# barn/ goat care favorites



## GoatMama123 (Sep 9, 2015)

Curious as to everyone's "barn essentials", NOT supplements/ meds/ med supplies. More general...doesn't have to be just goat related... gardening, homestead maintenance, organization solutions.... 

Tools that are your must haves...things that aren't must haves but make your life so much easier? 

Favorite boots and clothing options?

Barn deodorizers, fly products...

Favorite sites to order from... Tractor supply chain preference....


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## SalteyLove (Jun 18, 2011)

Ariat Barnyard boots are one of the best splurges I have ever made, I wear them to the barn year round. Enough tread for winter conditions, but not too much so that everything gets stuck to them. I just change from good quality winter socks to regular socks with the seasons. I love these boots a lot, they are so perfect. Slip on, tall enough but not annoyingly tall. I call them my "snobby horse person boots" because of the brand and price 

http://www.doversaddlery.com/ladies...mp_mt=&pdv=m&gclid=CKmC8NmKpMgCFQwYHwodSW0KUA


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Storm Chasers from LLBean are the shoes I wear. I keep lots of barn lime on hand. Rakes and pitch forks. I use the fly trap disposable bags in the barn. PBS Livestock is my go to online order place. Tractor Supply or Rural King are my local stores.


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## Lstein (Oct 2, 2014)

Not really an essential or anything but it's certainly a QoL. I have a little Bluetooth speaker that my phone connects to, so my goats and I can enjoy some tunes while I'm out there. A radio would be ok too. I know some people just like the quiet, and I keep it off too sometimes, but it's nice to have if your going to working out there awhile.


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## Lstein (Oct 2, 2014)

Another random essential that I still to this day don't have and kick myself every time I need it, is a simple nice sturdy table. Or just any surface that is designated for just that, jotting things down and has a good supply of pens and a couple cheap notebooks nearby.

Mine, once I finally make one, will be roughly 2' by 3', with a drawer and tall enough that goats can walk under it. Nothing real fancy, just portable and goat sturdy.

Every year when I'm going through kids, tagging, jotting down notes, etc, or later on when banding, giving first shots.... I usually take just one of those plastic white picnic table's in there with me.....not recommended! The mamas do everything in their power to walk under it, drag it along with them, flip it over (not aggressively but definitely passive aggressively!)


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## nicolemackenzie (Dec 27, 2014)

I like kennelsol for scrubbing the barn out.

My husband works at a mulch place so can grab me lime when I need it.

For flies I like the old fashioned sticky ones you unroll and hang from the ceiling. I tried a baited bag one once and all it did was attract more flies!

I wish I had lights and water... That would save a lot of lugging of water bottles...


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## GoatMama123 (Sep 9, 2015)

I am currently using someone elses barn right now, but our offer was accepted for a new house with our very own barn...from my limited experience and use of their barn items this is all I have so far:

Barn broom
Shavings shovel
Rake for shaving dispersing
Lots of various size bins with lids for feed storage 
white board and sticky notes
barn mini fridge for water and meds
rubber stall mats

Ive been doing barn duties in shorts and tennis shoes...I have epic hay rash all over my legs, scratches and cuts everywhere, hence the clothing and boot questions lol

I agree that some tunes in the barn would be nice!
So glad to hear of recommendations other than Bogs ( I love them for a rain boot but they just don't seem hardy enough for chores)

Something like this is what I was thinking LStein, kinda what you were talking about?


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## GoatMama123 (Sep 9, 2015)

The ledge table and cabinets.... but not in a fancy tack/ storage room with flooring and area rug... like next to smelly stall... gotta be realistic


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## NyGoatMom (Jan 26, 2013)

Rakes,pitchfork,big aluminum snow shovel (for sweeping up and cleaning barn floor), big broom,barn lime, and good cutters for hay strings! Nippers (wire cutters  )
Fly strips...lots and lots of fly strips.

