# Easy Plans for a Goat Shelter



## Tango (Aug 19, 2002)

I emphasize the word "easy."  I'm building challenged. Thanks to my cousin who has been caring for me this past week, the front of my house is now fenced and the goats can no longer poop all over the front porch and carport or riad their feed bins inside the carport. This also means that won't have shelter from rain. I have plenty of scrap lumber left from the building of my house, lots of very good complete pieces. Can someone provide a drawing of an easy to build run in shelter that I can later cover for winter protection? Right now the coyotes aren't a problem but they are in the cold months so I would like to add doors later when I can afford extra parts. I think 12 x 12 would be a good size for my small herd of 7 adults and will be keeping 5 or 6 kids. Eventually I will be building another so this only has to be adequate for my needs right now. Step by step photos or drawings or even instructions in layman's terms can help me. If I get a concrete grasp of the beginning I can finish it off myself. I've seen nice sheds online but I'm lost as to how to start them. Thank you in advance.


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## Freeholder (Jun 19, 2004)

Well, first of all, a 12' by 12' shelter isn't really big enough for as many goats as you have. You may want to either plan on a larger shelter, or trim the goat herd a little bit. You have to give them enough room so the dominant ones can't force the ones lower on the totem pole to stay outdoors in the rain.

I've done a couple of things for cheap shelters. One was to build a frame on the ground out of treated 2x4's -- it's 8' wide by about ten feet long. Then I took a couple of cattle panels, stapled them (with barbed fencing staples) to one side of the frame, bent them up and over in an arch and stapled to the other side of the frame. I then put a tarp over the whole thing, and fastened it to the frame at each side. It's open at the ends, but unless you live in a really cold climate (way below zero), it works just fine. All they need is a place out of the wet and wind. I'm going to be moving the whole thing, and have to replace the tarp, as between goats and geese they've shredded the edges. 

The other, larger shelter I have is one of those 10'X20' Costco carport shelters. I built a pen for the does out of cattle panels in one end of this (actually they have two thirds of the shelter), with their hay manger and access to the outside pen at the other end -- you can see a picture if you go to Backwoods Home Magazine's website and look up the article on Kinder goats. Again, the tarp has suffered from the wind, the sun, and from the goats chewing on it. I just bought a larger, similar but much heavier shelter from a local feed store (have to get someone to bring it home for me, as the boxes won't fit in my van), and I hope this one will last for several years. 

As far as your leftover lumber, without knowing just what you have, lengths and so on, it would be hard to make suggestions for how to use it. I used some lumber in both the pens mentioned above (the frame for the first one, mangers and gate posts, and so on).

Kathleen


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## Tango (Aug 19, 2002)

Thank you Kathleen. I'm not trimming my herd anymore than the kids I have for sale at present. Have had enough unfortunate circumstances for the year. 12 x 12 or a variation thereof with the materials I have will suffice, they've gotten out of rain in a 12 x 12 section of my carport without any dominance issues. As I said this is just the first shelter of more that I will be building as money allows.


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## BlessedMom (Jul 20, 2004)

I'll try to take pictures of our goat barn later today when it is light outside.
Where is the sunrise?? It is nearly 6 a.m.???
Have I mentioned my displeasure at the Daylight savings time??
Anyhow, we have built 2 goat shelters out of completely scavaged would with very little of it actually purchased for the goat barn.
However, the first year we had goats we did the same as Kathleen. We used domed cattle panels. I have 7 girls in a small shelter right now, less than 12x12. It's temporary while we are building the bigger barn this week up front. We had to put them somewhere. Unfortunately this meant taking the two "low on totem pole" does and penning them up inside because the rest of the pills wouldn't let them in. I was afraid that they would catch their death out there in the wind and the rain. We should be finished with the barn this weekend though.
This barn is turning out to be even nicer than I had ever hoped for!

Lori


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## homebirtha (Feb 19, 2004)

Hey Kathleen,
That's a great idea! Off to price a carport/shelter. Brilliant.  Great article too. 



