Posted by Julie Rimbach on August 12, 2011 at 2:41pm
Hello - I just added 2 goaties to our pet managerie and am wondering how best to set up a pen? I have a very large area that I have gated off from the rest of the property. However, currently the pen has crushed granite on most of the ground. I thought this might work but now I see that I'm having a hard time cleaning the pen since I can't seem to rake up the "goat berries" and they take a very long time to break down. What do you veteran goat owners use on the floor of your pens?? I have read that dirt is best - but I wonder about mud when it rains. I don't like the idea of layering straw over and over and remove periodically - but maybe that's the cleanest way to go??
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I had the same problem...I moved all the gravel and exposed the dirt and I use hay or pine shavings. Pine is nice because it smells great but a bit expensive. I muck out the pen ever quarter and compost it. If you don't have acreage that's the only way to go and you'll have to muck out the pen regardless of the situation. Fortunately, it doesn't rain much in Phoenix, but during the "rainy" season, I try to muck out the pen after a good rain and during the season just lightly bed it. Havn't had a problem with mud at all.
Fly tapes and fly predators (biological control) are great for managing that. Feel free to come by to check out our setup. I live in Central Phx.
Dave
Julie Rimbach > David HamiltonAugust 15, 2011 at 2:36pm
Thank you for your input - looks like straw/shavings are popular. Dave, do you just add hay/pine shavings sort of adding a layer on top in the the pen so that the top stays clean/dry?
Where I live, I only have sand and rocks. My girls pen is 25x45 and is all SAND. In their stall (6x10) in the barn I put down pine shavings or chopped straw depending on what is available and I clean it out once a week down to the sand. I don't deep litter the goats. As far as cleaning their pen, I use a lobby broom and handled dust pan like at Disneyland and sweep up the berries a few times a week and dump them into a 2'x2' sifter. If anyone out there has a better idea, I would love to hear it. If I swept the berries daily it would be a much easier process but the heat has me dragging come August :(
Julie Rimbach > Bethany LobockiAugust 12, 2011 at 3:56pm
Thanks for the reply! Do you put down the rice hulls on top of the bare dirt? How often do you rake it out and replace (I guess that depends on how many goats are sharing how big of an area...)? Where do you buy the rice hulls?
Most feed stores sell rice hulls. I like them because they are super lightweight and not dusty like hay and shavings can be. Also, they won't choke out the soil underneath the way shavings will.
Replies
I had the same problem...I moved all the gravel and exposed the dirt and I use hay or pine shavings. Pine is nice because it smells great but a bit expensive. I muck out the pen ever quarter and compost it. If you don't have acreage that's the only way to go and you'll have to muck out the pen regardless of the situation. Fortunately, it doesn't rain much in Phoenix, but during the "rainy" season, I try to muck out the pen after a good rain and during the season just lightly bed it. Havn't had a problem with mud at all.
Fly tapes and fly predators (biological control) are great for managing that. Feel free to come by to check out our setup. I live in Central Phx.
Dave
Most feed stores sell rice hulls. I like them because they are super lightweight and not dusty like hay and shavings can be. Also, they won't choke out the soil underneath the way shavings will.