# Totes for goat shelter - thoughts?



## teemogoat (Mar 14, 2016)

I know goats like to lay around together, I'm working on getting a secure fence in my new goat area and am looking at either putting shelters out in the field to start with along with some climb toys or going ahead and building a goat house with birthing stalls and storage. Obviously, building a barn first will take even longer, and I'm getting tired of "getting ready" to actually get goats lol. If I went the route of shelters, I was thinking I'd make some moveable "dirt floor" shelters that I could put bedding in and then just move to a different spot when it was cleaning time. However, I saw a video on youtube where a guy has a cool looking climbing area for his goats. 




I have found some of these online for $50 each, the guy says they are on metal pallets that are 40" x 48". What are your thoughts as far as Kikos being able to use them versus a moveable I mentioned earlier? I have enclosed a screenshot of the tote. Thanks!


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

What is your weather like? Extreme cold or heat?


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## lilaalil (Sep 5, 2014)

Seems like they would get really hot in the summer, and possibly really cold in the winter, depending on what your weather is like. I wouldn't like for that to be the only shelter for my goats, and I live in a very mild climate, where it's almost always between 65 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit. Mine like to lie around in the shade when it gets too sunny.


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## lottsagoats1 (Apr 12, 2014)

Yeah, those would be very cold in the winter and hot in the summer.


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## teemogoat (Mar 14, 2016)

I live in Alabama, so it can get very hot in the summer. Winter can be mild with a couple of weeks of freezing to a bad one with temps down to zero. They would not have just these, I will also provide shady spots when they are in their pen. I am also working on about three acres of good browse/trees they will be able to enjoy during the day. My plan is to let them out in the morning and put them back in the evening. In the winter, it looked like the guy used a heat lamp on top of them if it got cold enough.


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

I have a friend in Kansas and she uses these for shelters. Not for new born but once they get a little older then they go out of the barn and use these and she loves them. She didn't keep the metal on them she takes those off and uses them for feeders but for $50 you could cut the plastic to make a shelter then use the metal part and put wire around it and a tarp so you could get 2 houses for $50 or now that I'm thinking you could also use 2X4s or 1X12 and secure onto the metal and make a nicer little house. The thing with the plastic though is it would get warm in the sun.....makes it nice in the winter but you would want to make something for shade even if it's a shade cloth and 4 posts and tie off the corners.......I can Jerry rig up almost anything lol but to answer your question I would totally buy them. I actually looked for some but they are $100-150 so I passed on it and went with shelter logics instead. Oh and as for size of the goats the friend I mentioned has boers so they would fit


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## catharina (Mar 17, 2016)

I have 3 plastic dog igloos that my goats adore. They can choose between their shed & the igloos & they sleep in the igloos. They hang out in the shed when it rains because they can stand up there. The nice thing about not being able to stand up in the igloos is that they can't go potty in them so they always have a clean place to sleep. 2 or 3 goats will sleep in one together. They spend a lot of time climbing & standing on them too. I think your goats would love having little plastic huts. Put them close together so they can jump from one to the next. They'll have so much fun.


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## teemogoat (Mar 14, 2016)

Awesome idea Jessica84, I didn't think of splitting them apart. And Catharina, good to know about the "not able to stand up"


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## fortglory (May 23, 2016)

These are great!!! We use these for our dogs and goats. They have a small cap on top that can be unscrewed in the summer to vent them out like dogloos do so they do not get heat buildup in them. We cut a hole in the metal and plastic the size of a very large dog door. Then made the cut out plastic piece slightly smaller and zip tied it in the cut out space to make a flap dog door out of it to block wind and rain from getting in. On the inside We drilled holes in the bottom of it in case water gets in or they pee inside it drains right out. Then lay a rubber stall mat cut to fit inside. In the winter we add straw or shavings for extra warmth. Then to the metal frame we cut to size and screwed the shed type wood siding onto it leaving a very slight gap. We did this on the three sides without the door . Then we had the spray foam insulation guy come and spray into the wall gap foam insulation. Then Spray foam on top and covered with more siding. Make sure not to cover the screw off cap on top with foam. And cut out a round hole in your roof siding so you can still unscrew the cap in the summer. Then made a little ramp going to the top, and they love to go hang out up there. When we add more goats we will make a second one up for them and then put a bridge across them . To Give the goats more to play on and they can lay under the bridge for more shade in the summer. We live in Arkansas and it gets very cold and very hot and the dogs and goats are always very comfortable. Way better than any dog houses we have ever bought and the prefab goat houses. 1 can hold 2 large dogs or 3 Nigerian dwarfs easily. We paid $40 for the container, $60 for the siding , we did multiple at one time so the insulation guy charged $30 each for the insulation. So for $130 each we got insulated , roomy, homes for them that they love. We did ours 2 years ago and they are still in perfect shape.


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## luvmyherd (Apr 9, 2011)

I know my goats would love that! We have a barn that has been on our property since the 60's. The goats only go in there to eat or if it is pouring rain. I find them outside even when it is below freezing.


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