# Share your shelter!



## NigerianDwarfOwner707 (May 17, 2018)

Hi everyone! Right now our goats are kept at a farm beside our property, but there is a chance sometime in the future they will be "backyard" goats. So I'm wondering what kind of shelters you have, so please share pics etc. especially in terms of small barns/sheds as that would be what we would get for them. Either way, please share photos and descriptions of what shelters you have for your goats!!!!!!!!


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## bisonviewfarm (Apr 2, 2015)

This is my turkey coop but the plan is to build a slightlly larger version for bucks next spring. And then the doe barn. This had an open front but my husband added slabs a few years ago.


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

I use shelter logic car ports. I have 8 of them I love them so much lol I did a lot of research on them before I bought them. I wanted something fairly cheap but would last, something I could make myself and that I could move because I am always changing things around trying to get my perfect set up while constantly changing directions lol. These are NOT like the cheap white car ports. The pipes all slide in and you bolt them together. I still had a fear of them blowing away so at the ribs I put T posts to tie them onto. The only semi bad review on them was that when someone got a lot of snow in a short period of them they had to go out with a broom handle and lift up to get the snow off but it held up 100%.
Anyways this is one I have that I didn't attach the doors to.








And this is one with the door lowered but unzipped 








And I bought 3 and put them right up against each other and made kidding stalls


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## NigerianDwarfOwner707 (May 17, 2018)

What is your weather situation like where you live? I can't imagine carport standing up to enough storms and weather.


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## NigerianDwarfOwner707 (May 17, 2018)

hopefully one day this will be an ideal shelter situation if we move the goats. At the moment they have a large awning/run in and a 4x6 shed underneath that.


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## NigerianDwarfOwner707 (May 17, 2018)

Thanks everyone for sharing your shelters! I did forget to also mention the weather in your area! Thanks!!!!!!!!


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

Compared to other places my weather would be considered mild. We may get snow once a year, a few inches tops and gone within 24 hours. High winds, 60mph is not uncommon which is why I put the T post on every rib plus the anchors it came with.


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## elvis&oliver (Jun 28, 2018)

I was lucky this shed was here when we moved a year ago. It has a wood floor which I like and it had a ramp. I put roofing shingles on the ramp and I've liked them for several reasons. They help with hoof length but they also don't accumulate ice as easily as wood. We had to have electric put in it and it was worth it. I'm very lucky, we have a large field and woods for walking and a nice little barn for Elvis & Oliver. The only other change I'm making is I'm painting it in the spring.

Forgot to add our weather. We live in North East Pa. We've had a lot of rain this year! The other day it was 1 degree and we had about 14" of snow. Right now it's 37 and it's been raining. You just never know:bonk:


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## William&Keisha (Apr 7, 2018)

We have one side left to wrap and make more air tight


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## rgdlljames (Sep 8, 2011)

Not a great pic but this is our "Goat-Mobile" We house 6 does in this one and the hut off to the left is the "Weinerville Hut" where our wether/bucks live. They all do great in them! When it gets below 20 degrees here in Michigan I hang hay bags for them inside but keep their water outside so they still have to travel a bit. They do keep them cozy. I will/have gone in to sit with them when it gets cold out to make sure it is nice for them.


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

rgdlljames said:


> Not a great pic but this is our "Goat-Mobile" We house 6 does in this one and the hut off to the left is the "Weinerville Hut" where our wether/bucks live. They all do great in them! When it gets below 20 degrees here in Michigan I hang hay bags for them inside but keep their water outside so they still have to travel a bit. They do keep them cozy. I will/have gone in to sit with them when it gets cold out to make sure it is nice for them.
> View attachment 139801


I LOVE IT!!!!! I am huge on turning anything into something that can be used for something else so I think this is beyond awesome! 
My dad was looking for a new doubt deck cattle trailer and he said I could have his old one. I was so looking forward to it! Could you imagine how much fun goats would have in that sucker?! But the top deck collapsed, which I'm actually happy it didn't happen after I turned it into a goat two story house but I was so bummed, so since that is WAY beyond my expertise of fixing it goes to junk steel


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## KW Farms (Jun 21, 2008)

Here's one for my foals, but the goats have a the same one.


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## anawhitfield (Jun 9, 2013)

We used sections if an old privacy fence to make a 3-sided shed (about 4' x 6') and covered it rolled roofing to keep the rain out. I dont have a picture but here is a picture of something my cousin uses. It's great in keeping them dry, and it's easy to move too.


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## NigerianDwarfOwner707 (May 17, 2018)

KW Farms said:


> Here's one for my foals, but the goats have a the same one.


And what is the weather like for your area? How does that shelter work when it rains?


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## elvis&oliver (Jun 28, 2018)

@KW Farms
Love your site! Your breeding program looks great, your goats are beautiful and your dogs are awesome too. It was a little vacation just looking through all of it. I did have a favorite mare, your Mia. What a beauty she is. 
Nice shelters everyone this is a nice thread


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## Dwarf Dad (Aug 27, 2017)

anawhitfield said:


> View attachment 140145
> We used sections if an old privacy fence to make a 3-sided shed (about 4' x 6') and covered it rolled roofing to keep the rain out. I dont have a picture but here is a picture of something my cousin uses. It's great in keeping them dry, and it's easy to move too.


Rain flap and threshold are good ideas.


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## Damfino (Dec 29, 2013)

anawhitfield said:


> View attachment 140145
> Here is a picture of something my cousin uses. It's great in keeping them dry, and it's easy to move too.


I like that. It would be great for small/baby goats. The raised floor would be cool in summer, but in colder climates you'd have to stuff straw or dirt under it in winter to prevent cold air from circulating under the floor. Otherwise you get the air mattress effect. I slept on an air mattress one winter in Colorado and I've never been so cold in my life!

We use PolyDome calf hutches. They're more expensive than repurposing water/chemical tanks but they're more convenient and animal-friendly. They're not a bad price for something that's practically indestructible.


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## NigerianDwarfOwner707 (May 17, 2018)

Damfino said:


> I like that. It would be great for small/baby goats. The raised floor would be cool in summer, but in colder climates you'd have to stuff straw or dirt under it in winter to prevent cold air from circulating under the floor. Otherwise you get the air mattress effect. I slept on an air mattress one winter in Colorado and I've never been so cold in my life!
> 
> We use PolyDome calf hutches. They're more expensive than repurposing water/chemical tanks but they're more convenient and animal-friendly. They're not a bad price for something that's practically indestructible.
> View attachment 140259


Where do you put the hay inside of the calf hutches?


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## FoxRidge (Aug 26, 2016)

This is my half built barn


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## Damfino (Dec 29, 2013)

NigerianDwarfOwner707 said:


> Where do you put the hay inside of the calf hutches?


Two of my calf hutches have hay feeders mounted on the sides. I load them from the outside of the hutches but the goats eat the hay through holes on the inside. Two other hutches have no feeders, but if the weather is bad I just toss the hay on the ground. I keep the shelters bedded with shavings and straw so the hay goes on top of that. But usually I feed my goats in an outdoor feeder. We have enough sunshine in Colorado that it's rare for me to have to feed indoors.


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