# barn planning



## Tgmcr (Mar 29, 2020)

In march I decided to expand my little herd of 3.
My boys had a little 8x8 shed with a 8x8 run and had free rein of the back yard. I decided I wanted to expand the herd and get into breeding and milking. So, I brought home 2 does in march and the little barn that they had just wasn't going to cut it. 
so, in march I cleared out a section of woods to give them their own area away from the back yard and built them a 10x24 barn. The "barn" is made out of 2 horse stalls. I split it into 3 sections; a 10x10 stall for my boys, a 4x10 feed room and a 10x10 stall for the girls. It works...okay. Honestly it's more suited for horses than it is for goats. I ran into issues when Juno delivered and had to have the entire stall herself and I had to play musical stalls for the last 2 months to accommodate everyone. also, my feed room is quite narrow and the milk stand JUST fits. It's super cramped and the only way that I can get into it is to go through one of the stalls, which means that all of the goats swarm me whenever I try to go in. All things considered it does the job and I can make it work right now but I know that if I want to keep expanding my herd (which I do plan on breeding my 2 girls this fall) I need a better setup. 
So! after all of that I can get to my actual point of posting this. 
I am hoping to build a more functional barn within the next year. I plan on having it be 20x30. I really don't know what the best layout would be and that's where I need some help. I drew out 2 different rough ideas. I like that the 1st one has larger stalls and if need be I could probably split some in half. I dont really love the strange angles or that there isn't a full center isle but its not a huge deal. 
I like the 2nd one because its all pretty uniform, there is a center isle so I can access every stall easily, however the stalls are smaller. 
Does anyone have any input or words of advice? or pictures of your setup? I would love to see some inspiration. 
also, I can't do math so if any measurements are wrong please ignore that. lol


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## fivemoremiles (Jan 19, 2010)

Think cleaning and flexibility. kidding pen are great but not needed all year. Mine are removable they are down now. I have this winters hay where the kidding pens were and will be again next spring. 
Plan how you are going to clean the barn. don't make your cleaning plan an after thought. 
DO NOT make your barn tight. a warm barn is not as important as a dry barn. you need lots of air movement.
I think your 20 X 30 barn is a great size. make your ceilings at least 10 feet high.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Personally, I would make kidding stalls removable. You only need kidding stalls for a short period of time. Movable fence panels are the way to go.

I would make it so you are walking into the storage area. Basically divide into 2 different areas then add kidding stalls with movable panels when you need them. That would give you more general room for goats.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

:clever::up:


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## fivemoremiles (Jan 19, 2010)

one last thing 
Let the sun in.
the uv light will sanitize the barn


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