# storage and barn set up ideas.....



## gone2thedawgs (Nov 20, 2007)

Hi, I am hoping for ideas on storing/organizing all my milking, kidding and medicinal supplies (used medicine cabinets? kitchen/bathroom cabinets?). Right now everything is on the floor of a stall and gets knocked over, chewed on by mice, dusty and is typically hard to find. I am re-furbishing my 3 stall horse barn into a milking area, kidding/sick bay pens. Suggestions on what you would use and how you would arrange things? Things you would do differently or love in your own barn. I have Nigerians.... any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance!


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## J.O.Y. Farm (Jan 10, 2012)

All of my milking stuff goes on the window sill next to my milk stand... All my kidding stuff in in a tote in my basement.... and medical stuff in in what everyone calla a tackle box :roll: and is in the barn... I would like to get cabinets at some point and keep it all in there....


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## 8566 (Jul 18, 2012)

Hi -
You didn't say what your stall sizes are or ground type.

This is what we have and it works for us.
Each kidding/sick stall area is a few inches wider than a stall mat. We put down stall mats over the dirt to ease cleaning and to keep the dust down from when the does start to nest. I think this also keeps them warmer during cold months. The stall areas are built out of 4x4's and 2x6's for rails. The height is 4'. The doors are 3' or so. We put up three rails with the spacing being 2" (need for nigie kids) for the first 2. We used rails because the does like to rub up against the walls when in labor and just putting wire wasn't strong enough.

We do kid sometimes during the cold months. So I have a dog leash/tether that is made out of wire that I string across the kid/sick stalls and tie up via two heavy duty eyelets screwed into the barn horizontal studs. It's high enough so no one can play with it. I string my heat lamps along that wire and tape up the cords so there is no nibbling.

Because my stalls are 12' x 24' (designed for foaling out mares), I have 2 sick/kidding stalls at the end. These open up to the remaining stall space where the outside stall door is. So I can have someone kid out and then let the babies out for fresh air easily after a few days. Then pen everyone back up later.

We have a good light source in each stall so we can see during the night and cloudy days.

I have a heated tack room with a frig/microwave/coffee/mini oven and a cot if I need to be close. All my supplies are in there and sorted by need. In an emergency you just want to grab and go. All kidding supplies except meds are in a tote bin with print outs of medical information. All meds are grouped by need. I have 3 tots for first-aid, 1 for stomach/indigestion, 1 for immunity ...... My med collection is right up there with a vets and is due to many years of breeding horses and goats. I easily filled top and bottom 6' long cabinets.

In the barn I bought metal cabinets where I store stuff I don't mind if it gets stolen (tack room is locked). If I didn't have a tack room I would store stuff there. You just can't store meds because they could freeze and/or get too hot. I got the storage units off of craigslist.

My milk setup is in the wash rack area. This is where everyone is milked, hoofs trimmed, clipped, and horses doctored if need be. It has a hanging wet heater and light. On the sides I have metal shelves that store my stuff. I also have an on-demand hot water system there. It has a drain in it so I don't have to worry about flooding too much. I need a warm place in winter to milk because my hands freeze up quickly. Love my heater.

HTH,


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