# goat building shed ?s



## cybercat (Nov 26, 2008)

Hubby an I are doing some rough planning for next years goat shed. The are that we are going to put it is the East side of property and facing South. I am planning on just 2 does to start and not going over 4 except when kids are being raised before sold. I will not keep anymore than 4 at most and even that is iffy at best unless one or 2 are wethers. 

Anyway, right now we are looking at a starting shed/barn that is 12 by 12. My ? is about lumber. Is the pressure treated safe for them? Also what do you use to paint /seal your wood to make it more weather proof? 

We get a bit of rain but no as bad when I lived in FL. Wind can be bad here most of the year, last winter it was brutal. Humidity is not bad unless it rains. This will be up on higher land and it slopes down a little so there is good drainage. The outdoor pen will run I think 50' to start and be 16 wide. Do not know for sure need to measure how far length will be but it will be at least that. They will be out of pen to browse most of the day as we have tons of there favorite honeysuckle and brambles just waiting for they to eat. :lol

I have the Storey's guide and hubby like the real simple plan in it that is 18x18. It has the front half as loafing area and back as milking and food storage. That works for us because our long driveway will run right behind the shed. Which means I will be walking from house to shed that way. We later on will be expanding the shed but for starters to keep cost down we are going with 12 x 12. This will be with a dirt floor.

Thanks,


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## stoneyheightsfarm (Jan 19, 2008)

Tamera, we have pressure treated posts for our barn, and it's the new stuff that's pressure treated w/copper sulfate. That's safe for goats. I think the old pressure treating formula that contains arsenic is now illegal and you'd be hard pressed to find it anymore. Our goats don't mess with the posts anyway.

We have unpressure treated stuff for our siding, cross posts, etc. So far we haven't done anything to preserve it. The farmers around here tell us that it's easier and cheaper just to replace a rotten board than to go through the hassle of painting or staining on a regular basis. The goats like to chew on the splinters (lumber is rough sawn from a local mill) so we're glad to not have done anything to it. Also, if you're using a metal roof, you won't want pressure treated stuff touching the metal. It does something unpleasant to it, but I can't remember what. 

The size of your pen is about the size of our buck pen. In the summer, we had to mow it regularly, but now it's overgrazed and trampled down to nothing, even though I keep the hay feeder full. Sounds like letting them out much of the day and good drainage will be good assets in your favor.

We also have a dirt floor in our barn and like it really well. Of course, this is my first winter with it, and with the rains we recently got, it's more humid in there than I'd like. If you have that clay soil with lots of rock in it like we do, you might want to consider sand or gravel in the bottom of the barn. (nothing is draining right now!) Then again, if this 12 x 12 spot is at the peak of the hill, you might not have to worry with it. 

Our doe barn also faces south and that works really well. Our buck barn (same barn, other side of feed room) is completely enclosed but has a 4 foot wide door on the north side and it stays much colder. Great in the summer, but winters are not so great--we bed deep!

Our barn is right behind our driveway also, and I love having a ready-made walkway to it. 

Enjoy the planning phase! It is fun! Don't know where you are in TN, but if you're anywhere near here (about an hour northeast of Nashville) I can recommend some good suppliers of lumber and metal that run less than what you'd find at a home store. Nice folks, too.

One other suggestion... You might only plan on having 2 to 4 goats now, but you may decide you want more later... they're kind of like potato chips--hard to stop  So plan with room to grow or start scoping out another spot to build. The current one can always be converted to another use (bucks, kids, chickens...) later if the need arises. Have fun!


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## cybercat (Nov 26, 2008)

Billie thanks for all that great info. One question on the posts. Did you put them in ground with cememnt or without? I was told they should not go in ground at all by the guy that did our house. He put the pourch posts on block pieces to keep them out of ground. Not sure that is a good idea with goats though. Will tell hubby about adding some gravel to clay, as we need to work that area anyways to level it more. We are planing on wood roof with cut outs added to let light in. Mind is blank on what they are called. :crazy

Nope will not have any more than that as we just do not have the time or the room. The whole south side of our property is hard woods and pine forest and that will stay. So we only have front half to deal with and that has a garden, house and the coming of the goats place and chicken shed and one other storage shed for big equipment. I will not go more than 4 I promise. :biggrin


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## togg75 (Nov 30, 2008)

Here is a picture of a 12x12 we are currently building with a concrete floor. We will be using ours for a milking hut. The concrete will allow us to expand into a grade A dairy if we ever (are so crazy) decide to.


