# Best Buck Housing? Photos and Advice Please



## Buck Naked Boers (Oct 15, 2012)

Hi everyone. We have bought a beautiful black registered Boer buckling. We plan to keep him with our herd with a apron on until we have a nice home for him set up. He's only going to be 3 mo when we bring him home.

My question is, can you share photos of your buck housing? We want to make a nice house for him near our barn.

I've considered just letting him stay in the barn but I think it would disrupt the herd a lot when he's in rut probably. 

Anyway. I'd like to hear any wise advice you can share about raising Boer bucks. And can you snap some photos of where your buck or bucks live and show how large of space you have fenced for them too if possible. Thank you I'm advance for any advice or photos.

Here is a photo of our boy!


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Nice looking boy!


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## CountyLineAcres (Jan 22, 2014)

Congratulations on the new addition! 

The only housing we have found buck-indestructible have been the white igloo calf hutches or a handmade wooden “mini barn” that uses leftovers from our barn roof enclosure kits. We have also tried pallet houses, and they do seem to work, but it is entirely dependent on how well you can enforce it. I don’t have any pictures, but I might be able to snap a few today when hoof trimming. 

I found that anything else can get destroyed easily. We spent like $300-$400 each on these plastic-like pyramid shaped goat hutches, and they were so easily destroyed. So much money wasted! 

Make sure your fencing is secure! We have even gone the length of enforcing some of our buck pens with horizontal rods when we use to have constant head-beaters. This may seem like overkill, but when you have a doe pasture not even two feet away from the closest buck pen... you tend to be safer than sorry lol. We also put up plywood on sides where other pens are visible. Even if they can see over the fence, I’ve found it lessens the beating and head butting against fencing from both bucks and does.

We’ve also found using those round pen panels and zip tying goat fencing onto it (from those rolls) is a great way to keep anything inside. We have yet had anything finagle that.


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## AndersonRanch (Oct 18, 2020)

Oh that's a nice little guy you got there! I'm so excited for you!!!! 
Well when it comes to bucks nothing is over kill lol and I have thrown any idea of looking nice or fancy right out the window because they are so destructive! Their pen is a absolutely disaster right now but you get the general idea off this pics







those panels for the roof actually weigh a ton, plus it's just laying flat so I gave up on that idea. I now just have plyboard up. What I did was come out and on top of the panels laid the 2X6 across the panels and then attached the plyboard on one end to that and the other end just lays on the panels. So it gives it a small slant for water to run off. On the panels under the roof I put plyboard all along them so it's like a 3 sided shelter. My boys I actually keep separate and so the dividing panels that keep them apart I put plyboard up as well. It has helped a LOT with them smashing into the panels. 
Now since I sold one of the trouble making bucks I am actually thinking about taking those dividing panels out and expanding the pen and using this as their shelter roof
 






the feed store has one set up for their boys to keep them out of the rain and sun so I'm going to totally look it over first next time I am down there and see how easy it will be for them to destroy before I buy it though.


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## fivemoremiles (Jan 19, 2010)

the next buck barn i buy will be a prefab concrete septic tank. about 1200 gallon with a 32 inch round hole for a door. and 3, 4 inch holes in the floor for drainage.

the price of concrete tank was $600.00 the last time i looked


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## wheel-bear-o (Jul 6, 2020)

Do you have a wether friend or another buck for him to live with? My buck lives in his own house and pasture adjacent to the girls and he can see them every day, but he would constantly cry, escape and be destructive to the fences during the month before we got him his wether friend to live with. Now that he has a buddy he hasn't tried to escape once.


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## fivemoremiles (Jan 19, 2010)

Here is a picture of the hog barns i bought many years ago. I do not have hogs any more but the barns are used by my sheep a lot.


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## Moers kiko boars (Apr 23, 2018)

Hi..I have Nothing Fancy. Its for destructo Bucks.
To the far left is a tarp covered.feeder. its attached to the side of the goat.house. The doorway is the main 10 x10 wooden buck house. Then a 20 x 6.metal buck house with 2 openings. The ladder is a goat push around toy.









This is the.middle of the metal buck house. With.an open area next to the fence where.they can look over to 1 of the doe houses..but a cover it to keep them from attempting to get out.








