How to manage a goat shed with a wood floor

[3 P's Farm]

Hello. First time goat owner of adopted 1.5 year old nigerian dwarf wethers. I love them! I have a goat shed and it has a wood floor. (It's all we have now, I would prefer a goat house with a dirt floor but that is not possible at this time.). I currently have it covered with thick stall mats (like for horses) and lots of straw. I muck out the soiled straw daily. It doesn't smell (yet) but of course that urine is sitting on those mats. It is not really practical to take out all the deep bedding, hose of the mats, then replace daily. So I am hoping for some suggestions on what I can do to protect the wood floor beneath the mats. Should I remove the mats and seal the floor with something. Or take out the mats completely and use something else. I am new at this, so forgive the naivety. Thank you so much!
Lisa

 

[Latestarter]

Greetings and welcome to BYH Lisa! So glad you joined us and finally posted. Not sure what would work best for you. There are products that horse owners use in horse stalls to absorb urine and wetness, and goat pellets, when dry, can be swept out with a broom. As for pulling the mats, I guess that would depend on what there is under them for wood... OSB/plywood/T&G board... Worst case would be OSB as it is easily destroyed by moisture. There's a wealth of info, knowledge and experience shared in the multitude of threads. Browse around and see what interesting stuff you can find. By all means post away when the desire strikes you, especially if you have questions (provide as much detail/info as possible and pictures truly help)... With all the great folks here, generally someone will respond in no time at all. Please make yourself at home! Hope you'll share some pics of your goats.

PLEASE put at least your general location in your profile. It could be very important if/when you ask for or offer help or advice. You know, climate issues and such. I recommend at least your state as most folks won't be able to figure out where if you put anything more specific (county, town, street, etc) by itself. Old folks like me will never remember & look there first. To add it, mouse hover over Account top right and a drop down will appear. Click on Personal Details and scan down. You'll see the spot for Location. Then go to the bottom and save changes. Thanks! Hope you enjoy the site!

 

[Bayleaf Meadows]

I have a small kidding pen with a wood floor 6' x 6'. It has linoleum over the wood. I put down a tarp and then shavings, straw. The poop I scoop daily. I can roll the whole thing up like a sausage once a week and dump it on the compost pile. Then I wash the tarp with a bleach solution and a broom or mop, rinse, let dry, replace. So far, so good. I can't say how well it works long term because I started doing it this season. Also, the animals like to spend most of their time outside of it.

 

[3 P's Farm]

I have a small kidding pen with a wood floor 6' x 6'. It has linoleum over the wood. I put down a tarp and then shavings, straw. The poop I scoop daily. I can roll the whole thing up like a sausage once a week and dump it on the compost pile. Then I wash the tarp with a bleach solution and a broom or mop, rinse, let dry, replace. So far, so good. I can't say how well it works long term because I started doing it this season. Also, the animals like to spend most of their time outside of it.

Greetings and welcome to BYH Lisa! So glad you joined us and finally posted. Not sure what would work best for you. There are products that horse owners use in horse stalls to absorb urine and wetness, and goat pellets, when dry, can be swept out with a broom. As for pulling the mats, I guess that would depend on what there is under them for wood... OSB/plywood/T&G board... Worst case would be OSB as it is easily destroyed by moisture. There's a wealth of info, knowledge and experience shared in the multitude of threads. Browse around and see what interesting stuff you can find. By all means post away when the desire strikes you, especially if you have questions (provide as much detail/info as possible and pictures truly help)... With all the great folks here, generally someone will respond in no time at all. Please make yourself at home! Hope you'll share some pics of your goats.

PLEASE put at least your general location in your profile. It could be very important if/when you ask for or offer help or advice. You know, climate issues and such. I recommend at least your state as most folks won't be able to figure out where if you put anything more specific (county, town, street, etc) by itself. Old folks like me will never remember & look there first. To add it, mouse hover over Account top right and a drop down will appear. Click on Personal Details and scan down. You'll see the spot for Location. Then go to the bottom and save changes. Thanks! Hope you enjoy the site!

Thank you all for the replies. I live in Central Oregon. I am thinking about taking up the stall mats, and putting some sort of sealant over the wood (plywood) floor and then vinyl over that, and then the stall mats back with pellet shavings and then wood shavings on top. If anyone sees serious flaws with this please let me know.

 

[CntryBoy777]

Does the construction...framing....present a problem to simply remove the wood and use the dirt beneath it? What ya are talking about doing seems to be a bit of overkill for just 2 goats. Pine shavings would be more absorbent than hay or straw, but could be cheaper to use. I have dirt for flooring inside the house, but a deck around the outside for a deck or porch....I just sweep it off into the yard and unless it is raining they urinate in their yard on the ground....I use pine shavings and hay inside and clean it out as needed every couple of wks or so....we have 3 goats.....

 

[3 P's Farm]

Does the construction...framing....present a problem to simply remove the wood and use the dirt beneath it? What ya are talking about doing seems to be a bit of overkill for just 2 goats. Pine shavings would be more absorbent than hay or straw, but could be cheaper to use. I have dirt for flooring inside the house, but a deck around the outside for a deck or porch....I just sweep it off into the yard and unless it is raining they urinate in their yard on the ground....I use pine shavings and hay inside and clean it out as needed every couple of wks or so....we have 3 goats.....

It does seem like overkill doesn't it! The framing does present a problem (in terms of stability) for just removing it, because believe me, I would if I could. I do plan on 2 more goats to the mix. I appreciate all the information and replies.
Thanks so much!