flooring in shed

[chiques chicks]

I have an 8x10 shed. I'm considering sectioning off a 6x8 portion for two Nigerian dwarfs arriving in two months. The remaining are will be for feed and supply storage for them and my poultry.

Problem: the floor is wood. I can't remove the floor.

Would screwing a layer of concrete board to the pen area, then skim coating it with concrete be a good idea to make it easier to clean? I could even slope the skim layer slightly to aid drainage should they spill water. I would of course use a thick layer of bedding on the concrete.

I plan to add plywood to the studs so the pen has smooth walls for easy cleaning.

 

[chiques chicks]

I should add, this is just their shelter. There will of course be an attached, fenced yard.

 

[babsbag]

First thing I want to say...goats and chickens...be ABSOLUTELY sure the goats never get to the chicken feed. It can make them very very sick, possibly die. The thing is, goats LOVE chicken feed.

Now on to the floor. I think your idea work work for a few little goats. Wood can get very nasty quickly. I did that in an emergency for one night for about 6 kids and it was nasty, dried it out with DE and lime. But I would be afraid that the skim coat would crack unless you can find one with an elastic additive in it or something like that. Maybe an epoxy floor leveling compound, those seem pretty tough.

There is an epoxy floor paint you could use over wood but it is a little pricey and not sure of how small of a batch you can buy. I am using it in my dairy and really like it.

Cheap vinyl would work too, but can be slippery unless you put some tread strips on it.

Maybe the Rustoleum deck paint would work, it looks nice and thick and pretty water resistant. You could even paint up the walls part way. I used an oil based deck paint in my coop, it has held up well, even to water spills.

 

[chiques chicks]

Thanks for the heads up on chicken feed!

I don't plan to allow the goats into the chicken area on purpose. I will secure the lids on chicken feed storage.

I'll have to delve deeper into flooring options. I deep litter the birds on painted wood, but there is no water in there. I plan to keep water in with the goats, though.

If I ever expand to more goats, there will be alternate housing accommodations.

 

[Latestarter]

If you check the flooring section on BYC, what I and many others have done is buy Blackjack #57 from lowes. it is a water based (easy clean up), rubberized (remains flexible in ALL weather/temps), roof coating. http://www.lowes.com/pd_70989-29-6080-9-30_0__?productId=3043257 It applies easily, dries fast, no fumes, easy clean up, near indestructible. I painted it up the walls as well as added splash protection. Here's what it looked like after application.

Notice the rain puddle on the other side. a rain shower went through right after application. after it dried, no damage done, and good as new. When I dig down under the litter, it still looks exactly like this, 18+ months later.

 

[babsbag]

Thanks for the tip @Latestarter . I may have to do that in my coop some day in (hopefully) the far off future.

 

[chiques chicks]

If I ever get my coops cleaned, I may try that there. It looks like a good solution for my goat shed as well.

While I naturally don't want a urine smell, I'm not in a residential area. All but one neighbor lives a five minute walk away, the closer one is generally not downwind. They also choose to live there because it is farm area. Essentially a few 5-7 acre lots surrounded by farms = cows, pigs, chicken battery houses, etc. My neighborhood always stinks ( if you mind agricultural odors)

 

[babsbag]

I don't even notice my 40 goats anymore until I clean the pens with the tractor and then it is ripe for a few days. I live on 5 acres out in the country. Like it or leave it. Neighbors hate my LGD on duty more than they do the smell.

The bucks are in rut right now. PHEW WHEW.

 

[Bayle]

My goats have a wood floor in their little house. They use it for shade and windbreak during the day, and they are closed into it ( with a little super secure backyard for peeing) at night, as we have coyotes around and they are not in with a guard animal yet. They rarely pee in it. If they do, I scrub it out in the morning and let it dry. When it's cold, I lay down some straw on the floor. It's been working well for them so far (for about a year and a half).
I don't know if that helps at all, just my experience so far. I'm really liking Latestarter's idea with the rubberized roof coating, I may use that when we build their new bigger barn.

 

[OneFineAcre]

If you check the flooring section on BYC, what I and many others have done is buy Blackjack #57 from lowes. it is a water based (easy clean up), rubberized (remains flexible in ALL weather/temps), roof coating. http://www.lowes.com/pd_70989-29-6080-9-30_0__?productId=3043257 It applies easily, dries fast, no fumes, easy clean up, near indestructible. I painted it up the walls as well as added splash protection. Here's what it looked like after application.

View attachment 11520
Notice the rain puddle on the other side. a rain shower went through right after application. after it dried, no damage done, and good as new. When I dig down under the litter, it still looks exactly like this, 18+ months later.

That was a good idea