For some reason my bucks dont like the heavy leather cover over the fence. They wont push on it. I dont know why. But they are in a chain link 3/4 of an acre paddock. They have toys and variouse items to push on, climb, fight over or on. They love big wooden spools to jump on or push around. I keep plastic tubs on the low roof..to keep the bucks off. Its about 5 ft tall...but they like to attempt to get on it. Add the tubs...they leave it alone.
Like I said..nothing fancy..only durable. The fence on the side that goes to the bigger pasture( where does are) are cattle panels covered with chain link. I have a hot wire 6 inches on the inside the top of the fence. Its solar powered and hurts when you get bit. Yes all 3 bucks have touched it once. And 1 time only...lol lol


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## AndersonRanch (Oct 18, 2020)

fivemoremiles said:


> Here is a picture of the hog barns i bought many years ago. I do not have hogs any more but the barns are used by my sheep a lot.


OMG I LOVE it!!! That is definitely buck proof lol


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## Blessed Boer's (Nov 8, 2019)

We use a big oil tank with the round part cut off and the back has plywood. It's wonderful.


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## Mulberry Creek Farm (Jan 10, 2021)

You can find these totes cheap and sometimes free. I've found that they make nice goat shelters and dog houses. You can also make hay feeders and several other things out of them. I keep my buck and my buckling in a 20'x40' pen with a door on each end. I was lucky enough to find a bunch of old fairground horse stall panels cheap and made my pen out of those. They are taller than they would need to be but they're not goi g to get out. The South door of my pen opens into a larger enclosure with some good grass and a shelter belt which I put electric fence around. Give your buck some company if possible and as much room as you can with you particular setup.


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## Mulberry Creek Farm (Jan 10, 2021)




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## Mulberry Creek Farm (Jan 10, 2021)

Here is a view of my buck pen setup.


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## Buck Naked Boers (Oct 15, 2012)

WOW! Thank you all for your kind responses and taking the time to post photos! 

Karen thank you! He is a sweetie we are super excited to bring him home next month! We plan to keep him in the barn with the herd for a while with a buck apron. That is what we do with any boys our girls have until he is sold. It works well.

CountylineAcres: Thank you so much for taking the time to take some photos when you have time. I would like to see how you house your boys. I really wish I could just keep him in a stall in my barn. But I am not sure how that would work. I know very little about bucks because we have never had one. I know they have rut and go crazy basically during that time. So I would imagine housing them in the same barn as the girls wouldn't work. But my goats are my babies. And so I just can't imagine having him stay outside so my hubby plans to build a house for him. 
What barn roof enclosure kits are you talking about? Can you share a link?
Also I was going to ask you. My husband (see post in next paragraph) would like to move his pen periodically. So yes definately I know that the fence needs to be very sturdy. I had thought about using wood posts with horse no climb fencing and probably some electric fencing down low. I think my husband thinks we can just put up tposts with hotwire and he won't try to get out. Is this true? If so then we could move his pasture periodically during the summer.Honestly though I don't think he probably will want to be moved. They like a constant of where their house is I think??

Question I have for you all: My husband would like to have a house for him that is moveable so we could move his pasture from time to time. Is this logical or is that not something we should do? We are talking about a Boer Buck not a Nigerian....

Jessica: Thank you so much for that information you shared! And the photos!!! Thank you! We get really cold where we are. Can also get snow. Lots of rain. So we want to have a three sided barn type thing for him. Then fence. So you use the cow panels it looks like for your fence right? And do you just ziptie them together? Do those work better than regular no climb horse fencing? We will have his stall/pasture out in the pasture. The barn will be on one side but he won't be right next to the barn fencing. However when the goats are in the pasture they would be able to walk up to the fence where he is. Will that work? I am trying to figure out where to put him. 
Also another question for you, is it ok to have a buck by themselves? I know they are herd animals but I don't have any animals I would want to put in his pen unless I am breeding....
I guess too it depends on his temperment right? Some bucks are crazy and other bucks are very calm, I have seen a buck in the past that our friends had that was like a dog....just walked around the property when he wasn't in his stall. But others can be really almost mean. I am hoping with us raising him from about 3 mo old that he will have a good temperment and be calmer.


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## Buck Naked Boers (Oct 15, 2012)

fivemoremiles: Thank you for sharing that info. Wow that is interesting! Definately they couldn't break that! =)

wheelbearo: I don't have a friend for our buck yet. I am going to see if he is ok on his own first. He will be near the barn where he can see the herd everyday. My two wethers have always stayed in the barn and I cannot separate them. They are attached at the hip so to speak! They also are getting older. But if things don't work for him to live on his own then we will have to rethink our decision of having him stay by himself. I have a wether that is completely happy to be by himself especially in the pasture. So I would think sometimes bucks can be that way too? Will see.

