# Rubber stall mats



## catharina

Has anyone used rubber stall mats on dirt floors? I have a small 3 sided shelter that is so hard to keep dry & clean. I think 2 large stall mats would cover it, but I wondered about moisture collecting under them. Also, do you clean up with a flat shovel or would that damage the mats?

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## ksalvagno

It won't be any easier to keep dry and clean with mats on top.


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## anawhitfield

Is this in a lower area where water accumulates? If so, this is what we did for ours: we got some old cinder blocks (or caps) and raised the area above the flood level. We then made a wooden floor from an old fence and some recycled pallets. That way they slept on wood (not on plastic or cement) and any wet stuff fell through the cinder blocks (or caps) into the grown below, a good several inches from where the animals walked and slept. 
This is not cost-efficient for a large area, but for a small stall, I would definitely do it!
I'm sorry I don't have pictures of how we made it, but here is the finished product. And it was always nice and dry, even when we had heavy rains.


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## nancy d

Long ago I almost bought stall matts. Then I tried to move one. Uh uh! If I can't move it by myself it's a no.


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## toth boer goats

I have rubber mats in the calf hutches for the bucks. I use a pitch fork first, if it has accumulated a bit longer, from bad weather not being able to get to it, then a flat shovel to get the rest. Works well, but hard on the back in the hutch. Being a barn situation, it is more open and shouldn't be that hard. Just make sure you have plenty of shavings to soak up a lot of the pee. 
I haven't had to worry about underneath the mat. It is what is on top of it.


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## catharina

Thanks for all the input, everyone! Yes, the one I have in a shed with a floor is too heavy for me to move--eventually I'll need to clean under it somehow. (I did drill drain holes in the floor before putting it down)

I did raise the floor or the 3 sided shed after CA's drought ended, so moisture is mostly from the goats & some rain splashing in. What's really my biggest problem though, I'm realizing, is cleaning up the poop without removing the gravel I used to raise the floor. I think that's how the floor got too low in the first place!

Any further thoughts on keeping dirt/gravel floors sanitary?


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## Suzanne_Tyler

I forgot the name, hopefully someone will help you out that uses this, but on another thread several people recommended the powdery stuff left over for mining/cutting granite at the quarries. Said to be super inexpensive, and compacts down easily, but still lets any liquids drain through.


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## toth boer goats

Lime, here is a good link.

http://www.thegoatspot.net/forum/f217/lime-goats-114217/


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## lisanne

*rock dust*

Granite dust is not the same as lime. Granite dust does not dissolve or break down easily. It is like very fine sand. http://www.homedepot.com/p/Cutting-Edge-50-lb-Stone-Dust-Crushed-Granite-500501/207213047

Lime is crushed limestone, which is simply calcium carbonate. It is used to fertilize fields and dissolves slowly when wet. Lime is a good odor reducer, but not something you want to count on to hold up in wet conditions.

I love stall mats -- if someone else moves them for me!! We have a concrete floors and mats on top in our barn. If you wanted to put mats down *on dirt *I would suggest you put round rock (pea gravel) down first. This will make a nice flat surface because the rocks will get tamped down. Just beware stall mats are known to shift around over time. It's good if they are braced tightly against something at least on two sides.


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## catharina

How thick a layer of stone dust goes over the dirt before I put stall mats in? Or would gravel be better? How much of that? Should I put lime on top of that to control odors, or won't they be able to get out?

Also with the mats being too heavy for me to move, what's the smallest size squares I could cut them into without having them move around or do something else bad? They'd be held in on only 3 sides.


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## teejae

I had rubber mats thinking it would be great keeping the girls off the dirt and easy to clean, Lol they were the biggest poo collectors and so heavy to move and a pain in the bum to hose clean. They were expensive and fell apart quickly. So I ended up using timber off cuts( from railway sleepers ).They are so easy to hose clean and warm for the girls to sleep on .They have lasted for years and have settled into the dirt like pavers


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## lisanne

If the area tends to pool water, I would definitely put gravel down first. You want to raise the floor area up high enough that it won't be under water in wet weather. I'd add a couple inches extra to be safe (because the gravel will settle into the dirt over time). 

If you use round gravel, I'm not sure you really need the stone dust at all. But if you use regular (crushed) gravel then sand or stone dust would pack nicely on top of it. 

Good quality stall mats (for horse stalls) are very dense. That makes them heavy to move and also difficult to cut. You need a really sharp knife, like a carpet knife. If you can get someone (or a few someones) to move it where you want it, it will also stay put better the bigger the piece. Smaller pieces weigh less and will shift around more. 

