# Keeping goat barn clean



## MaryJo (Jul 20, 2014)

I have 3 female nigerian dwarf goats that I keep as pets. Their covered shed has a wooden platform on a dirt floor (the shed also has a sliding door and 2 windows). The shed is about 20x20 feet total with the wooden platform taking up about 10x10 feet. I have been covering both the wooden platform and the dirt floor with hay with the thought that 1) they need the bedding for warmth and comfort and 2) the hay will help soak up the urine thus cutting down on the smell where the urine soaks into the wood and the dirt. I know I'm already sounding like a crazy woman (I am!), so please bear with me..... I spot clean the barn 2-3 x per week by removing the patches of wet soiled hay then sprinkle some PDZ on the urine soaked dirt and wood areas. Then I cover those areas with clean hay. 
Please give me your ideas and suggestions on how I can be doing a better job on this..... I suspect I might be spending more time/energy and money than is necessary. I am a city girl who is new to country life and just want to do what makes the most sense while providing the best for my girls.


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## goatblessings (Jan 6, 2015)

Where are you located? I only use straw or hay during the really cold months and only let my goats in at night. I do have shade/water during the day - so I don't know what your set up is like. I use shavings during the warms months and use barn lime under after cleaning and then put the shavings on top only when wet. I actually clean daily - i find that I use less bedding if I am picking out daily and staying on top of it.

Others probably have better ideas for you - just what I do. I find goats really waste a lot of hay/straw and it doesn't really soak up the urine. I put shavings under the straw in the winter to help with this.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

I use barn lime and straw.


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## goathiker (Apr 14, 2011)

I am all about easy now days. I have wooden floors. My does have a bedding pack just big enough for each goat to have a 2 1/2 by 4 foot space to bed down in. This is enclosed with 2 by 12's and bedded down with straw over wood pellets. The rest of the area is just a thin layer of wood pellets or easy clean micro-chips. Since the goats do most of their messes in front of the feeders, waters, and pen door, these areas can be quickly picked up, swept, and redone, with little effort, as needed. The bedding pack lasts for a couple of months at a time. By concentrating the wet areas in an area that unattractive to lay in, my does never have their udders laying in a mess. The bedding pack also has a mounted ceramic fixture with a small 100 watt heat bulb overhead to make it a bit warmer and drier in the damp winter weather.


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## MaryJo (Jul 20, 2014)

What kind of shavings and where do you get them?


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## MaryJo (Jul 20, 2014)

What is a bedding pack? Where do you get wood pellets?


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## goathiker (Apr 14, 2011)

A bedding pack is just an area enclosed by wide boards to hold the bedding in one place. They can easily step up into it. 
The wood pellet bedding is sold at the feed store. One brand is ABM, it's about the best.


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## fivemoremiles (Jan 19, 2010)

My dream barn will have its floor 18 to 24 inches off the ground.
the floor will be a slatted floor so the crud falls through the floor and on to the ground. no straw will be needed.
when it is time to clean I will pull the barn off the manure pile with a tractor then scoop the manure up and dump in the manure spreader. when finished I will pull the barn back in place


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## Cali2013 (Jun 2, 2013)

Up until about a month ago I did EXACTLY as you are doing now. Though I would use straw as my bedding. I've changed this up a bit because I like to keep a clean barn and I felt like their stall was always so dirty. Now, I let my 2 goats (ND's, pets) out in the morning and don't let them back in until evening, thus keeping them OUT of their stall which they would hang out in and pee/poop in. I also have started clearing out a lot of the bedding, leaving a bare dirt floor. Much easier to see and sweep the poop off to the side (where I leave a bit of straw). So far I like this method better however not sure if I should lock them out during cold days.


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## audrey (Jul 17, 2012)

Get stall mats. Seriously. You can scrap them SUPER CLEAN with a shovel, and let them dry for like an hour and then put shavings down again. I have a 12x24 area that I can gate off. Half of it has shavings, the other half has straw at the back only, for sleeping in. The goats know they sleep in the straw, and pee in the shavings. SOmetimes they pee in the straw so I do strip that part out as needed too, but really, stall mats are super crucial to keeping a clean, not smelly barn. 

I have all my horse and goat stalls matted, and people are always amazed at the lack of smell and flies in my barn. Its 100% because I can keep it so clean with
the stall mats.