Boy...I could go on and on...LOL


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## Goats Rock (Jun 20, 2011)

Heated water buckets, radio and a wheelbarrow.! Oh, and a fridge and microwave. (I tend to live in my barn!)


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## FloatnRockRanch (Feb 7, 2015)

Things I use the most, especially for barn cleaning is my rake and I love having a snow shovel. Its wider and works faster and better for cleaning up the small poops that scatter everywhere. We have rabbits too so we spend lots of time chasing those marbles. Storage bins! For feed, minerals, supplies brushes etc. Oh yea, gotta have a food scale. Must have for so many things.

The one thing I wish I had more of and makes me crazy every day.....not enough lights. Makes everything you do when milking, hoof trimming, giving meds so hard without good lights.


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## Goats Rock (Jun 20, 2011)

Lots of light is good! Some of the new (and I don't like them, but ... ) bulbs hardly pull any energy and are pretty bright.


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## SalteyLove (Jun 18, 2011)

I realized another item I use in the barn frequently - a good spray bottle of water! I use it to tell the buck to get off the fence, I use it to rinse hooves or my trimmers while hoof trimming, etc. It has to be one of those really good ones that has a high power spray.


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## fivemoremiles (Jan 19, 2010)

a skid steer how did I get along with out it. barn cleaning is a snap moving hay and grain snow removal there are so many things I use it for.
drop electric cords it is so nice to have electric cords up and out of the way
dog heating pad there is no heat lamp fires fears in my barn


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## GoatMama123 (Sep 9, 2015)

What's is a skI'd steer....I've never heard of that?!


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## SalteyLove (Jun 18, 2011)

GoatMama123 said:


> What's is a skI'd steer....I've never heard of that?!


A fun and powerful piece of small equipment!


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## fivemoremiles (Jan 19, 2010)

Skid steer's are fun powerful and scary
you will need the bucket forks and bale spear attachments.


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## Brink4 (Apr 29, 2013)

Good feeders and waterers with clips that can be secured off the ground but are easy to remove and clean.electric and water in the barn. Radio. Good rakes and pitch forks and sweet pdz. We always have double sided clips and heavy duty zip ties on hand!

Forgot to add: good tin storage barrels for feed. Don't waste your money on automatic sprayers for fly control...good old fly strips work the best. (The sprayers barely helped us). Don't forget you good old barn cat


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## loggyacreslivestock (Mar 5, 2013)

A knife! Never know when someone will try to hang themselves. I keep one in each barn and one in my coat pocket. A fitting/milking stand for hoof trimming, injections, etc. Flashlights. 
I use Jeffers livestock.
Plus all the before mentioned items.


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## Goat_in_Himmel (Jun 24, 2013)

Heated water buckets made me a happy camper (electricity is nice to have, or else use long heavy duty extension cords). Light to see by, is great--clear roof panels are great, if you don't have electricity in the barn--I appreciate them anew, over and over again. Elbow room and head space, which can't be bought, are priceless. A designated unused stall/room, which will come in handy for unforeseen temporary situations. A hay fork, sharp scissors, room to store grain, supplements, etc., and everything-proof tubs to put them in.


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## GoatMama123 (Sep 9, 2015)

Anyone just in love with stall mats? I have concrete floors in my barn, do they help or only in a dirt floor environment?


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## Lstein (Oct 2, 2014)

GoatMama123 said:


> I have concrete floors in my barn


 Lucky!

I want concrete on the "people side" of the barn so bad! Right now the chickens scratch it all up so I get piles of straw everywhere and feathers! :hammer: I don't have the heart (or ability) to kick them out though, its just their favorite hangout during the day. Though one benefit to that situation though, is that everything usually resurfaces eventually then......though the problem would be eliminated if there was concrete....


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## Damfino (Dec 29, 2013)

I have a love-hate relationship with rubber mats. I love that they add warmth and cushion to a concrete floor, but I hate how hard it is to move them and clean under them. If they're heavy enough to stay in place, they're too heavy to lift out of the way without breaking your back.