BlueJuniperFarm said:


> The other, larger shelter I have is one of those 10'X20' Costco carport shelters.
> Kathleen


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## fricknfarm (Apr 4, 2006)

Sorry this is so long, as they say one pic=1,000wds
I too made the 'domed ' shelters out of cattle panels. If you want to make more than one, that could be your best bet. I did mine differently. I used pressure treated 2X4s (on edge,not flat) and made a frame about 4X4 using 3 1/2" decking screws at the corners to fasten. Next I used my drill and a bit(extra long) exactly the size of the cattle panel wire. I drilled straight thru make sure to hold the drill @ 90 degrees, I cut the wires on the ends of the long sides of the panels so I had 6" of wire to stick thru the drilled holes.I stuck the ends thru the frame(you're gonna need help here, and used a 6lb sledge to bend them over so they are held in place. Next I took 1X3s and cut them to 4' lengths, you need 10 of these. Using 2" deck screwsfasten these boards one outside one lined up inside of the dome, using a wire( set the boards so that you can put several screws above and several below a wire) now you have a frame. I used roofing "tin" and screwed it onto the boards starting from the bottom of each side. Different metal come in different widths so get your metal first so you know where to place the boards. Just make sure that they will line up so your topping sheet of metal is held right at the 'peak' and both sides. You can make a floor to slip inside if you want, you can remove it in good/dry weather. This makes the structure easy to move. You can group these end to end if you want, put them against an existing structure thus eliminating one open end., I have mine against a shed. If you want to put in a permanent floor just lay a 2X4 down the middle of the framing (inside) and fasten with the 3 1/2" decking screws from the outside,then lay your boards from side to side and fasten them with nails or screws. I made mine as a temporary measure too, four years later it still looks new. This is a popular place for standoffish goats. I have a couple that would actually rather stand in the rain than go in with "everybody" else. This is why I keep the structures past the need for them, that and I'm just too cheap to throw anything away. I'll probably try a bigger one this fall as I'm making a separate pen for a couple of big wethers and they'll need their own shelter. Maybe 6X6 and use some pallets for side walls to make it taller. 
To make a permanent strucure on the cheap, buy 4 8' pressure treated4X4s, a couple of bags of quick set cement. dig holes about 2' deep and 1' wide,about 8' apart set the poles 8' apart in these holes (outside edge). level them and brace them put in stones, then gravel to about 10" then mix and add the concrete. Let this set for at least two days.
Run boards 2x4s around the OUTSIDE of the perimeter about 6" from the ground. Run another course about 16" above that. Now you can figure out your roof, a 2 person job. Use a longer board than 8'. Screw it loosely to one corner post(holding it horizontally. Have the other person holding the other end. Now go to the other end, drop it down about 4" and screw that in loosely. Take a scrap of 2x4 to add the extra for overhang and mark the angle where the upright posts and the roof joist join. Mark the post too as that needs to be trimmed off. Really easy with a hand saw. Now you have a pattern to cut all of you roofing joists. On an 8X8 shelter you'll nee
d 5. Screw or nail the two end joists so that their tops are even with the trimmed post tops Screw an 8' board 3 1/2" down from the post tops across the front and another 3 1/2" across the back. Lay your 3 remaining roofing joists on these, one right in the middle @ 4' the other at app 2'. Screw or nail them in place. You can really use that leftover plywood here. The only thing you'd have to buy here are roofing shingles, roofing nails and deck screws concrete and posts. Roofing shingles in broken lots/slightly damage packages are cheap,cheap,cheap. You can add more framing around 3 sides.I use the 4th side for access(if you want to add a wall on the 4th side, you'll need to add a doorway) and plywood siding if you have them . Putting in a floor on a temp structure is a waste. You will love this as later when you have a barn, a little protective fencing will give you a hay storage area. Just add some 'free' pallets to keep it off the ground(hay).
As far as how big an area you'll need for just shelter, I have and 8X16 three sided shelter and about 15 adults and some kids most of the time. I look in there and they're all snuggled up in half of it. Shelter is one thing, a goat yard is another, mine is about 5000 sq ft. they can go in and out of the shelter and use the facilities in the yard. I let my goats free range(as do you) during two 4 hour periods a day. The 8X16 shelter is more than adequate for my goats, can't say how much others use or how much time the goats spend in there.
Kidding? My goats don't kid in th pen with the shelter. When they get close I move them to the horse barn on the other side. I'm just a sucker for kids so I have a room(walk out) in my basement for them. I've had kids in there since Dec 23rd this year...way too long. I usually let the moms and kids stay in the horse barn (Ruby LOVES kids) for a couple of months, this year tho we have a visiting wether(neighbors moved and left him) that sleeps in there(Ruby took down the doors TWICE) and he slept on and crushed two doe kids, they were in "his" place. Their mom is very petite and naturally polled,she didn't stand a chance of moving Hulk. I think this guy needs a new home.
If you need anymore info, let me know PM and I'll try to give you answers.
Wish I could send pics but we're down to one scanner, older than the hills and slower than molases.