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## hsmomof4 (Oct 31, 2008)

Posts that are attached to your house might be a different consideration than those for your goat shed. You don't want ANY wood from your house going all the way to (or into) the ground because you will have termite problems (or rather, depending on where you live, you will have termite problems sooner than you would otherwise!)


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## Bethany (Jan 9, 2008)

When we build our sheds we put treated posts set in concrete for the corners, the rest of the frame is untreated and then we use metal roofing/siding. Has worked great for us.


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## cybercat (Nov 26, 2008)

Thanks all shall pass info on to hubby.


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## stoneyheightsfarm (Jan 19, 2008)

We put ours in the ground with cement. You will hear varying things on this, and you just have to decide what you want to do. No matter what you decide, someone out there will have a contrary opinion. I've seen plenty of barns here done that way (just tore an old one down) and the only one I've seen that had to be redone later was nearly 100 years old. They came in and dug at the foundation and poured a concrete base. The one we tore down was probably about 80 years old and had cedar posts in concrete. Had to cut the posts off at ground level with a chainsaw b/c they had held up so well. The roof and the siding went kaput long before the posts ever thought about having problems! (and if we had the money, we'd probably have fixed it, but as it was, it was a liability...)

I have 2 cousins that work for Terminex (one does the spraying--you can tell which one as he's now bald!-- and the other does home repair on termite damaged places) and they'll tell you that unless you treat the ground and the structure, you'll have termites whether you wood is in ground, touches the ground, or hovers a foot above the ground! It's just a matter of time, and some areas are more prone. 

If you can include any of that woods in your pen, your goats will love it! Great shade in the summer, not to mention free food. You can also save on fence posts (the most expensive part) by using the trees. Our woods (about 10 acres) is all over huge outcroppings of limestone on the east side of a hill. What I regarded once just as pretty scenery and unusable land all of a sudden looks like milk and less hoof trimmings.  

Another neat option is to build the shed on skids. That way, it can be moved if you want/need--just pull it with a tractor. 

About the gravel... if you have connections with a backhoe, dumptruck, and a local creek, creek rock can be great. If not, the crushed run that they use for road beds from a rock quarry is wonderful, too. Neither are terribly expensive.


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## homeacremom (Nov 6, 2007)

I do not have an enclosed milking area and wish I did. It is separate from the animal portion but dust and insects have free access and make keeping the milking area sanitary much harder than it needs to be.


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## Agape Oaks (Oct 30, 2007)

I built a milk room this past spring , using a metal carport, which I had finished out with a room, electric, water etc. I liked it so well that I just added another one onto the end of it, which I spereated into 2 halfs using the panels from Northeast gate company. One half is an area where my does can lounge around, has a feeder panel which I use for alfalfa pellets & a hay feeder which my handyman built. The gate is right at the end & opens to my milking area. The other half is hay storage right now (which also serves as a windbreak) & will become kidding pens in the spring. It's working well, is virtually indestructible & was inexpensive


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## togg75 (Nov 30, 2008)

Agape Oaks said:


> I built a milk room this past spring , using a metal carport, which I had finished out with a room, electric, water etc. I liked it so well that I just added another one onto the end of it, which I spereated into 2 halfs using the panels from Northeast gate company. One half is an area where my does can lounge around, has a feeder panel which I use for alfalfa pellets & a hay feeder which my handyman built. The gate is right at the end & opens to my milking area. The other half is hay storage right now (which also serves as a windbreak) & will become kidding pens in the spring. It's working well, is virtually indestructible & was inexpensive


That is a great idea....when all is said and done we'll have about $2500.00 in a 12x12 building with electric and water.


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## Jacquelynn (Dec 2, 2008)

Hey,

When I first saw the title I thought. "Wow! They must have amazing goats! Building their own shed. I want one"

I haven't built much as we had existing buildings on the property. But I would suggest treated wood for anything that touches the ground. Other that that, I'm not alot of help!

Jacquelynn


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## stoneyheightsfarm (Jan 19, 2008)

This reminds me... we also buried pressure treated 2x10s attached to the posts around the perimeter of the barn to help stop water incursion...


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## Cotton Eyed Does (Oct 26, 2007)

We used all treated lumber and corrugated steel on our outdoor sheds and barns. 

Mark that is a nice shed you are planning there. If you are wanting to make it Grade A later, be sure to include a drain in there and have the cement floor slope down to it.


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## togg75 (Nov 30, 2008)

Cotton Eyed Does said:


> We used all treated lumber and corrugated steel on our outdoor sheds and barns.
> 
> Mark that is a nice shed you are planning there. If you are wanting to make it Grade A later, be sure to include a drain in there and have the cement floor slope down to it.


