# We are getting goats



## sesa (May 14, 2009)

My wife and I have decided on 2 baby goats, 1 Alpine and 1 Lamancha. I am putting the barn up now and we will have them on the 18th of April. The floor of the barn is going to be concrete in the areas we will be using for milking and storage and the goats section will be gravel and dirt. My question is would it be better to have their floor be straight gravel of gravel covered with a few inches of dirt. The way the site sits the area under the goats living area will be built up about a foot with fill gravel to level the floor off so I'm thinking that drainage won't be an issue, I'd love to hear how you did the floors in your barns so I can avoid having to do the work twice, Thanks


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

Congrats on your upcoming new additions!

I have wood floors but I would imagine having something that will be easy to clean would be best...gravel would be hard to get all the berries from, maybe a layer of sand or crushed gravel will help/ IDK


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## ohiogoatgirl (Jan 31, 2010)

the barns here are all dirt floor. put some hay down and once the hay rack is up the goats waste quite a bit and that gets kicked about by the goats and me as bedding. just fork it out once a month and it will be fine. but leave the bedding in from fall to spring (if you live in an area that gets cold weather) to insulate the goats from the ground.


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

I would make sure there is plenty of dirt on top of the gravel because you always loose dirt during cleaning of the bedding and goats like to dig into it at times to cool off in the cool sand. 

I have a dirt floor but we have all sand here in the pine barrens so drainage isn't an issue.


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## naturalgoats (Jan 3, 2011)

I have dirt but that is just because that is what everyone has here.... Once it packs down it is great about absorbing urine and is easy to clean. The same thing happens with my hay as with ohiogoatgirl of late I've been inspired and cleaning it out every week..... this is after letting it build up in the winter....


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## ohiogoatgirl (Jan 31, 2010)

i wish i couls say i clean out the barn every week... its still cold here. i am going to ~try~ to clean it out at least once a month in the summer.
of course with the garden and everything we'll just have to se about that ;D


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## iddybit acres (Feb 18, 2011)

Mine has a elevated wood floor with one step about 10 inches off the ground with gravel under it and the rest is dirt. But i'm in upper Michigan and it's alway's cold and lot's of snow!


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## ohiogoatgirl (Jan 31, 2010)

before i had any farm knowledge i thought all barns and animal housing had wood floors just like any house. i mean the i was all "dirt is icky" (its quite hilarious if you ever saw me. example: i dont wear shoes unless i REALLY HAVE TO. and no, going in the goat pasture and barn does NOT necessitate wearing shoes for me). ;D


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## SandStoneStable Farm (Dec 8, 2010)

I have an old horse barn, floor is dirt and sand/ sawdust packed. It was great when I first got the goats, but after many barn cleanings and little hooves on it it's eroding and has uneven highs and lows . If you dirt, I don't recommend mixing sand/ sawdust in.
I will have to add dirt to the stalls eventually.
It worked great for the horses for years, I guess little hooves dig in and break the packed stuff up.
Caryn


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## jduwall (Aug 7, 2009)

I live near Pittsburgh, PA and I have dirt floors here. Love them. easy to clean, cool in the summer and I use pine bedding and straw in the winter and it is very warm for everyone... I am cleaning out our feed barn for the goats now and it has wood ...we will have to see how that goes.

Good luck and congrats...

PS...you can't just have 2..... :ROFL: :slapfloor: they become an adiction :wahoo:


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## naturalgoats (Jan 3, 2011)

I'm with you on the shoes Ohiogoatgirl  

and my barn has been gradually eroded by the animals as well SandStoneStable Farm. there are dips in the middle of each stall  They love to dig in in the summer and cool off.


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