# DO you use anything on the floor of your goat hauler?



## Bob Jones (Aug 21, 2009)

I finally have a decent truck: F-350 flatbed with dualies.
I built the fencing for the goats from two 6'x12' horse panels.

I think I want to put something down so that when they pee, they don't have to lie in it.
And the steel floor can be slippery and hot.

I was thinking of painting it and dumping sand in the paint to make it non slip, but that doesn't solve the pee issue.

any suggestions?


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## Rex (Nov 30, 2008)

A rubber mat will shed the pee and give them some grip. A cheaper way to go is a piece of plywood but it will need replaced every couple of years and holds the smell forever. I have seen sawdust, straw and wood chips put down on top of the floor mat but in an open truck it blows around and gets into their eyes. I stay with a bare mat and it works great. 

I sure do get some looks when I stop for gas and two or three goats decide to pee and it is running out on the ground around the truck....lol


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## ryorkies (May 4, 2010)

My husband is a carpet installer . I have used a scrap piece of carpet.
It Worked well. And threw it away after
words. Just have to weigh down the corners or it blows up.


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## ali pearson (Aug 12, 2009)

Exploding carpet! That sounds exciting. 

I like to put down those rubber mats with holes in them over the corrugated truck liner. The pee drains out the holes and out the back of the truck on the hills. Nice. I use a little stall fresh and it doesn't get too bad. When I used rubber mats with no holes it got incredibly slippery and gross back there. My boers lie down when traveling, ( I bet pig does too) and being white, well, you can imagine how they looked when we would get to camp. Baths were required on arrival. The mats with holes (like restaurant floor mats) have solved the problem. You can buy them from Mc master Carr.


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## cryptobrian (Apr 26, 2012)

I just use straw ...lots of it. I have a cap on the truck so it isn't an issue with it blowing around ... but I always have straw sticking out of very crack and corner of the truck. Not a big deal as I really don't use it for much else.


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## imported_ashley (Jun 9, 2011)

How do you tie your goats in? We have eye bolts in each corner of the floor of the bed that the popup camper ties into, can you tie goats to the floor vs having them tied at their body level like a horse? I'm still learning how to do this stuff; what is best? We have a shell to put on the bed, and that works, but I am wondering if you just tie them in and maybe you could haul them without it? When the shell is on we just throw them in and they situate themselves and that seems to work.. What do you think?


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## Bob Jones (Aug 21, 2009)

When I carried them in the trailer I ran a strap down each side that had rings spaced along the length. Then I made a pulley through each ring leading to the back. I could load them at the back without having to climb in the trailer (low ceiling) to snap them. Just click it on and use the pulley to guide them into place.

When I carried them in the minivan, I ran a line across the back with two rings. I would snap Diego and Mikey in facing opposite directions. Larry and Moe were tied to the back of the passenger seat. and the fifth goat roamed free and would usually lie down behind the driver seat.

When I carried them in the camper they weren't tied. Pig would jump up in the cab over section. 

When I carry them in the canoe, usually only one comes with me and lays down without having to be tied. When you get two or three of them in a canoe they can't resist butting each other.

The boys have been practicing climbing aboard the hobie cat. I am hoping to take them down Cataract canyon to do some hiking in the side canyons. I am tempted to cut the mast down a bit so I don't have to rig them in swings. There are a number of people who go hiking with goats, but very few who go hiking out with them.

hmm.. that's not the right name...cataract..I'm thinking the section below Green River on the Green River.

edit - Labyrinth Canyon. Anyone up for an adventure? ;-)


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## TDG-Farms (Jul 12, 2013)

Straw. Though I like the idea of the mat with holes in it under the straw. That would keep the straw fresh for a long time. As for tying up, a show rope strung from left to right at the head of a truck bed and or ones down the sides. A shoe rope has a clasp about every foot. This allows people to string up wards of 8 goats on one rope and lead them to the show ring.


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## Hasligrove (Dec 10, 2008)

I really like wood pellets. They expand and soak up the urine. They would probable be ok at first in an open hauler but may dry out and start blowing around after they expand a bit. It's like sawdust. I use this in their barn too. It makes the wasted hay so much easier to muck out since it doesn't get matted together and the pellets soak up all the moisture. It lasts a long time.