Poured concrete today! Should be ready to build on in a week......due to cold weather and rain.


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## cybercat (Nov 26, 2008)

Billie, no will not be able to do the skid thing as we own a valley. We are planning to use our locust trees for corner posts and T stakes for inbetween. Since we will be rototilling the ground to work it, I will be putting ing some kind of under ground around the building drain system in. You know that black pipe with holes in it made to divert water away from homes. That way the ground will not wash away and stay a bit dryer. Might even do a gutter on it to catch rain water. Not a bad idea there then I would not have to haul it from the house or stretch the hose that far. We will not run electric out either as that cost way to much to do. I will have some sky lights in for day time and battery lantern for night.

I plan on letting the goats out to browse as we do have so much here that the love and we do not. Ofcourse I will be with them the whole time so they stay away from bounder fence with is barb wire. We will eventually, if we can, electricfy the whole bounder to keep them away from it. For now though I can walk them since I am home all day and need the exercise. Even now with temps as cold as they are the honeysuckel is still green in many place around the property. Not to mention I still have 2 acres of maple and oak leaves to rake up. Planty for goats to eat here all year round.


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## stoneyheightsfarm (Jan 19, 2008)

We can't do skids either, b/c we own a hillside.  If I could, I might! Yes, we have that black pipe with holes in it around our house, and really need to put it around our barn as well. When we bought ours, we had to buy that sleeve that keeps the holes from getting filled with junk separately, but last I saw them, they come pre-sleeved. Your situation sounds a lot like ours.  Until we have the time and money, our goat pen isn't all that large. Eventually we want to fence in much more, but for now, we do the daily walk thing, and even though most of the vegetation is dormant for the winter, there's still plenty of green stuff on several of the trees in our woods for them to enjoy. 

Those sky lights are nice. We don't have any but I've been in barns with them, and I'm quite envious!


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## cybercat (Nov 26, 2008)

The sky light thing was something I thought of knowing the back area where I would be milking would get no outside light. Growing up in FL they were common and really helped in buildings. Thanks for the info on the sleeve thing I had not thought of it, will make sure to buy those with it.

I am also looking into all the different plans for feeders and milk stands. Just thought of drop down shelves so when not in use they are out of the way. For those that have birthing stalls or put up temp ones how big are they?


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## Cotton Eyed Does (Oct 26, 2007)

In one corner of my goat shed I have 2 - 4' cyclone fence gates in one corner of the shed, mounted to opposite walls. They swing shut forming a 4x4 pen. When not in use I swing them open flat against the shed wall.


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## stoneyheightsfarm (Jan 19, 2008)

I asked for skylights... my husband didn't think they'd look good from the outside!  Funny man who appreaciates aesthetics over function!

My doe barn is 16 x 18 and I only have 3 does right now. My kidding stall is 4 x 8 in one corner. I've found it useful to have the separate space from time to time, but something that you can set up temporarily rather than having to maneuver around all the time can be nice as well. Our stall wasn't in the original plan, but is something we added later.

I made my milkstand based on the Fias Co farm plans. If I were to do it again, I would have made the hole for the head go all the way to the bottom, rather than using their measurements, because I have to pick their head up out of the grain while closing the head gate to keep from pinching their necks.

There are a few threads on here with pictures of feeders and links to pictures of feeders and descriptions of feeders... Here is one: http://dairygoatinfo.com/index.php/topic,6600.0.html There are others, just do a search for feeders. I think a picture of Vicki's feeder is in 101 somewhere, too. There's a great link in 101 for making pvc mineral feeders... I found that making my mineral feeders with 4" pipe from Lowe's cost me around $24 per feeder. I think the mineral feeders from Hoegger's are around $30. For the time and effort, I might have spent the extra money and just bought them, but there is something very satisfying about making something yourself.  For grain, I use just bowls set in my hay feeder and that works. I've also seen pvc pipe cut lengthwise and suspended from chains. Goats don't want to put their feet in it, b/c it's not stable, but has to be adjusted to just the right height, or they can still drop berries in it.

Something I found helpful was to visit a few farms and see what was done there. Ask lots of questions about what they like about their setup and what they would do differently if they could.


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## Good Goats (Oct 26, 2007)

As far as poles go, I haven't seen anyone mention this - we don't use pressure treated wood, just use logs from our own property. But we just paint the part that is going in the ground with used motor oil, keeps it from rotting and we use cement 90% of the time... has always worked for us!

Our pole barn was built with pressure treated 5x5's and the sheet metal is just laid right on top of it... never heard of a problem with that :/


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