they may still try. The goats I knew were very cheeky and loved being mischievous. They had a small barn for sleeping in; a concrete floor with hay bedding. The concrete made that it was quite easy to clean, with a simple sweep of a broom. Outdoors they had a couple toys and climbing structures (often made from leftover items like wooden cable rolls, wooden pallets hammered together and/or stacked, old bricks and pavers stacked together and so on). They absolutely loved it - and so did we. My guess is that the fencing for the goats was 1,5m high, but I haven't been there in many, many years now.

Are you intending on creating an outdoor area for them as well? Seeing as there was an overgrown area, it may definitely be a good idea to keep the goats outside too. They'll eat about anything and may help keep the weeds down.

 

[Topshelf782]

The plan was to let them free graze in the pen and let them out into the yard proper. I don't have the garden set up and where I do put it, it would be separated from the yard. I wanted them out during the day, but at night where we live I need to lock them up. We have canyons south of our home that are close enough large wild cats, bobcats mainly, will come up north and attack pets. I would keep them locked at night and let them out every morning. The fence is close to 2m high with hog paneling lining the inside of the wood.