# Calf hutch for two nubians?



## conny63malies (Aug 23, 2013)

I don't have them yet , but i like to plan ahead. Will a poly calf hutch do as a spring , summer, fall home for two nubian doelings ? I will get them next year in late april. I figured out the route to the two breeders and the manufacturer of the hut and figured with the gas prices its the easiest to do one big swoop and pick them all up at once. You know grab the truck and my bassets big plastic kennel strapped down- get the first doeling, go pick up the hutch load it over the kennel and secure it and off to grab the last goat. 
How many folks use those poly huts for goats and what a good price new ? RSI in Flemingsburg Ky quoted me 265$ brand new . The size is roughly 4x4x7ft or so. Should i build them a sleeping bench for the inside or will bedding do? Oh and the location will be south eastern or eastern Ky. Never really too hot or cold-perfect state and weather in my eyes.


----------



## enchantedgoats (Jun 2, 2013)

how big is the opening, is it an igloo type or more rectangular. the igloo would be too small but the other type should be ok.


----------



## J.O.Y. Farm (Jan 10, 2012)

I have one for my two, soon to be three Nigerian Dwarf bucks. For all year use. I will possibly be splitting my boys pen in half and getting a LaMacha buck or two.. And would be using calf hutches for them 

I just put a good bedding of straw down for them  I am looking to put stall mats down too..


----------



## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

Yes, it is fine for two.


----------



## conny63malies (Aug 23, 2013)

enchantedgoats said:


> how big is the opening, is it an igloo type or more rectangular. the igloo would be too small but the other type should be ok.


Not sure how tall the opening is, but it seems fairly large. Its one of the bigger hutch systems not an igloo. Here is the link. Its the lower one, though i might be able to buy the bigger one too. First one is 700$ the one i want 265$.

http://www.rsicalfsystems.com/calf_hutches.php


----------



## J.O.Y. Farm (Jan 10, 2012)

Oh I like that first one! Lol!

I think the lower one will be fine  if a clad can fit through the door a doe can too  and it looks fine for two does


----------



## SunnydaleBoers (Jul 28, 2012)

conny63malies said:


> Not sure how tall the opening is, but it seems fairly large. Its one of the bigger hutch systems not an igloo. Here is the link. Its the lower one, though i might be able to buy the bigger one too. First one is 700$ the one i want 265$.
> 
> http://www.rsicalfsystems.com/calf_hutches.php


Not sure where you're at, but I would post a wanted ad on craigslist, etc., to see if you couldn't scare up a few used ones- $100-150 bucks is usually a fair price on the smaller ones, $300-400 for the bigger ones. A lot of smaller dairies have had to leave the business in the last few years, so you might luck out and find someone that still has several in their barn.


----------



## conny63malies (Aug 23, 2013)

We will be in south eastern Kentucky by then. Not that many dairies out there we we will be. its more horses, tobacco and coal mines. I dont mind the money 265 for a new one isnt bad imo. I already checked on CL in two diff areas and there was only one, which was rather old. I know the big one is nice, but 700$ yikes, in this case i would just wait and order a 12x21 carport with closed sides and back. I guess i still might do that eventually or if we have enough land i just might order one of those 21x36 red metal barns . I can divide that one to house several breeds livestock. But at first i hope the calf hutch will do. 
If everything else fails, i got plans for a 4x6 chicken coop that i can lengthen a foot, this could be a winter home for two goat and then later be used for turkies or geese . We shall see


----------



## lottsagoats (Dec 10, 2012)

I know a lot of people who use them up here for goats year round. As long as the goats will share one hutch you should be fine. Just bed thenm good with hay or straw in the colder weather and they will be fine. I wish I could afford to get a couple of them for my bucks, that's all they would have year round..


----------



## MsScamp (Feb 1, 2010)

conny63malies said:


> The size is roughly 4x4x7ft or so. Should i build them a sleeping bench for the inside or will bedding do?


The usual recommendation is 10' sq ft per goat. If memory serves, area is figured by LXW so your looking at 28 sq ft, and that will be more than ample for 2 goats. No, I've never used the poly hutches so I can't help you with price. Either one will work, but remember that anything suspended in the air is going to transfer cold upwards to the goats faster than if it were on the ground.

PS: If you know anyone who is handy with a saw, drill and hammer, and you don't have a lot of wind, you could probably build a portable shed for a lot less.


----------



## conny63malies (Aug 23, 2013)

GoatCrazy said:


> The usual recommendation is 10' sq ft per goat. If memory serves, area is figured by LXW so your looking at 28 sq ft, and that will be more than ample for 2 goats. No, I've never used the poly hutches so I can't help you with price. Either one will work, but remember that anything suspended in the air is going to transfer cold upwards to the goats faster than if it were on the ground.
> 
> PS: If you know anyone who is handy with a saw, drill and hammer, and you don't have a lot of wind, you could probably build a portable shed for a lot less.


I am handy with power tools , i just like the idea of a poly hut that can be scrubbed down and is less likely to be nibbled on . I thought the in those things are less nooks and crannies where mites and bugs can make a home. Also i assume that a poly hut is lighter than that same size building made of heavy lumber. I know when i build something it always ends up super heavy.


----------



## MsScamp (Feb 1, 2010)

Yes, a poly hut is lighter than a shed made of lumber, but it can also be blown away, tipped over, and moved by wind easier. If you have winds around 45 to 50 mph or higher, you will need to anchor the hutch to keep the wind from blowing it around. That is exactly why I do not use poly huts - they would either end up smashed against the fences or in Nebraska, Colorado, New Mexico, or whatever state is west of Wyoming. :laugh:


----------



## conny63malies (Aug 23, 2013)

GoatCrazy said:


> Yes, a poly hut is lighter than a shed made of lumber, but it can also be blown away, tipped over, and moved by wind easier. If you have winds around 45 to 50 mph or higher, you will need to anchor the hutch to keep the wind from blowing it around. That is exactly why I do not use poly huts - they would either end up smashed against the fences or in Nebraska, Colorado, New Mexico, or whatever state is west of Wyoming. :laugh:


i remember that weather from living in Kansas well. I have seen homeless trampolines in the middle of the road after storms. But we will move into the mountains of eastern Ky , high wind storms are not that common there. I might build a woodframe for it to screw in onto , that should stabilize it and i can hook it to the truck or a atv to scoot it around. If i would live where you live i would def . anchor or even get a real barn.


----------



## MsScamp (Feb 1, 2010)

It doesn't have to be a storm here. 35-45 mph winds with gusts to 50 or 55 are pretty much a fact of life for days on end in the winter time here. Fortunately, they are usually out of the west so it doesn't impact feeding all that much. All of my shelters/sheds are either built on foundation posts set about 4-6 feet deep (occasionally cemented in) or very securely anchored.


----------

