# Getting my barn set up for winter.



## Koselig Hollow Farm (6 mo ago)

I'm converting a barn the former owners had two horses in, and hay storage. I'm turning the hay storage area into a larger space for the goats 17' x 12', the two horse doors are being turned into individual stalls, the one pictured is 5' x 12' the other one not yet but will be 5' x 8'. They will be for quarantining or kidding. What do people do for sleeping arrangements, platforms for the goats? or is it better for them to sleep on straw?

I'm also putting a small chicken space on one side of the larger goat space, it'll be about 3' x 12'. I'm trying to keep the animals together for the winter, is this a good idea or bad?

I live in SW Wisconsin so we can get sub zero temps.


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## K.B. (Mar 15, 2021)

Yes that sounds like a good plan! I'm in NW Minnesota and I have the goats in a garage turned barn with 3 "stalls"... ones a big dog kennel for kidding and the other 2 are one for the boys one for the girls... what are you going to do about feed storage?  

I also have some chickens I put into another big dog kennel but there's not that many! So all the animals are all together here, just separated places... (it's a pretty big garage )

Oh and I don't have platforms but I'm sure they'd love them! They just have straw here!


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## K.B. (Mar 15, 2021)

You could even (if possible) make the stall that's 12' into 2 6' by 5' areas so you'd have another option


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## Boer Mama (10 mo ago)

Looks like it should work out nice- good potential there! 
You could get those solid pallets and set on blocks for a sleeping platform that’s easy to remove. Then you can have an idea what your goats prefer…I’ve found some free ones before, just about 28”x40” with plywood on 4x4’s.
If pretty cold tho, they just may prefer cuddling in some deep straw together 🤷🏼‍♀️


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## alwaystj9 (Apr 10, 2019)

Goats love platforms! and a nice underneath the platform area increases your animal area. It's another sleep area or a mineral area...


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## Koselig Hollow Farm (6 mo ago)

K.B. said:


> You could even (if possible) make the stall that's 12' into 2 6' by 5' areas so you'd have another option


This is a possibility and easy to set up temporarily. I've been using old barn boards I found locally to frame the more permanent spaces with the idea that as time moves on I'll modify. 

My workspace (animal free zone) is about 24' x 8' and will be where I keep the stanchion and other animal related items.

The stall I just added will be the inside barn space for my buck's run. Right now he has the outside covered portion of the barn, 12' x 10', but without walls it's pretty exposed in bad weather. So I want him to have a indoor space, covered outdoor space and then is paddock.


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## Koselig Hollow Farm (6 mo ago)

alwaystj9 said:


> Goats love platforms! and a nice underneath the platform area increases your animal area. It's another sleep area or a mineral area...


My wether really likes to sleep on the stanchion that is out in their paddock the other goats tend to sleep on the ground. I think I'll build a couple ledges for them and if they use them great if not, I'll just be building them out of scrap wood so no real investment other than time.


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## Koselig Hollow Farm (6 mo ago)

K.B. said:


> Yes that sounds like a good plan! I'm in NW Minnesota and I have the goats in a garage turned barn with 3 "stalls"... ones a big dog kennel for kidding and the other 2 are one for the boys one for the girls... what are you going to do about feed storage?
> 
> I also have some chickens I put into another big dog kennel but there's not that many! So all the animals are all together here, just separated places... (it's a pretty big garage )
> 
> Oh and I don't have platforms but I'm sure they'd love them! They just have straw here!


Feed storage is my next concern. I'm going to store some under the covered exterior part of the barn, that in spring time will be an outside separate run. That space is about 12' x 10' x 8'. I will only need to tarp two sides which will be nice. Then I plan on storing some on the inside of that section of the barn where my smaller 5' x 8' stall will be. I actually have a space that's about 12' x 8' x 8' that I can stack with hay . I figure if I work my way out of the barn by the time I need to use that stall space for kidding I will have used up all the hay and will be good to go. 

The question becomes how many bales can I stack in those two spaces? I have some other storage options as well but none quite as nice and protected as these. I'm thinking I will save the "barn hay" for later I'm the winter, January/February. It'll act some what like a wind block and it'll be easier to move around when the weather is at its worst.

I also have a loft over the exterior covered area that I plan on stocking with straw, but not sure how much of that I'll need or be able to keep up there.


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## Boer Mama (10 mo ago)

Even if the goats don’t sleep on your raised platforms, they’ll enjoy playing on them when they are stuck inside due to bad weather. And as TJ mentioned, it can increase your space if you build them up higher 😊


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

Good plans.


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