# Big enough housing?



## AmyBoogie (May 20, 2013)

I have 2 goats now and 2 coming in July. 
The barn space available for stalls is 6 by 24

They're only in the barn at night. I have a secondary canvas quonset hut shelter (canvas outside, cattle panel inside) for them in the paddock. We have active coydogs that aren't shy and I can see shadows of them in the barn yard light at night. I don't feel like the hut is a really good year round/overnight shelter so I don't want to count that in my available space though that shelter is actually larger than the barn space available.

Any advice?
Is one or 2 more goats too many for that tight space?
onder:


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## AmyBoogie (May 20, 2013)

The quonset hut is one that was made to house a car. It has been sitting here packaged up since the mid 90's and we just put it up a few weeks ago. Tough canvas outside with aluminum bars inside. The height is something like 10 feet in the center. So the cattle panels only go up 42 inches around the outside edge. We figured it would be good hay storage if nothing else.


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## goatgirlzCA (Mar 9, 2011)

So you could potentially make two 6x12 stalls, or 4 6x6 stalls? I think that's enough room for just sleeping. Depending on what kind of goats and how they get along, I would probably do two bigger pens and put 2 in each stall.


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## MsScamp (Feb 1, 2010)

Recommended area per goat is 10-15 sq ft. IF I did my math correctly your stall has 144 sq ft - that's 36/goat.


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## GoatsLive (Jul 1, 2012)

Goats actually like it cozy. 15 square feet per goat is considered plenty for sheltering and sleeping in the winter. Indeed my girls hate the big barn, with all the room and sound echoing. I have two goats, their house is 4 x 8 feet, dry and comfortable with a bedding of hay. Bascally a big dog house, and they love it!


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## sbaker (Nov 11, 2012)

I keep my 4 girls in a 12x12 stall at night. They all sleep snuggled together anyway so they really don't need much room!


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## MsScamp (Feb 1, 2010)

GoatsLive said:


> Goats actually like it cozy.


Not necessarily. When goats are stuck with cramped quarters, count on some of them not being allowed in the shelter - especially if there are "queens" among them. It's definitely easier to make it more cozy if that's what your goats like than it is to expand if one finds they have a prima donna or two. :laugh:


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