Moers: Thank you so much for the information on your buck housing and the photos! I really appreciate this information! We had thought about using electric possibly around the bottom of the fence like about 6 inches high but maybe top is where it should be right? Thank you for this information. Just trying to figure out what will work best for our new buck with our set up here. We have been taking our girls to go get bred yearly. But decided to see if having a buck works better. 

Blessed boers: That is a great set up! Thank you for sharing your photos! Do you keep one buck in that pen or more than one? I am trying to figure out if it will work having him housed by himself.

Mulberry Creek: That is so cool! Thank you for sharing the photo! With the fire we had here in our area this summer, we bought two IBC totes for water usage to put out fires if we ever were to have another fire (we have had two in the past 6 yrs near our house). But we are so cold and wet (and snow sometimes)here during winter and spring that I think our buck will need more of a shelter too. But that is a great idea!! Indestructible! That is a great pen! If I lived in a drier area I would definitely consider that set up!


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## AndersonRanch (Oct 18, 2020)

So I have these panels







and they actually connect to each other. And then I have these panels to keep stray dogs, coyotes or what not from getting in with them







well not the exact panels but you get the idea  they are very easy to take apart and move which is half the reason I went this way. I do have T posts in the corners to keep them from moving around when they rub on the fence. 
My bucks are by their selfs. Do I think they as happy as they could be? No probably not but they are not suffering being by their self either. Not getting depressed and sick or anything like that. They can easily see the girls from where they are at too. Not right up against the fence so they can breed threw the fence or the girls really tease them when they come into heat but they do get to see other goats and I think that probably helps. 
NO hot fence only will probably not keep him contained. I had hot fence and beef panels up and my one buck just gritted his teeth and went over anyways. If he's determined I don't think it is going to hold him.


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## Blessed Boer's (Nov 8, 2019)

Blessed boers: That is a great set up! Thank you for sharing your photos! Do you keep one buck in that pen or more than one? I am trying to figure out if it will work having him housed by himself.

I actually have 2 bucks so they can cuddle in this big area. 
But here is what we used for one young buck before we got 2 and one started being destructive. 
This worked well as we already extra metal laying around and 2x4's. It's only about 4 ft tall.


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## Blessed Boer's (Nov 8, 2019)

The back is closed off with more metal

View attachment 194255


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## Blessed Boer's (Nov 8, 2019)

Sorry! One more thing... we keep the bucks in a welded corral that’s probably 50x30. We used to keep them in half that space of regular 4x4 goat fence until the became to rowdy. You’d probably be best to make sure whatever you do the first time will last and work for all possible bucks. Just my advice since we had to do ours twice. 
But... our first attempt was good for just something temporary. Hope this helps.


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## fivemoremiles (Jan 19, 2010)

An electric fence should be at nose height. I have our electric fence between 2.5 and 3 feet high. that is high enough the bucks can eat close to the fence but not climb on it


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

Great suggestions.


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## Mrs R (Aug 11, 2019)

Mulberry Creek Farm said:


> View attachment 194221





Mulberry Creek Farm said:


> You can find these totes cheap and sometimes free. I've found that they make nice goat shelters and dog houses. You can also make hay feeders and several other things out of them. I keep my buck and my buckling in a 20'x40' pen with a door on each end. I was lucky enough to find a bunch of old fairground horse stall panels cheap and made my pen out of those. They are taller than they would need to be but they're not goi g to get out. The South door of my pen opens into a larger enclosure with some good grass and a shelter belt which I put electric fence around. Give your buck some company if possible and as much room as you can with you particular setup.


This is exactly what we use. We got them for $55/ea at our local hardware store (Yeagar's Hardware), cut an opening, and had it all set up in an hour. Quick, cheap, and efficient. Although our buck is a docile Nigerian dwarf, so he isn't super destructive.


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## Cedarwinds Farm (Dec 2, 2019)

I've got my buck and his wether buddy in a tote house right now. It is working. The only thing I don't like is the fact that urine puddles on the floor, since it's plastic. I'm thinking I will poke some holes in the floor to let the urine drain out so it hopefully won't get so stinky and soggy in there. Totes are very move able if you have equipment to do it. I cannot lift one by myself, but I can roll them, so I can get them where they need to go. The metal frame does make them heavy, but a goat could still push them around if they wanted to. Mine haven't, so far, but I will put t-posts into the ground to anchor it if they start pushing it around.