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## SalteyLove (Jun 18, 2011)

Just some additional input: hay is not absorbent, urine just goes right through it and absorbs into the soil below, and hay is most prone to rotting/composting. Straw is *slightly* absorbent because it includes hollow stems, but not much, straw is VERY insulating for cold month because of those hollow stems. Wood pellets (marketed for horse stalls or the ones that you buy for pellet stoves) are VERY absorbent, and wood shavings (available from feed store or from wood mills) are also very absorbent. Odor control options include Barn Lime or the product Sweet PDZ (marketed for horse stalls). Some folks also like to spread Diatomaceous Earth to deter external parasites. 

Whatever method works for you based on all those material options! The goal is to keep urine from soaking in to the barn floor (soil) or wood platforms in order to avoid a serious Ammonia build up. You want the urine to stay in whichever bedding material you choose so that it can be removed from the barn.


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## BrokenArrowRanch (Jun 6, 2013)

Stall mats are a great investment. Easy to disinfect and saves on bedding In my opinion. I put down horse pellet bedding, they soak up alot of urine and smell really good. Then I do shavings on top. Spot clean every other day and complete muck out once weekly I'd goats are in 24/7. I can get away with less if they get locked out of the barn during the day. I throw a flake or 2 of straw down In each pen if it's cold and they lay on that.


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## SalteyLove (Jun 18, 2011)

BrokenArrowRanch said:


> Stall mats are a great investment. Easy to disinfect and saves on bedding In my opinion. I put down horse pellet bedding, they soak up alot of urine and smell really good. Then I do shavings on top. Spot clean every other day and complete muck out once weekly I'd goats are in 24/7. I can get away with less if they get locked out of the barn during the day. I throw a flake or 2 of straw down In each pen if it's cold and they lay on that.


Out of curiosity, how many goats and how large of a barn are you using this system for?


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## BrokenArrowRanch (Jun 6, 2013)

My barn is 12x40. 12x12 is used for storage. The rest is usually open for the goats. Or I have 3 8x6 kidding pens. They're usually open or taken down though. I have 6 Nigerian dwarf does a


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## MaryJo (Jul 20, 2014)

Thank you SO much for passing along such helpful information. I am going to try to find a place near me that sells those pellets. The Grange only sells wood shavings in small packages like for hamsters and such. I also just saw your FB page and LOVE it, am excited to hear about/learn more from you.


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## MaryJo (Jul 20, 2014)

I REALLY appreciate your response and am going to look into stall mats.


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## Encgoatlady (Mar 20, 2015)

*Good housekeeping*

Like keeping anything clean, it depends on how frequently you get out there and clean it. I think the most sanitary option for a goat shed is a wooden floor covered in absorbent shavings that are shoveled out and replaced weekly. That can be difficult to maintain, though, if you have a lot of goats.


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## BrokenArrowRanch (Jun 6, 2013)

Your welcome MaryJo. The Facebook page is rather incomplete but I'm glad you enjoyed it


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## Buck Naked Boers (Oct 15, 2012)

Does anyone have a sand floor? We have sand in our barn. Use a small poop fork and the poop sifts through the the sand into the fork for easy pick up. We have a small area in the barn prob 10x12 for their sleeping area. Clean it periodically. Put ag lime on sand (de is good idea too) then straw. I am going to check into the wood pellets. Like that idea!!! This is a great thread! Thank you for asking this question!! Great ideas! Thanks!!!


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## TheGoatGirl13 (Sep 18, 2015)

I have 2 pygmy goats so its not a huge mess to clean but when I do have to clean it this is how its done...

I have their stalls matted with rubber mats so it makes cleanup a lot easier! I just throw some shaving down, about 1 bag and its stays clean for a month. My goats have the option to go inside and outside so it also stays cleaner that way when they send most of their tome outside!

*Check out my goat blog!* 
https://forgoatsakes.wordpress.com


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## MaryJo (Jul 20, 2014)

Thank you! P.S. You have a very fun blog.


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## Frosty (Feb 13, 2010)

I must have dirty goats then. I have some wooden benches in the stalls for them to sleep on and most of the time that is where they do the pooping. Is this unusual or is there a way to keep them from doing it on the beds. Thanks for any input. I use straw and am now going to look into the rubber mats.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

As soon as my goats stand up from sleeping, they poop. So I don't think it is unusual.


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