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## jross (Dec 20, 2008)

ashley said:


> How do you tie your goats in? We have eye bolts in each corner of the floor of the bed that the popup camper ties into, can you tie goats to the floor vs having them tied at their body level like a horse? I'm still learning how to do this stuff; what is best? We have a shell to put on the bed, and that works, but I am wondering if you just tie them in and maybe you could haul them without it? When the shell is on we just throw them in and they situate themselves and that seems to work.. What do you think?


I carry mine in a trailer made from the back of a pickup, and it has a camper shell on it. I put a heavy rubber bed liner (bought cheap from a junk yard) on the floor. Then I put wood chips on that to soak up pee and make it warmer in the winter. The camper shell keeps the chips from blowing around so they last a long time. It also keeps the wind, rain, sun, dust, bugs, etc off the goats. The goats get up, pee, and stand around in the trailer when we are stopped, but lay down when we get going. I don't tie them up. The same setup would work for a pickup truck.


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## Cazz (Jun 9, 2010)

We use plenty of hay, and even without a top on the trailer it pretty much stays put since we put in a thick layer and the goats squash it down a bit. We run a petting farm and often have an alpaca, three-five sheep and five or more goats in a trailer for our Maxi set-up, but a good thick layer of hay and even after several hours in therethey can lay down without getting at all wet or yucky - just the fleece ones get stuff stuck in their wool. :roll: 
To clean the trailer out, we just use a rake and pull the whole lot out in a few scrapes, and then a quick hose down or bucket or two of water and the metal bed is nice and clean.
To tie them up, in our cage trailer it is easy since we can use a short lead for each of them to any point of the trailer, but with the horse float it is a bit more difficult since there are only a few tie points - we just tie them with a short lead to the bay supporting the centre divider.
If we are taking lots in a small space (one cage trailer we use is 6ft by 4ft, and we had one alpaca, four sheep and five goats in there - though yes, many were young ones, one one was a little baby) we sometimes clip the bossy ones directly to the walls of the trailer, and the lowest ranking ones, who won't cause any trouble, are left untied so they can get out of the way.
Cheers,
Cazz


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## Saltlick (Jun 12, 2011)

I use a rubber mat and if it will be a longer trip (just went to from San Francisco to northern Oregon and back with them) then I throw down some triple-screen shavings. The shavings soak everything up. I was gone 10 days and never had to put down fresh shavings, even with goats in back of truck up to 9 hours at a time on drives.


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## idahonancy (Dec 13, 2008)

Another reason to consider wood chips is it is weed free. We travel out of state a lot. As the goats get out of the trailer they tend to kick some of the bedding out. In areas demanding weed free hay you avoid any questions regarding weeds. There is always a little pile of debris at my trailer door where the goats step out. I pick up as much as I can. I try to give every caretaker of our public lands, like the forest rangers, the best impression I can of how we care about what we are doing with our animals to the environment.


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## TDG-Farms (Jul 12, 2013)

My truck has the rubber mat instead of carpet on the inside. Was at home depot the other day and walked by their fake grass samples and funny thought went through my head to put that on the inside of the pick up! LOL how funny would that be  Later I thought it would be good in the back of my pick up. I have a bed liner so it has all the grooves. Then thought maybe even a few chips under it to pull the pee down from the fabric and then have the fake grass on top of it. Just enough to help but still giving a nice sold floor base. Am still thinking of ways to secure the grass but once done, would just me a matter of pulling the custom cut piece of fake grass out and shaking / spraying off the poo and cleaning out the chips for the pee.


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## idahonancy (Dec 13, 2008)

That is a great idea Dave. It would also keep the goats from kicking the chips out onto the driveway as they exited my trailer.


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## Bob Jones (Aug 21, 2009)

When I carried five goats in the back of the minivan I put down a plastic tarp and covered it with clumping kitty litter. It was better than other option for the back of a minivan.


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## Charlie Horse (Dec 16, 2012)

I've been using a suburban to haul. I put down a tarp in back, and on top of that I have an old comforter blanket (puffy, plastic cotton batting) which goes on top of that. Then I keep it straight with a couple boards along the edges and a cross support front and back. Edges of the tarp are pulled up around that by bungees. Takes 10 minutes to set up but it keeps the sub clean. The key to making it work is to walk them for 1/4 mile before they jump in so it gets less pee on it. Works pretty well but the blanket is ruined all over again every trip. It washes out well enough. No messy shavings. Just wad up the tarp and blanket and haul it into the yard to shake out. 

Ok I admit its a horribly scheme but it saves on having to tow a trailer.


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