# goats eating barn walls



## mrs_zog (Apr 7, 2008)

When it rains, our goats will stay in the barn and chew on the wooden walls and stall doors. We can shut them out of the barn, but then there really isn't a place for them to get out of the rain. Any suggestions for getting them to stop?


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## goatkid (Nov 20, 2005)

Goats just like to chew on things. I haven't found a way to keep mine from eating holes in their goat houses (except for their log cabin house) so we have to patch holes and replace walls occasionally. If you want a goat proof shelter, they make metal quonset huts for livestock.


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## BethW (May 3, 2007)

goatkid said:


> Goats just like to chew on things.


Yep, and if it's wood, it must be a tree, right? Even if it's milled into a board. At least that's the way I figure goatie brains think 

DH and I spent a lot of time painting our barn this past spring. Then we went on vacation for 8 days this fall. When we came back, the goats had chewed a line at mouth level all along one wall. :grit: They must have been bored or anxious while we were gone. Ah well. Glad we kept several gallons of touchup paint!


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## nehimama (Jun 18, 2005)

When my donkeys used to do this, I made "poop paint" with their own droppings and water. Then I liberally "painted" the wood surfaces. It didn't make for an aesthetically pleasing sight, but it definitely stopped the gnawing!

NeHi


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## Nancy_in_GA (Oct 20, 2004)

Good luck. This is what I dislike most about goats. They even chew the paint off my truck when I park it in the goat lot. Maybe put something in the barn they like to chew on better than the barn? If it works let me know.


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## Sweet Goats (Nov 30, 2005)

WOW mine have never chewed on my barn at all. The only thing they do is rub their horns on the doors.

Mine are very very picky goats and i guess i ma really happy about that.


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## mammabooh (Sep 1, 2004)

Would hot pepper deter them at all?


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## hoofinitnorth (Oct 18, 2006)

You may want to reexamine their mineral intake or overall diet. Sometimes animals do this because they (think they) are lacking some key nutrient. Other times it's "boredom" or an instinctual need to browse/graze.


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## Vicki McGaugh TX Nubians (May 6, 2002)

We even tried masonite boards on our doors, they still (and the LaMancha's were the absolute worst) run their teeth against the doors. After a year or so we will have to replace them, right now they have 3/4 inch plywood on them  Mine live in the woods, if they wanted to eat wood they could go eat a tree 

When you do have to lock them in it's important they have hay to chew on, you could also get a protein lick, make sure it does not contain UREA, read the labels because even Sweetlix which is a very well known goat product, has urea in at least one of their blocks labeled for goats. I put these out during really bad weather and hurricanes, it does help....for me it's the fighting. vicki


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## Madfarmer (Mar 22, 2008)

Can you apply two layers of small-mesh galvanized chichen wire? I know it works to keep horses from gnawing trees. . . .

Madfarmer


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## Vicki McGaugh TX Nubians (May 6, 2002)

They would paw it until they broke it, then all the little wires would be wonderful to scratch on. Then when you shave in the spring they are all scarred up  Madfarmer you should never have gotten Nubians  vicki


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## HappyFarmer (Jun 17, 2006)

I think we had one goat chew the barn, but come to think of it that problem has stopped. Maybe because we did re-paint the barns & sheds, we also have been switching minerals over the past few years so maybe that helped with their craving too.

Anyhow, do you have access to a newspaper printer? They used to have metal sheets they used to make the newspapers(we used them for our pig stalls way back when). Applying that to the walls may help if you have access to them locally. I'm not sure if the technology has changed or not-maybe they don't use them anymore. Worth a phone call anyway.
HF


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