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## KimM (Jun 17, 2005)

I posted these a while back on the poultry forum. It's a temporary pen until I get their yard pen built. Made with hog panels because I had them on hand. 
Omit the poutry netting, leave the ends open, cover with tarps and you have a nice breeze-way goat shelter!. Make it longer for more goats.


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## Tango (Aug 19, 2002)

Thanks for the instructions fricknfarm and the photos Kim. The panel idea is great but I don't have any. It looks really good though Kim. I look forward to your photos too Lori. Still trying to get ideas. My cattle panels are housing a sow and protecting the garden area. What I do have are 4 x 8 posts as well as 8 inch diameter posts that can be dug into the ground and then 2 x 10's to nail for support and smaller boards to use as walls. I have enough material to build a 3-sided shelter for now and then hope to scrounge up some more from my cousin's construction site to put a fourth wall with doors on it for their nocturnal protection. I will probably be able to build a second shelter from the scrap at my cousin's homesite. This is just shelter from weather for now. They free range 50 acres. I hae a mental picture of a three-disded shelter just don't know how to begin it.


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## fricknfarm (Apr 4, 2006)

Kim, I love that chicken pen! I only want about a dozen so that pen would be just the ticke for me. Maybe I could include a coop.With the whole thing on skids I'd be able to pull it around to new ground about once a week! you've really got a good one there!


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## TexCountryWoman (Jun 22, 2004)

We use open ended tin sheds. Pretty easy to put up in one afternoon, even for a beginner. Four posts in the ground, whatever you have. Braces on the top and botton to square it up. Nail the tin on the walls and roof. Doesn't take much as you get going. Scraps of anykind works, hard to make a mistake. If looks are real important, then it may be more difficult as you need to have your tin all cut just so or pre measured and bought to the appropriate lengths. All our sheds are simple tin sheds. Our concern is heat not cold. So we vent for a breeze in the summer and pile in extra hay for any cold in the winter, but it stays open..


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## homebirtha (Feb 19, 2004)

Farmtek has 10x10 and 10x20 shelters on closeout for $129 and $149. Seemed like a good deal, as the ones on Costco's website were $400. I just ordered 3 of them. One for the second goat pasture, one for the tractor and implements, and one for good measure. 

https://www.farmtek.com/webapp/wcs/...ClearanceItem=true&langId=-1&division=FarmTek


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## Tango (Aug 19, 2002)

I had three of those in Florida 1 was 20 x 20 and the other 2 were 10 x 20. They do well in a pinch but the tarp had to be replaced every year, at least in Florida. The 20 x 20 size is great.


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## Caprice Acres (Mar 6, 2005)

I have a 10X8' shed for my 6 pygmy goats. supposedly would hold 8 grown pygmy goats, and i believe it. Was easy to put togeather exept that it was a windy day. get the flooring kit, which is pretty much just plywood and some other parts. after the flooring kid was made my dad added some extra 2x4's onto the bottom of that for extra strenghth. Then after we put the whole thing togeather, my dad went out and bought that epoxy garage floor covering and we put that down thick in the shed. Worked excellently, keeps the moisture from rotting the wood away.


