Goat bedding?

[dianneS]

I'm not sure what to use for bedding this winter? Last year we used waste hay and the deep litter method. I hate the deep litter method and will never do it again!

I just cleaned out the goat barn. I am very fortunate, I have dirt floors with deep layer of gravel underneath. I have no moisture problems and no rain water gets inside. Its very well drained and the urine just sort of drains away into the gravel.

Right now, I have no bedding at all, they just lay on the dirt and I rake it out periodically. I have more goats now than I've ever had before so it will be a bigger concern this winter than it has been in the past.

What do you use for bedding and what do you think would be the best type of bedding for my situation?

 

[DonnaBelle]

Other than deep litter, meaning old hay or some wheat straw, the only other method I've heard of is sand. One posting on here said they had about 6 inches of sand, which drained really well. They scooped up the nanny berries and sprinkled some Stall Dry or Sweet PDZ on the urine areas to dry it up.

One thing I've been meaning to post about on here is a method I started using to pickup nannie berries with. I am using an old "pooper scooper" for dogs I found in the garage. It consists of 2 separate pieces. One is a small shovel the other a small rake. It's really quite simple to scoop up the berries, deposit them in a big plastic bucket and take them out to the compost/dump area we have.

I do use loose straw in the barn. I've found some locally that is chopped up nicely and I scoop up the berries every morning and dispose of them. It only takes about 5 minutes to do.

I have found that sprinkling the stall dry around really helps with odor and flies. Of course, we haven't had any rain in about 6 weeks so it's really dry here. That always helps with flies, etc.

This year I hired a local kid to rake up all the old straw bedding from last winter out of the barn and put lime down to sweeten the base soil in the barn. Then put down about 3 inches of new straw. I'm going to do that twice a year, if need be.

DonnaBelle

 

[dianneS]

I've used stall dry but never lime. I was thinking about trying it.

I may try some sand too. I should have a good bit left over after a project we're currently working on.

 

[Ms. Research]

I've used stall dry but never lime. I was thinking about trying it.

I may try some sand too. I should have a good bit left over after a project we're currently working on.

Just watch the sand. I know I don't have to tell you this because of reading how well you care for your livestock, but make sure the sand is clean. Some projects will use waste sand that once was tarnished with oil or other chemicals, cleaning it by a machine, which is OK for some projects but not OK for animals.

Sand helps the filtering and the lime was a good idea too.

It's always great to know your animals have a clean, comfortable place to stay. Plus cuts down or undo medical problems that occur as well.

Hope the new idea works. I know working with something you hate, but doing it for the sake of your livestock, is definitely not fun.

 

[Renegade]

I love my barn with sand for bedding!!! My goats prefer it as well.

Donna

 

[elevan]

If you live in a northern state that gets freezing temperatures every winter think twice before you go with sand. You may not think that there is moisture there...but it only takes a little to freeze the sand solid and then you've got goats who are very cold.

 

[homesteadapps]

If you live in a northern state that gets freezing temperatures every winter think twice before you go with sand. You may not think that there is moisture there...but it only takes a little to freeze the sand solid and then you've got goats who are very cold.

Right!

Hay as deep litter in northern climates actually helps create warmth during the winter and by spring you have good compost.

 

[june2013]

I know this is quite an old thread, but do you guys just put sand over the floor (either wooden or dirt)? It's warm all year around so I don't worry about them getting cold...