# barn floor



## kids-n-peeps (Aug 24, 2009)

I know you all have different kinds of barn floors (dirt, cement, wood, etc.), and it seems that you manage to make them all work . . . but if you could do a "redo" and have your barn floor any way you wanted, what type of floor would you choose?


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## RPC (Nov 6, 2009)

I have had wood, cement, and dirt and my favorite is cement just because it is the easiest to clean. That is just my opinion. I know for our pigs cement was hard on their hooves but for goats they seem to be just fine. I put alot of straw down as padding but some of the does kick it away and lay straight on the cement floor. Plus it stays kinda cool in the summer so they like it. When you have cement you need to clean it regularly or else you get a urine build up and thats not fun for you or the goats but with regular cleanings its the best for me.


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## logansmommy7 (Nov 11, 2009)

I like our dirt floor...heehee...I definitely won't change it-too much to do around here!!


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## Mully (Jun 23, 2009)

I have had cement in the past, I found it took too long to clean. I now have dirt ...love dirt, just fork out the straw rake a little and put down new straw. I compost the old straw and pellets.also the barn never smells bad with an earth floor. Might add I lime the dirt before adding new straw.


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## cdtrum (Aug 25, 2008)

Dirt! 

Has anyone heard of using firewood ashes on the dirt floor like you would lime? I hear it eliminates urine smell and is good for parasite control :shrug: ??????


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## Dreamchaser (Oct 30, 2008)

Well, the goat barn just has dirt. I hate it! They always paw a big hole to lay in, and it is hard to clean. I plan on grading it and laying down decomposed granite. Then it will pack down like concrete, but allow for drainage, and is easy to rake up. It is also good for horse owners. The barn that I use for milking has concrete floors, but I only use the small milking room right now.


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## capriola-nd (Jul 6, 2008)

We have wood and dirt. I prefer dirt. Much easier to clean up after, although our wood floors are nice. I LOVE having cement "sidewalks" for our goats outside areas. Probably one of the best things we did.


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## Firestone Creek Farm (Jul 11, 2008)

We have dirt, too. It's not difficult to clean and the goats seem to like it.


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## Dreamchaser (Oct 30, 2008)

I think it depends on the kind of dirt you have too. Mine is a sandy, dusty, fluffy composition. It blows away in the wind very easily. It won't pack down at all under the roof. I have to moisten it to keep the dust down, otherwise the goats cough when the wind kicks up too much.


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## kids-n-peeps (Aug 24, 2009)

Thanks for sharing. Our goats have a dirt floor now and it has worked well for us. By Spring the goats will need more space, so we are starting to explore our options. We may actually convert our chicken house (shed) into additional space for the goats, but that has a wood floor and I wasn't sure how it would hold up to goat urine over the long haul even with lots of bedding on top of it. In all likelihood, we'll probably buy something as unfortunately we're not too handy!


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## GotmygoatMTJ (Apr 25, 2009)

Our main goat barn has dirt floor. But dirt easily turns to mud when you have roof leaks. :angry: :GAAH: :veryangry: 
Plan on getting that all sealed up when it gets renovated and we sweep it out everyday. Right now its used as a 1 stall horse barn (all though its a 30x40) :roll: and the rest is where junk has accumulated. At one time we had 11 kidding stalls in it. Talk about a great barn. Except for that LEAK!!!!!! :angry:

Dang. Had to edit. I forgot to put that our 2 older does, Piper and Saturn, share a 5x10 stall that has two wood pallets that they lay on because the floor gets muddy. :sigh: But I cleaned it out the other day after we had piled it with hay for about 2 weeks. :shocked: 2 stinking(and I do mean literally) wheelbarrow fulls of hay, wet hay, urinated uckiness, and goat poop. :hair: lol I have resorted to cleaning it every week now!


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## pelicanacresMN (Dec 29, 2009)

I have gravel and then we have long smooth rubber mats ontop of that. We get the rubber mats really cheap from the mines that my husband works. I know for humans that do a lot of standing at work it is recommended to have a rubber mat to stand on to help the joints so I would assume I'm doing the goats a favor by using it. It also makes for super easy clean up!! I use a snow shovel & bedding scoops up very easily along the rubber matting. In the winter I put down a thick layer of wood shavings that I get for free from a local sawmill & I usually throw a bale of straw in for the girls to kick around, munch, lay on & to keep some of the sawdust from getting kicked up so much into the air. During the summer I use just straw. The only thing you have to watch is that it can get slippery when wet if you don't put any kind of bedding. I am also a neat freak & throughly clean all bedding out completely every week..I'm sure if you weren't as fond of cleaning the rubber matting would hold all urine & feces building up and could cause diseases or a great home for insects.


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## bheila (Jan 10, 2009)

I have wood and wood with linoleum on top. I would so much rather have a dirt floor or have another goat barn with linoleum on the floor. We converted our 8'x16' chicken coop into another shelter for the goats. It's so easy to clean out and I don't have to worry about the wood rotting because of the linoleum.


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## SterlingAcres (Oct 19, 2009)

I've got concrete on my barn floor now and I love that it's easy to clean. Our new barn will have dirt floors, I'm almost certain, though I have no experience with those. Wish me luck. lol


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## kids-n-peeps (Aug 24, 2009)

I may try the linoleum on an old wooden dog agility table that is in one of the goats' stalls. Right now it has that rough-textured paint on it, which is next to impossible to clean. Great idea :thumbup:


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## Idahodreamer (Sep 19, 2009)

I've got dirt . . .I clean my kidding pen in fall and sprinkle it with wood shavings so the smell dies completely by the time kidding season starts. My doe shed is another thing though----I am definitely going to try the ashes idea!


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