# Ammonia in Goat shed



## Kristy White (Oct 16, 2017)

I have four Nigerian dwarf goat's. They are under four months old. I have converted a shed into their home. They have our backyard fenced in and have a lot of room. Our shed has a cement floor which we put lime on and then cover it with Pineshavings. Our shed is 10' x 16' and we use three bags of pine shavings to cover the area. At this point in time the shed is getting an overwhelming ammonia smell after just one week from totally mucking the area. The front of the shed has a garage style door that we leave open during the day for the goats to come in and out freely. They are closed in at night. I do believe we need to add ventilation to this shed . But is there any other suggestions anyone has to keep the ammonia smell down. I see some do not totally muck their stalls only a few times a year. I don't understand what I'm doing wrong.


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## Goats Rock (Jun 20, 2011)

Can you put in cross windows or a ridge vent so the fumes go up and out? 
Goats need good ventilation but no direct drafts on them. Cold is ok, just not drafts.


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## Kristy White (Oct 16, 2017)

I have been trying to read up on ventilating the area. Maybe adding a couple events to both sides of the shed?


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## Kristy White (Oct 16, 2017)

*Vents


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## Kristy White (Oct 16, 2017)

I'm not sure if I added windows there would not be a draft on them. I had never heard of the ridge vent. I just looked that up and will talk to my husband later about his thoughts of adding that.


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## nancy d (Oct 5, 2007)

Install vents head height. The only crucial time for any drafts would be on new born kids.
You can also add Stall Dry or PDZ. Or sodium bicarb. Available at your feed store.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

I agree with the others. 

You do not want the rain to come in either, so have it to where you can block it if needed.


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## Kristy White (Oct 16, 2017)

How often do you guys totally Muck out your Stalls. About how large are your areas? How much betting do you use? And what do you use? Sorry so many questions


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

It is the cement holding in the smell.


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## Kristy White (Oct 16, 2017)

Any recommendations as to what to do to the cement so it doesn't hold in the smell?


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## Clairepaws (Feb 2, 2016)

I have cement floors, but only notice a strong smell when I get behind with the cleaning. I use pine shavings and I clean up every day. You can usually see the wet spots where they have peed, as the shaving get darker when wet. I go in every day and scoop out all the wet shavings then add some fresh to even it out again. Then I do a big clean out once a week to get the pellets and such up.


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## cbrossard (Oct 4, 2014)

I have cement floors and no strong ammonia smell. I probably muck it out about once a month and It is probably a 10 x 6 foot stall for 4 goats. I put down hay or straw for the bedding.


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## cbrossard (Oct 4, 2014)

Sometimes I scatter some baking soda around before laying down the new bedding.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

I have concrete floors.
I use pine shavings as well, the finer, the better to absorb. But not too fine, it gets into the goats noses. 
If it is kidding time, I will put straw or oat hay down on top of the shavings.
I use to clean it out daily with the wet spots but, was going through too many shavings to fast. I have a big barn area on 2 sides. Not sure of the dimensions.
I just added more shavings on the wet area's to cover it up. 
Then went to cleaning out the barn, when I start to smell a Ammonia odor. Sometimes you have to get down to where the goats are in order to smell it. 
If you put shavings down too thin, it won't absorb the urine good enough. 

The smaller the area of a barn or shed it gets smelly quicker.


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## goatblessings (Jan 6, 2015)

It seems like the urine is collecting on top of the cement. If it's not graded properly, it will hold the urine and contribute to an overwhelming smell. If the urine is not running off, you could try to grade the area better, or put a couple of drains in the cement.


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## Kristy White (Oct 16, 2017)

Yeah something is not quite right. I have seen many post of people waiting a month in between cleaning out the stall. I'll try the baking soda. As far as graded is that the slope?


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## Redbarngoatfarm (Jul 8, 2015)

I had a similar issue, then invested in 3/4" rubber stall mats - its way easier to clean, smells better and is more comfortable for goats...and warmer in winter!


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## Kristy White (Oct 16, 2017)

Awesome idea. It did help I was wondering about Mats. I can do that. Thank you


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## Madgoat (Jan 8, 2017)

I have mats in my stalls and while I think the footing is more comfortable, they aren't good for urine/water either. The liquid "sits" on top of the mats worse then on concrete. I use shavings also along with lime/ or that PZ stuff. I have good ventilation and I clean my inside/outside goat pens daily. That said, I still have an "odor". I have 6 females in one pen and when they are in heat, their body chemistry must change cause it's very noticeable.


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## goatblessings (Jan 6, 2015)

I too use mats, but I also clean out my stalls daily. I think that, at least for me, this is key keeping the urine smell down. I use a broom with a shovel and get rid of all the "Pee" areas. I don't have a problem with smell.


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## catharina (Mar 17, 2016)

The "grade" is the slope of the concrete. You can use a level to see if the shed floor is sloping down towards the door. If not you can pour another slab right on top. There are also concrete sealants you can apply. Do you think any rain is blowing in the door & getting things wetter? I've had trouble with that & had to add a little porch roof over 1 door. Is there a leaking water trough or anything like that? Your shed sounds like it's a good size & you're using plenty of bedding. Is it a metal shed & if so is there condensation on the walls in the mornings? It really doesn't sound like you should be having this problem--it sounds like you're everything right!


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