My favorite barn item is my muck tub dolly. It's this two-wheeled thing with a handle that holds a 21-gallon muck tub in it. I can't even name all the things I've used this for. It's much easier to transport and store than a wheelbarrow so it's perfect for shows, but it comes in handy for so many other things as well. I can easily carry two hay bales on it, I can put a load of smaller items in the tub and make one trip instead of five, I've used it for hauling water to pens when the hose froze, and I use it every day in winter to haul loose hay to my goat pens. I even installed my weed sprayer on the dolly using a piece of plywood and some bungee cords. It was soooo much easier than having to carry that heavy weed sprayer on my back! 

My other favorite barn item is probably the hay bale bags I use for traveling to shows or on camping trips. Not only does a bag keep the hay or straw neat and contained once a bale is opened, it keeps goats from tearing into it through the partition, and it keeps the bale dry if I have to transport it in my open truck bed. I always bring one bale bag for hay and one for straw when I'm on the road.


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## groovyoldlady (Jul 21, 2011)

No skid steer here. We use hand tools (rakes and shovels and snow shovels) and haul with wheel barrows or plastic children's sleds - depending on the weather!

I could not live without lime. Best. Stuff. Ever. I also use an awful lot of my mom's old kitty litter buckets. I rinse them out and dry them, then use them to store grain, BOSS, Lime, Minerals - you name it. We just write on the cheerful red lids with a Sharpie so we know what's inside.


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## SeventeenFarms (Dec 10, 2013)

I share many of the same favorites with all of you, yet, my all time favorite is my camera that I take with me every time I head to the stable and/or the pasture. Something always catches my eye, or one of the animals -goats, horses, chickens, and the wildlife around- is doing something or "posing" someway that I cant resist taking a shot.
Otherwise, my most favorite thing is a simple straw sweep broom to sweep out the stalls, sheds, etc. And too, I like rubber mats - I use them in the stalls and aisles and I also use them outside near the water hydrant to keep the ground from being muddy, on pallets for the goats to stand on during the "muddy season", and as walkways sometimes. They are heavy, but worth the effort most times.


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## Lstein (Oct 2, 2014)

SeventeenFarms said:


> I share many of the same favorites with all of you, yet, my all time favorite is my camera that I take with me every time I head to the stable and/or the pasture. Something always catches my eye, or one of the animals -goats, horses, chickens, and the wildlife around- is doing something or "posing" someway that I cant resist taking a shot.


 I always forget to bring mine, everytime, and someone is always doing something photo worthy. Unless I have it with, then they are all dull. :roll:


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## FloatnRockRanch (Feb 7, 2015)

Lstein said:


> Lucky!
> 
> I want concrete on the "people side" of the barn so bad! Right now the chickens scratch it all up so I get piles of straw everywhere and feathers! :hammer: I don't have the heart (or ability) to kick them out though, its just their favorite hangout during the day. Though one benefit to that situation though, is that everything usually resurfaces eventually then......though the problem would be eliminated if there was concrete....


I have dirt floors in the center of the barn and concrete around the outer area. Unfortunately all the stalls and pen area is on the concrete and its horrible! Even with a slight slope the drainage sucks and the mats dont help. You will find with goats that the pellets are small and just end up getting into the cracks between mats and then it stinks and is hard to get out an keep clean. With horses they work well as they have much larger droppings. It becomes just another place for mold, bacteria and nasty to build up. You could do the weekly hosing of the stalls, but around here its already much to wet and you spend your time trying to keep it dry.


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## Encgoatlady (Mar 20, 2015)

Back to footwear... I have some leather Ugg mules that I call my "goat shoes" that are always just inside the back door unless they are on my feet. I love them because I can just slip them off easily every time I come in from the goats so I don't track anything into the house. Can wear with socks or without. Perfect because I am in and out all the time. They have been soaking wet many times and they just dry out and bounce back. s6 years and they are still going strong. Added bonus: my daughters use them anytime they go to the goats for anything.


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