goats and winter shelter

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this is going to seem like a silly question for all you goat ladies (or gentlemen) out there. During the winter, should goats be locked in a barn, or allowed access to both the barn and field? What about when there's snow on the ground? They would be closed up at night of course, just wondering about the daytime. Thanks!

-- Elizabeth (lividia66@aol.com), October 07, 2001

Answers

where do u live? i live in south, cental IL. we aren't pro goat people if u know what i mean but we have a large barn. half of it is there's. they have a free choice all year long of were they want to go sleep ect. we have straw for them to sleep on in there. they usually sleep in there year round but on summer nights they sleep out side. we never lock them up at night though. happy goating lindsey

-- lindsey (l_shamhart@hotmail.com), October 07, 2001.

Hi Elizabeth,

We live near Buffalo, NY and everyone knows what type of winters we have. VBG Actually, I enjoy the 4 different seasons, couldn't think of living anywhere else. My goats have a South West corner of our barn and there is a small door for them to go out to the pasture when ever they feel like it. This door is open year round except when there is a blizzard and the snow is coming in the door. In the summer they usually sleep outside at night and in the winter they lay outside on the snow up against the barn to catch the sun's rays.

-- Charleen in WNY (harperhill@eznet.net), October 07, 2001.


I'm in north cental West Virginia, and actually I don't have any goats yet. I'm in college now so I'm reading every possible thing I can get my hands on and saving money for a place. definitely want a couple of nubians when I get my place. Thanks!

-- Elizabeth (lividia66@aol.com), October 07, 2001.

I'm in Maine and my goats have free access to the outside year 'round day and night. During the winter, as the snow piles up, they make their own "goat trails" thru the snow and use these same paths as long as the snow is on the ground. Great exercise for them and they need the sunlight. In fact it's not good for any animal to be closed up in a barn through the winter!

-- Marcia (HrMr@webtv.net), October 07, 2001.

I live in northern Idaho, it gets very cold here in the winter. Our goats have access to the outdoors at all time. I would not consider shutting them in our small barn even overnight unless there was a really good reason. I did do it once last winter, there was a coyote trying to get into the goat yard because the coyotes had been chasing a deer which fled to the goats. I shut all the goats but one into a pen overnight. In the morning they were all fine but the deer was dead.

I digress. They need ventilation, and exercise to stay healthy. Unless your barn is large and open with plenty of fresh air, I wouldn't shut them in. They are smart and will not go outside more than they should. The exception here is the occasional doe that has been butted out into the freezing rain by a bunch of dominant does. I give such picked on does their own pens and special treatment.

-- Rebekah (daniel1@itss.net), October 07, 2001.



Mine are never shut in either...we don't get snow though. They won't set foot out of their little barn in rainy weather though. I use a thick bed of straw and they winter very well.

-- Jenny (auntjenny6@aol.com), October 07, 2001.

Howdy, Elizabeth. Here in NM we have a true 4-season year, but our winters can be harsh, though they come in spurts, and I am living at 7,000 ft in the foothills of the mountains. A couple of years ago I had 2 weeks when it never got above 9 degrees, so... My goats live in 3-sided shelters made of pallets with plywood roofs. Not pretty, but they work. They have access to outside all the time, of course, and take advantage of it no matter what the weather is doing. But the smaller the shelter, the warmer it is, it seems. I got in one snowy day and couldn't believe how comfy it was. You just have to pay attention to the pecking order because some will not let others in. I do take extra measures in the winter and beef up the drafty places with tarps or more plywood, and my goats are Angoras so they've got some hair by mid winter, too. The main thing is to keep them from getting wet and chilled... give them some pallets to get on or build some benches for them. Some day I'll have a nice barn with electricity and running water IN it! Till that day, we seem to do ok, and tho I do worry about them, I haven't had any sick goats yet. Good luck. debra in nm

-- debra in nm (dhaden@nmtr.unm.edu), October 08, 2001.

Just make sure they have a dry, draft-free place to be and they will be healthier for the consistently cold, fresh air. It's hard on them to keep going from warm, stale air to cold, fresh air. And not being able to get out of drafts can kill them.

-- Laura Rae Jensen (lrjensen@nwlink.com), October 09, 2001.

I do have to worry about predators here (all various neighborhood pets) so I do shut my girls in at night, but they have free run of the barn and their paddock during the day. My girls aren't pastured, but I do have a portable pen (that is dog-proof) that I set up in places around my property for browsing purposes during the kinder seasons. Once snow hits, they are confined to paddock and barn. Another reason they are shut in during the winter (as if the neighborhood pitbull pack isn't enough!) is that large snow piles from my metal roof from an overnight storm can offer a sudden escape route if I don't watch out! The snow coming off the roof packs itself enough that the goats can walk out of the pen if I'm not careful to keep the area by the fence cleared.

-- Sheryl in Me (radams@sacoriver.net), October 09, 2001.

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