# My Goats Boycotted their Igloo



## Adalynn (Oct 31, 2020)

I gave my 2 young ND goats an XL igloo. I keep it clean, stuffed it with nice straw and cedar and make sure I seal in the drafts every day while they munch the yard. I took out the bottom so their hooves didn't slide around, and they slept in it for about a month. 
Then.. They stopped. They would rather freeze together in the corner of the pen. I remade it, (nope,) then completely emptied it and moved it yesterday, wondering if the ground underneath smelled of urine and it bothered them. (Still nope.) Today I took it out of the pen while they grazed, powerwashed it, used kennel cleaner, dried it with a towel and repacked it full of nice fluffy straw. NO! They play on it, walk in it, dance on it, jump over it, around it, WTH?! I even went inside and I'd totally take a nap in there! Any ideas? It's getting cold here in New England. I'm tempted to buy another one to see what they do. I just can't imagine what's suddenly wrong with it.


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## MellonFriend (Aug 8, 2017)

That is odd. Do they have any other shelter? Has it rained at all without them using it? Is it possible that they are getting too big to both comfortably fit it in? I would really only be concerned if they weren't using it in rain. Goats should _not_ get wet. The only other thing I can think is maybe the cedar is bothering them. It has a very strong smell some animals are very irritated by it. It can actually cause lung damage to certain animals, I'm not sure if goats are one of them.

Sometimes my goats prefer to just sleep outside. In fact most of the time I have to get my does to go in the barn when I put them in at night or they would choose to be outside.


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## alwaystj9 (Apr 10, 2019)

Do they go in it when it rains?


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## Tanya (Mar 31, 2020)

I have a doghouse for my 2 as well. Its made of bricks. They prefer the hay bale. I gave up. Maybe give them an elevated platform option?


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## Adalynn (Oct 31, 2020)

MellonFriend said:


> That is odd. Do they have any other shelter? Has it rained at all without them using it? Is it possible that they are getting too big to both comfortably fit it in? I would really only be concerned if they weren't using it in rain. Goats should _not_ get wet. The only other thing I can think is maybe the cedar is bothering them. It has a very strong smell some animals are very irritated by it. It can actually cause lung damage to certain animals, I'm not sure if goats are one of them.
> 
> Sometimes my goats prefer to just sleep outside. In fact most of the time I have to get my does to go in the barn when I put them in at night or they would choose to be outside.


No. It hasn't rained in the last few days. Maybe that's it. I'll try switching to pine shavings. They have a 12'x12' canopy/car port, but it's kinda cold all the same. I just try to spoil them rotten and here they look like 2 little orphans huddled in the corner. Maybe this is bothering me more than them. I don't know.

Thanks


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## Adalynn (Oct 31, 2020)

alwaystj9 said:


> Do they go in it when it rains?


It hasn't rained since they started doing this so I don't know yet.


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## lottsagoats1 (Apr 12, 2014)

My 2 Nigerian bucks have a very nice wooden house they have shared since spring. They don't always go into it, not even when it rains. They prefer to sleep together in the pile of wasted hay, under the hay feeder, next to their house. I have bedded it with straw, hay, shavings, pine needles, nope, when they want to be outside, nothing I do will change their mind. The other night I went to feed them in a cold rain. I figured they would be inside the buck house. Nope, outside sleeping on the hay. This buck house is large enough to comfortably house 2 standard sized bucks, so size is not the issue. They liked it well enough this summer to keep the sun off their backs and the bugs at bay, but now that the temp is just above (and below!) freezing temps here in Maine, they prefer to sleep outside, even in the rain.


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## Goats Rock (Jun 20, 2011)

Did something scare them? A dog, coyote, etc? They may have felt trapped. Did someone (a child) scare them while they were in the igloo? Usually (not always) there is a reason they avoid things, but it isn't always easy to figure out!


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## Adalynn (Oct 31, 2020)

Goats Rock said:


> Did something scare them? A dog, coyote, etc? They may have felt trapped. Did someone (a child) scare them while they were in the igloo? Usually (not always) there is a reason they avoid things, but it isn't always easy to figure out!


Now that I think of it, we had a bad wind storm before they started this.
I don't like them far from us at night because I'm afraid of predators and not hearing them, so their night pen is close to the house, like right outside the back door. In the morning we let them out.
Anyhow, the wind took out several tree tops that were already in bad shape from a previous storm where they pasture. My husband pointed out this evening that there's now "a sound difference." It's a whistle that wasn't there before, but it's sort of distant and not loud. Just when the wind blows.. Of course the goats know the tree tops are down because they played on them the next morning, but none were close to them when they fell. Maybe them falling still scared them, but it didn't seem loud to us. Their house was secured and they had fresh hay.
This evening I changed their bedding to pine shavings underneath some new straw and went in the igloo. They came in for a cuddle and a nap but I woke up and crawled out and they followed. Now they're laying together under the hay feeder on all the hay they cast off this evening.
I suppose it's time to give up and not worry unless it rains. I'm sure it's big enough. I fit in there with them. (Turning around to get out while they're still in there is a different story altogether ) But they must not hate it or they wouldn't have followed me and stayed til I left. My hubby's going to get jealous if I keep sleeping outside with goats, so I guess I'll see what they do the next few evenings.


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## NigerianDwarfOwner707 (May 17, 2018)

How big is this igloo? LOL! You fit in it??

I had my goats previously in an area with a large awning and dog igloo underneath.

When it first got cold they would go into the igloo. Soon their bodies adjusted and all they needed/wanted was the covered awning. The only other time I ever saw them use the small igloo or house underneath was when temperature went to below zero.

Maybe since they already have cover, they don't really need the warmth.


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## Tanya (Mar 31, 2020)

I see with my two terrorists that they go onto the dog kennel when there is lightning and thunder. But even when it rains they both lay on the bale and sleep


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## Adalynn (Oct 31, 2020)

NigerianDwarfOwner707 said:


> How big is this igloo? LOL! You fit in it??
> 
> I had my goats previously in an area with a large awning and dog igloo underneath.
> 
> ...


It says it's for a 125 pound dog, but I weigh 140ish and am 5'4. The goats are about 30 pounds, give or take a couple. It looks small in the pen but it's quite big inside. They can turn around with me in there, but I can't with both of them due to my length.


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