# Anyone have concrete floors in goat barn?



## BOERKING (Jan 5, 2015)

So tmr I am getting concrete poured for my goats.

I am wondering who has concrete for there goats?

I know the expense is a bit high but maintaince is so much easier!

I'm going to put bunch of wood chips for the goats on top of the concrete is that enough to keep them warm? We barely get snow here if any before it rains and melts all of it.

I know a few farmers who have concrete with wood chips but some say it's not good..
So excited!


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Urine will soak into the concrete and smell. You will need to disinfect it on a regular basis.


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## brigadoonfarmgal (Jul 14, 2016)

Yes I have them and cleanup is not easier. The concrete holds the urine and it continues to wet the bedding (where dirt absorbs the wetness) It also can cause issues for goat hooves standing and moving on it for any extended amount of time. The only pro I find is being able to disinfect thoroughly compared to a dirt floor ( if I needed to_ and I do this by using a Wysiwash system so I have no smell or flies in my barn. If I were to build my perfect goat barn I would have a rubberized raised floor with smooth concrete underneath that is sloped towards a large central drain and the walls would go up at least 2 feet with smooth concrete on three sides for easy pressure washer use. The raised floor would allow for goat berries and urine to pass below and it would also allow for kerosene heaters to be placed to circulate warm air if needed to dry the stall in winter or if goat needed extra heat for one reason or the other.


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## BOERKING (Jan 5, 2015)

What do you use to disinfect it?
I thought it would be easy because a few people told me its easier then a dirt floor.


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## brigadoonfarmgal (Jul 14, 2016)

The only pro I find is being able to disinfect thoroughly compared to a dirt floor ( if I needed to) and I do this by using a *Wysiwash system* so I have no smell or flies in my barn.

I have to clean the stalls daily because the feces and urine stay on top of the cement soaking everything and the cement stays very cold esp during Winter so dry bedding is a must at least once a day so that nasty wetness is not being laid upon by my goat(s). Cleaning is not simply rake out and replace bedding it is rake out wash down and replace deep bedding... yes I agree is easier to keep contamination to a minimum with being able to wash it out and disinfect it but it comes with a time consuming price


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## Ranger1 (Sep 1, 2014)

One of my barns has a concrete floor. I use thick bedding and have never had a problem with it. Unlike a dirt floor, it doesn't get scraped away when I clean, so I like it better than dirt.


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## Goats Rock (Jun 20, 2011)

My entire barn is concrete. Thick bedding and a total clean out every few months. For me and my large dairy herd, it works well.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

I agree with the others.


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## PurpleToad (Feb 14, 2016)

We have concrete floors and I haven't noticed them holding the smell but when we clean we put barnyard lime down under the bedding and we also rotate where the bedding goes. We only have 3 goats though and our building is more room than they really need.lol Also with the warm weather lately they tend to sleep in the front yard most of the time.

Front yard is double fenced and our bedroom is connected to it. There's a permanent chain link AND an electric fence.


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## brigadoonfarmgal (Jul 14, 2016)

OK I have to say I am truly intrigued with the posters who find having concrete floors beneficial....I guess I must be doing something wrong because if I leave heavy bedding on the concrete floors it really gets overwhelming ammonia smelling and the bedding begins to mold from beneath and I can never get the bedding to air dry so to speak and to be honest it just feels ...horribly germy and dirty to me.... top that off with 20 times the effort trying to remove the old wet nasty and tramped down bedding when doing an occasional clean out.... So what am I doing wrong to not see the positives for the concrete? I am not being sarcastic I really want to know what the secret is because if I can figure out a hygienic way to use the concrete for year round housing I would love it!

I currently use the concrete stalls for kidding and for isolation/treatment areas other wise give me a dirt floor in a nice draft free barn with good ventilation


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## PurpleToad (Feb 14, 2016)

brigadoonfarmgal said:


> OK I have to say I am truly intrigued with the posters who find having concrete floors beneficial....I guess I must be doing something wrong because if I leave heavy bedding on the concrete floors it really gets overwhelming ammonia smelling and the bedding begins to mold from beneath and I can never get the bedding to air dry so to speak and to be honest it just feels ...horribly germy and dirty to me.... top that off with 20 times the effort trying to remove the old wet nasty and tramped down bedding when doing an occasional clean out.... So what am I doing wrong to not see the positives for the concrete? I am not being sarcastic I really want to know what the secret is because if I can figure out a hygienic way to use the concrete for year round housing I would love it!
> 
> I currently use the concrete stalls for kidding and for isolation/treatment areas other wise give me a dirt floor in a nice draft free barn with good ventilation


Honestly I don't know why it doesn't get stinky in our building. Maybe because it's an old chicken coop and drafty? I'll be able to decide if I REALLY like it after this winter. This will be our first full winter with goats, and the last part of last winter when we got our first goats they ended up staying mostly inside because of the temps and being young and bottle feeding. Mostly though the barnyard lime helps with the smell and we've only got three wethers who've spent most of the summer outside sleeping. So it remains to be seen. It may help that I haven't been able to clean the building for the last three or four months due to allergies also. That will teach them to put my hay under a cedar tree!

-Edit: I realized that made it seem like the building hasn't been cleaned for a few months which isn't the case. Husband and daughter have been cleaning it and bringing in hay (we get free hay so the goats get it for eating and sleeping). I'm apparently allergic to cedar and break out whenever the oils get on me. Ugh!


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## CCary (Jul 26, 2012)

*cement barn floors*

I was looking for barn maintenance topics, as, I am new to this farming thing and am trying to understand what my duties should be. We had dirt floors in the barn and my husband would take his tractor/blade and scrape out the bedding in springtime. This always took some of the dirt floor with it and then he spent more time trying to replace the dirt. All in all, he decided to put in cement flooring. He says it is better. I liked the dirt, the chickens liked the dirt. Although it became very dusty in summer. As long as the goats loafed outside the barn and not in, it wasn't too bad. we have 62 goats. So now, cement floors, and winter coming, so the bedding stays until spring, right? I am told that the heat from decomposing keeps the goats warm. I feel I don't dare clean it, as there may not be enough time for a buildup before snow/cold hits. I have separated the bucklings and doelings, does and buck run the fields and come into the barn at night. So my questions still is out there. What are my duties in barn cleaning? what should I be doing/looking for or at? We are in the 4th year of raising lovable meat goats, mostly for keeping brush down and the culls go to our priest who loves it. I kind of thought I would be retired now , oh well.


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## lottsagoats1 (Apr 12, 2014)

My first goat barn was part of cow dairy barn, concrete floors. My last one was concrete/cement also. I love it. It is so much easier to clean and helps keep them cool in the summer. That barn burned, so the new one has a gravel floor that gets thrown out with the bedding. I wish I had my cement floors back!


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