Winter Preparation

Suggs4

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We are new to goats and this will be our first winter with them. I am trying to plan ahead and make any accommodations to their shed now that we may need to. We built their shed out of pallets. We have added some wood to close in major gaps but small slits still exist. My questions are: Do we need to add exterior walls to block winter wind? Is their door opening too large? If so, do we add a closing door or something to hang to block wind?
Any advice about other preparations are appreciated. IMG_1449.JPG IMG_1450.JPG IMG_1451.JPG
 

babsbag

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Does the wind blow from the direction that their door is facing? There isn't much you can hang on the opening as the goats would be sure to pull it down but it looks like they could go deeper into the shed away from the wind. I think that I would cover the side of the shed that is the prevailing wind side with more wood or even a tarp, but the rest of it I would leave with the gaps. Goats are very hardy and they really need the air. That's part of that temperamental respiratory system that I mentioned.

Is the roof rain proof? And is the ground sloped away from the structure so they stand some chance of not having a river run through the shed when it rains? Maybe some more pallets for flooring, or some people use "sleep shelves" for the nigis.

Do you get snow?
 

Suggs4

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Does the wind blow from the direction that their door is facing? There isn't much you can hang on the opening as the goats would be sure to pull it down but it looks like they could go deeper into the shed away from the wind. I think that I would cover the side of the shed that is the prevailing wind side with more wood or even a tarp, but the rest of it I would leave with the gaps. Goats are very hardy and they really need the air. That's part of that temperamental respiratory system that I mentioned.

Is the roof rain proof? And is the ground sloped away from the structure so they stand some chance of not having a river run through the shed when it rains? Maybe some more pallets for flooring, or some people use "sleep shelves" for the nigis.

Do you get snow?
Thank you for your reply! Their door is facing to the east. We did think of that when building. What if we covered bottom half and left top pallets open for ventilation? The ground does slope away, but the ground does get wet during heavy rains. We have added a sloping tin roof that drain downhill as well. I will look into sleeping shelves. We do have extra pallets.
 

Green Acres Farm

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Thank you for your reply! Their door is facing to the east. We did think of that when building. What if we covered bottom half and left top pallets open for ventilation? The ground does slope away, but the ground does get wet during heavy rains. We have added a sloping tin roof that drain downhill as well. I will look into sleeping shelves. We do have extra pallets.
If you can find some pallets that don't have big cracks, you could use that for a floor. When it does gets cold, you could put tarps up on the walls. I don't know how cold out gets for you, (I live in Florida, so gets down to the 20's at the VERY coldest part and no snow) but I know people who do that here.
 

Suggs4

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If you can find some pallets that don't have big cracks, you could use that for a floor. When it does gets cold, you could put tarps up on the walls. I don't know how cold out gets for you, (I live in Florida, so gets down to the 20's at the VERY coldest part and no snow) but I know people who do that here.
Thank you for your reply! Our winters are unpredictable. We typically have a few big snows and temps can get below zero quite frequently, especially with wind chill. Ice has also been known to make its appearance. I just don't want to be unprepared. They love to sleep on the existing pallet surface we have and I like the idea of adding an extra shelf up off the ground.
 

babsbag

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Covering the bottom would work ok, it is mostly the windy side that I would be concerned about; especially if you get sideways rain like I do here. They can put up low temps pretty well as long as they are dry and out of the wind. I don't use sleep shelves as I have big goats so I can't help with that.

@Goat Whisperer. @OneFineAcre do you have any pictures of sleep shelves?
 
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