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## BlessedMom (Jul 20, 2004)

Okay, here are the pics I took this morning. I will try to get better ones, it's just pouring down rain right now. and we have a big blue tarp to keep most of it dry right now, so pics from the outside are not going to help.
This is a scrap barn. We built the main barn first, now we are adding on a "wing" and will add another wing later as time and materials permit.
We were able to get someone's old decking for free and also pallet are free in abundance. We use pallets for walls and for creep feeders. the roof is metal from metal scraps that my father in law had for years. I have asked my husband for a skylight though. We'll get some clear roofing for a section of the barn, making it brighter during the day so I can see what I am doing! There will be two doors - one each end. As you can see it is a work in progress.

Here are the pics:

http://www.sonshinefarmers.com/barn1.jpg

http://www.sonshinefarmers.com/barn2.jpg


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## Tango (Aug 19, 2002)

thanks for the photos  Big files!!! I have to shrink them down so I can get an idea of it all but what an undertaking. I commend yo for your construction work and resourcefulness. AND you just gave me a great idea! :happy: I can get pallets for free and can use them as dividers to make individual stalls. That way each doe and kid group can have her own space. Woohoo! I love this place :clap: 

TexCountryWoman, thanks for the explanation. I can visualize that. How do yo attach the roof?


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## BlessedMom (Jul 20, 2004)

Sorry, I don't have a photo program right now that will let me shrink the photos.
I'll send more pics as it dries up and we go along.
What you can see is the opposite side that I have white washed. I'm going to white wash it all. Our does are about to kid..so we are trying to race against time to get it all done up for them.
It rains practically every day here. Oy vey!
oh and I forgot to add, you can use pallets to make creep feeders for the little ones but just moving around the boards or just removing them (depending on how the pallet is made).


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## caroline00 (Nov 10, 2002)

if you concrete your posts in the ground, you can skip the frame and just nail the boards on those.

In Ca, we used T-posts and plywood...
we put the posts in the ground where we needed them and then drilled holes in the plywood and wired them to the posts... the roof was wired to the walls... the first winter, we added a 4th side, slanting it so that were was a doorway for them to slide thru... we didnt need a door there because of the mild winters. The shelters were 8'x8' and 4' high. It makes really good portable shelters if you move them from area to area to browse


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## marvella (Oct 12, 2003)

tango are they scrub goats? mine get by just fine all year round under a thick stand of pine trees. they actually seem to prefer it and only go in the barn when the weather is really, really bad.


(and boy can i relate to the goats on the porch thing....)


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## Tango (Aug 19, 2002)

marvella said:


> (and boy can i relate to the goats on the porch thing....)


I feel badly for them  the first day they were disoriented. Three of this year's kids were born under the porch. It is 6 x 32 and provides them with a safe place right outside the house. I thought it was an ideal shelter for them, with hay they sayed warm throghout winter cause the house faces south. But then they started to get on the porch and poop all over it. It was gross and made the house look neglected. Couldn't come to the door or step outside without dirtying your shoes. Then they also took to playing at night when we are asleep. They like to hear their hooves pounce on the wood and run up and down the steps. Several times each night they woke us up, playing. Had they been well-behaved goats, they'd still be sleeping beneath the porch. I like for my goats to be by the house, but it was just too much. I'm lucky that my cousin was kind to fence them out for me. They are Alpine mostly- they really dislike water anywhere but in a bowl.


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## Tango (Aug 19, 2002)

caroline00 said:


> if you concrete your posts in the ground, you can skip the frame and just nail the boards on those.


That was the way I did it in Florida for a sow shelter that later became the goat shelter when the pigs were moved. It was very easy for me to do. Thanks.


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## Tango (Aug 19, 2002)

BlessedMom said:


> Sorry, I don't have a photo program right now that will let me shrink the photos.
> I'll send more pics as it dries up and we go along.


No problem at all! I think you are doing a great job there. It looks excellent and the photos help me visualize my shelter.


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