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## Cedarwinds Farm (Dec 2, 2019)

Blessed Boer's said:


> Blessed boers: That is a great set up! Thank you for sharing your photos! Do you keep one buck in that pen or more than one? I am trying to figure out if it will work having him housed by himself.
> 
> I actually have 2 bucks so they can cuddle in this big area.
> But here is what we used for one young buck before we got 2 and one started being destructive.
> ...





Blessed Boer's said:


> The back is closed off with more metal
> 
> View attachment 194255


My dad and I deigned and he built one of these. We designed it so it would be fairly easy to take apart and move. It's a two person job, because the panels are pretty heavy, but we've done it a couple of times, now. Ours is a bit longer. 3 or 4 goats could fit in it easily, if they liked each other.  The 'floor' space at the bottom is wide enough to fit a pallet, which I put down to keep them out of the mud. It's a really nice shed, and I like it.


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## Cedarwinds Farm (Dec 2, 2019)

I, personally, do not think any goat should have to live by themselves, long term. If they're part of a herd and choose to go off by themselves, that is fine. Then it's their choice, not something I am choosing for them. Obviously, bucks will spar with each other. I know some may even injure each other, and if I had a situation like that, I would have to get creative with my housing system.
Even my buck and wether will spar and beat each other up...then snuggle up in their house together like best friends. I wish I'd been able to get a photo when I went down to the boys' pen yesterday. They were so cute, snuggled up in their house together. 
I think your buck would be much happier with a wether as company. Especially if you're moving his pen. Having another goat there will give him some security. I move my goats around quite a bit, and I have found that it is actually easier to move more goats than fewer. They find security in their herd structure, and are less likely to panic in a new area.
So far, and bear in mind, this is only my second year of having a buck, mine has done really well staying in a 3 strand electric fence. He's also a very laid-back, somewhat lazy Nubian. I have also been training him on the fence since I got him as a kid. I did have to beef up my fencing system while my does were in heat. But he always has a friend, so he's not lonely, and I don't put him close to the does, so he is not as tempted to get out as he would be if they were right on the other side of the fence from him.


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## GoofyGoat (Sep 21, 2018)

Bucks need a buddy.
They need the company and a distraction even when they’re not in rut. When they’re little an apron works, but boys need to be boys and roughhouse and spar. You can make a house on skids really easily with a couple of roofing tins, 2x4’s and Plywood like this. Just drill holes for a chain or hook large eyes to attach a tractor to.
Here’s an idea I’m going to be making more of these this summer. I loved the dome Style but I only covered half the floor for a sleeping ledge so it drained well. Unfortunately I didn’t secure mine down well enough and it was trashed by a tornado. So I don’t have pics, but It held up to baseball size hail...so I think it’d work well for you Just an idea


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## HMNS (Jul 15, 2019)

fivemoremiles said:


> Here is a picture of the hog barns i bought many years ago. I do not have hogs any more but the barns are used by my sheep a lot.


Totally diggin' those!!! Are those the septic tanks you were referring to earlier..? They would be perfect! Where does one get something like these..?


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## fivemoremiles (Jan 19, 2010)

Caileigh Jane Smith said:


> I've got my buck and his wether buddy in a tote house right now. It is working. The only thing I don't like is the fact that urine puddles on the floor, since it's plastic. I'm thinking I will poke some holes in the floor to let the urine drain out so it hopefully won't get so stinky and soggy in there.


i use totes during lambing. i cut the top and side out. them turn the tote over so the floor is now the roof. i do my tote shelters this way for several reasons
first new born lambs have a hard time stepping up in to the shelter.
second reason is i am so busy during lambing that i do not have time to clean them.
third every time i move them they are on clean ground. less disease transmission.
the last reason is the plastic tote will break down from sun exposure. they will break and fall apart. the metal floor acting as a roof at least my lambs are dry.
photos coming


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## fivemoremiles (Jan 19, 2010)

Photos of my tote jugs (bonding pens)

It rained last night this morning i couldn't find a sick lamb in the herd. Found him in the tanks i used for my hogs.


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## Cedarwinds Farm (Dec 2, 2019)

fivemoremiles said:


> i use totes during lambing. i cut the top and side out. them turn the tote over so the floor is now the roof. i do my tote shelters this way for several reasons
> first new born lambs have a hard time stepping up in to the shelter.
> second reason is i am so busy during lambing that i do not have time to clean them.
> third every time i move them they are on clean ground. less disease transmission.
> ...


