Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
as plasterboard or plywood where goats are kept because they inevitably will destroy it. All
materials need to be sturdy and resistant to gnawing.
There should be no gaps, holes, or openings anywhere wider than 2 inches as noses, hooves,
and even small heads could be caught when curious goats investigate. Check for open spaces
between the wall and floor. Interior partitions should have openings no wider than 2 inches
between slats. Make certain the floor is free of holes. The roof of a goat shelter should be de-
signed to keep goats from climbing on top of it.
WOODEN SHELTERS
There are a few points to keep in mind when selecting wood for your goat shelter. Some
woods splinter more easily than others. Goats also gnaw at certain types of wood, particu-
larly if they are bored or if they are lacking in minerals. Be very careful about using treated
wood and selecting paints or stains — some of them contain ingredients that can poison or
sicken your goats. When building partitions of wood, do not leave more than 2 inches of
space between slats because a horn or leg, or even a kid's nose, may be caught. Use
screws for construction instead of nails, which will make it much easier to disassemble the
structure if you decide to remodel later on.
Lighting
Windows and natural light inside the goat shelter encourage milk production and help with
ventilation during warm weather. However, you will need to be able to close windows in bad
weather. Electric lighting inside the shelter is helpful when you are milking or doing chores
on winter evenings or if there is an emergency during the night.
During some times of the year, lighting in the goat shelter can be used to increase milk pro-
duction and stimulate earlier breeding. Goats normally breed in the fall, when days begin to
get shorter, so they are pregnant through the winter months (about 150 days on average) and
give birth in spring. If all your goats are kidding at the same time, they will lactate at the same
time and be drying off within weeks of one another. This leaves you without consistent milk
production throughout the year. You may wish to influence the breeding cycles of some of
your does so they give birth in fall; this way lactation cycles, lactation curves, and drying off
periods are staggered, and your milk production is steady. Decreasing available barn light in
early spring will simulate the naturally occurring shortening of days in fall and encourage es-
trus in does and breeding behavior in bucks.