Another idea is skip the stall mat and just go with crushed gravel, topped with sand or stone dust. The top layer will be porous to let urine pass, but also fairly easy to shovel out when you need to clean it. You will have to refresh the sand or rock dust every couple of years, probably. But you could try that first and if you don't like it then get a stall mat later. Having it secured on 3 sides should be fine, as long as the unsecured side is not downhill from the other sides because it will tend to shift with gravity. You could always put a couple of metal stakes in the ground on the front side to keep it from moving. 

I wouldn't bother using lime unless you want to sprinkle it on your top later (sand, dust or mat) as a means of odor control. Again, you could see how it goes and if you need that. You are more likely to need it with a stall mat, because you will probably have to have some kind of bedding (wood chips or straw) on top of the stall mat to absorb urine. Or maybe your goats won't pee on a bare stall mat. I don't know your goats!  

I hope this helps! Maybe you want to post pictures of the stages of your project?


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## lisanne

teejae said:


> I had rubber mats thinking it would be great keeping the girls off the dirt and easy to clean, Lol they were the biggest poo collectors and so heavy to move and a pain in the bum to hose clean. They were expensive and fell apart quickly. So I ended up using timber off cuts( from railway sleepers ).They are so easy to hose clean and warm for the girls to sleep on .They have lasted for years and have settled into the dirt like pavers


Wood is definitely another good option! Especially for the sleeping area. In our goat house we have a sleeping shelf made of wood. Stall mats really do need some kind of bedding on top of them (like sawdust) to keep from getting crushed manure on them. My stall mats have lasted more than a decade, though. Some I even have outside on concrete!


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## catharina

We used a skill saw to cut the mat to the right shape for the other shed. I've tried gravel in this shed but after a few months it's all been swept up with the manure & bedding. Making the gravel floor & putting the mats over it seems like a good idea. Wood floor sounds hard to clean...


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## kathyc

I just put 2 stall mats on top of a dirt floor in a hoop house 2 months ago. They are the 3/4" ones Tractor Supply sells, boy were they heavy we moved them in there with a wheelbarrow. I'd probably use the smaller 1/2" ones if I did it again.

So far I like them, keeping some pine shavings on top to absorb urine with a bit of straw topping - they do stay nice and dry - well, except for the pee  I do not have a water/flooding problem in there tho.

For cleaning, I pitch fork off the straw then rake, sweep. Spritz with water/bleach. I'll eventually have to hose them off in there but I did leave some exposed dirt around a couple of edges so the water can drain off in there i.e. I won't have to remove them (thank goodness!)


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## Madgoat

I turned one of our horse stalls into my goat nursery, and it has mats. I hate that the urine sits on top of them. I have to use shavings, lime and bleach. I sweep up the poop but the urine really makes a mess and smells to high heaven! If I could remove the mats I would. I like the idea of a wooden floor.


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## Jessica84

I like the gravel idea and I think the pee would just sit on the mats and make it just terrible. I think if you put the gravel down, then the lime, then a good amount of straw that should work then don't sweep it all up, just get most till you hit the gravel and stop and put more kune down.
Another idea that I'm thinking since I'm doing a whole make over and not sure how well my new 'barn' will do if we get a ton of rain again is pallets. Lay the pallets down and again a lot of straw and pack it in there so the goats are laying on a flat surface. That way when the pee it will go straight down to the ground and when it's time to clean you can jerk the pallets up. 
I thought of the mats too but the more I thought about it the more I think it will just get gross real fast


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## MoonShadow

I have gravel/sand mix floor with a packed dirt top layer(with sleeping pallets) works beautifully virtually no smell or mud. I've been a farm sitter for people with stall mats and have hated every minute cleaning them!!! They are so hard to keep clean unless you have the equimnet to presure wash/hose down everyday, or live in a hot place where the pee dries before it melds with the poo and creates a poo mud puddle. The smell was also horrid (mainly before morning clean up) Without straw/chips the goats just end up laying in muddy poo, if you aren't a twice a day cleaner. Stall mats are not my fav, as you can see, Haha.


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## wndngrvr

catharina said:


> Has anyone used rubber stall mats on dirt floors? I have a small 3 sided shelter that is so hard to keep dry & clean. I think 2 large stall mats would cover it, but I wondered about moisture collecting under them. Also, do you clean up with a flat shovel or would that damage the mats?
> 
> onder:


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## wndngrvr

catharina said:


> Has anyone used rubber stall mats on dirt floors? I have a small 3 sided shelter that is so hard to keep dry & clean. I think 2 large stall mats would cover it, but I wondered about moisture collecting under them. Also, do you clean up with a flat shovel or would that damage the mats?
> 
> onder:


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