# Underground Goat Shelter



## Bhmntpacker (Apr 10, 2010)

I have a crazy idea to bounce of you guys.
Take a 5' steel or poly culvert.
Bury it into the side of a hill.
Build a flat removable deck with drainage in it.
Pitch the culvert slightly to the front so pee drains.
Put a vent in the top.
Face it southeast.
I could also build a seasonal wind or sun block on the front

Advantages:
Ground heat.
Dry
more individual shelter so the low man has a place to go.
Cool in summer

Disadvantages:
$$ 1,000 
It may be hard to keep dry.
May be a pain to keep clean.
Alpha goat may block the entrance and not let low goat out.

What do you think?

[attachment=0:373vryj2]Goat Storm Shetler.pdf[/attachment:373vryj2]


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## jeep (Jan 18, 2011)

It sounds like a great idea to me. I'd love to see some pictures if you end up building that. Like a goat cave right?


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## Nanno (Aug 30, 2009)

Wouldn't the goat pee hang out in the ridged bottom, even if the culvert were slanted, though? I would think it would be really hard to clean for that reason unless you're thinking of putting down a good solid layer of dirt. If you had about 6-8" of dirt in the bottom, I would think that should be enough to adequately soak up the pee. Then you could use a leaf rake to reach in and clean out the surface bedding from time to time. It should be plenty warm enough.

This idea reminds me of the snow shelter we built for Cuzco long ago when we took him with us on a road trip to Vermont in January. It was about 15-20 degrees below zero that night so we figured he needed a good shelter. He had to duck and crouch a bit to get through the doorway, but we wanted the entry small to keep out as much cold and wind as possible. It was nicely bedded with deep hay, and once he was curled up in it he looked quite cozy. No shivering and no straining to follow us to the house (which he tends to do when he's not comfortable somewhere).
[attachment=1:1112tmc0]Cuzco_Snowcave.jpg[/attachment:1112tmc0]
[attachment=0:1112tmc0]Cuzco_Snowcave2.jpg[/attachment:1112tmc0]


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## Bhmntpacker (Apr 10, 2010)

Yes like a goat cave.

Nanno, good point, I think the ribs would hold pee. It's possible I could pour a thin layer of concrete or even place a membrane under the decking but on the bottom of the culvert to divert goat liquids. I would assume that once a month I would have to bring a hose in and flush it out.

I am thinking it would be great in the summer, and really be comfortable in the winter.
No drafts, 45 degree ground heat, literally bomb proof. And could be part of my future goat mountian playland.

My biggest worry is the dominance issue. I wouldn't want the goats to avoid it for fear of getting trapped by the alpha goat. 

My other fear is the goats could get wierd ideas about starting an underground goat cult.
One goat could talk the other goats into a mass goatacide.


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## ali pearson (Aug 12, 2009)

And make sure that they know that they have to share it with you in the event of a nuclear war. 
I know that if I built that in my yard, Mr. bossy goat would totally own it, and even if he wasn't inside it, noone else would dare get trapped by him inside it.
I was wondering if it would make any sense to make the shelter a tube with an exit out the back, or around a corner, some way that the goats wouldn't be able to be trapped in the end of it. To build it you would have to lay the pipe and then bury it by piling a lot of dirt on top of it. Or maybe you could just build what you have designed only shallower, and lots of them so there is one for each goat.


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## idahonancy (Dec 13, 2008)

One way my subordinate goat seems to get around Mr. Bossy pants is by hinding under a table. 3 goats sleep in a 10 x 9 space in the barn. In there is 4 x 6 stout goat table. They can get under or on top of it . It allows the little guy a space that no one can launch an attach. Once the little guy is on top he is no longer little. If bossy pants make the jump to get on the table top the little one goes underneath or squirts out the door. Under the table is the warmest spot. The table is against the wall and has solid wood sides on 2 ends leaving only one side exposed. It is like a dog house for a goat in the barn. It seems to work.


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## ali pearson (Aug 12, 2009)

That sounds like a good solution. And a table could be handy in a bomb shelter-for those of us old enough to remember duck and cover.


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## jross (Dec 20, 2008)

Why not put 3 of them side by side? Different goats could occupy the different apartments. Some may even team up. If the openings were facing south then the goats would have a warm sunny place to hang out in the winter. And if the whole thing was up on a little hill of dirt then rain would drain away.

Or 3 of them in a T shape with 3 open ends. 

A layer of some kind of indesctructible stuff like concrete to fill the grooves at the bottom, then some dirt on that. Then lots of wood chips on the dirt. The wood chips will soak up the pee and the dirt won't really get wet.

I don't think I would want to share a fallout shelter with a goat. I've been peed on by a goat while napping on the ground. Not good at all.


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## stinky (Jun 6, 2009)

I have a friend that got some culvert houses somewhere. She thinks that they are the greatest thing since sliced bread. Her's are half of a 10' or so culvert. The bottoms have angle iron across the bottom to keep them in shape, and on on end they have a plywood closure. She claims that they really block the wind and she puts a light in the back to help keep them warm.


Now, if you did the same thing....cut a culvert in half, and then weld angle-iron across the bottom, in order to keep it in shape, and then buried it, you could get 2 shelters for the price of one...assuming that you have a torch.


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## fivemoremiles (Jan 19, 2010)

I do not know where you live but here in cold country the change in temp. from 55 to 25 will be a great way to kill your goats from pneumonia. also the humidity and the ammonia in the cave would cause health problems. 
Don't kill your stock with kindness.


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