Thanks for sharing! I may give that a try. Then I could also put a pallet down to keep them up out of the mud, if I can find one that it the right size, and move the whole thing whenever it starts to get smelly.


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## Buck Naked Boers (Oct 15, 2012)

WOW such great ideas everyone!! I am so sorry for late response! I am not getting email notifications I don't know why. I get one once in awhile. So I just went and checked off all the email boxes in my account. Hopefully that will get the notifications to me. It is strange. So I will check goat spot periodically so I can reply sooner.

Jessica those are cool panels that you use for your buck pens. That is a great idea! Stronger than fencing. I am not sure yet what we will be using! He will be just 3 mo old when we bring him home in Feb so I think we have a bit of time to figure this out.

Totes: For those who suggested the totes. I don't think that is large enough housing for the pacific nw where it rains alot. I try to keep my goats from getting any sort of foot rot. So dry housing is really important to me. Also boers are large bucks. If I were in a drier climate tho I definately would consider using a IBC tote.


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## Buck Naked Boers (Oct 15, 2012)

CJ smith: Can you repost the photo of the buck house? The attachment above didn't open to any photo. Yes I agree. I am thinking on who would live with the buckling. I think he will need a friend.

Goofy Goat: Thank you! I will check out the photos. That is a great idea! And yes I agree he will more than likely need a friend to live with. His house will be very near the barn tho. So will be near the goats.


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## Buck Naked Boers (Oct 15, 2012)

Goofygoat: The one with the slanted roof is cool too! But the door I don't think I would want the door to be solid wood? Or have a window or some sort of fresh air? But that is a great idea those photos! Thanks for sharing those photos!


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## GoofyGoat (Sep 21, 2018)

Buck Naked Boers said:


> Goofygoat: The one with the slanted roof is cool too! But the door I don't think I would want the door to be solid wood? Or have a window or some sort of fresh air? But that is a great idea those photos! Thanks for sharing those photos!


You could make a pony wall and use a center skid.
I have a hoop house I love on skids but it's made out of TSC stock panels and 2x4's I just used plywood on the back and front but the sides are covered with a tarp. It's not buck strong but everyone else loves it. It's easy to move with my riding mower and a rope. (Picture from before I closed up the front, and retarped it) also a picture of my two preggos and little bit peeking out for fun. I love this set up because you can hang feeders on the panels inside. I cover the back window for winter and install a hanging hay feeder over it and they stay snug as a bug in a rug 
If you want directions on how to build the hoop house, I can post the YouTube video I adapted it from. It took my daughter and I about 6 hours to build the first one and then we got quick and can now make them in about 41/2. It's easy. I've been thinking about using metal on the outsides of these as well so they're taller than the others...not sure..it'll be an experiment lol


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## Buck Naked Boers (Oct 15, 2012)

Goofy goat: that’s a neat house!! I will show my hubby and let you know if we want the directions. Maybe you should post the video tho anyway. Cause others here might want the directions too. Just a thought. Thank you for sharing this info!!


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## Cedarwinds Farm (Dec 2, 2019)

I'll try to remember to get pictures of my house tomorrow.


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## Buck Naked Boers (Oct 15, 2012)

Thanks!


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## GoofyGoat (Sep 21, 2018)

Buck Naked Boers said:


> Goofy goat: that's a neat house!! I will show my hubby and let you know if we want the directions. Maybe you should post the video tho anyway. Cause others here might want the directions too. Just a thought. Thank you for sharing this info!!


As requested  the great thing is you can make it as long as you want. This one is 8'W, 10'L, 7.5'H


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## Cedarwinds Farm (Dec 2, 2019)

So here's my house. We just made it out of scrap materials. The two sides are bolted together at the top. To take it apart and move it, you take the metal and wood supports off the back, unscrew the support bar across the bottom on the front, and then unbolt the two sides. If we had pastures that were more accessible, we could just put it on skids and tow it. I like to put a pallet down in the bottom to keep the goats out of the mud.
This shed is pretty indestructible, since they can't get on top of it, and it's really too heavy to be easily butted around the pasture.


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## Buck Naked Boers (Oct 15, 2012)

Wow that’s a neat house! We’ve thought we will use some scrap metal for the roof when we build his house. Thanks for this information and photos of the house. 

Goofy goat: thanks for sharing the video with the group. 


Everyone: Thanks everyone for your comments, opinions and photos you’ve shared. This helps give us ideas!!

If anyone else has photos and opinions to add in the future please share your comments. 

This information helps give us all ideas for housing bucks. Thanks!


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