goat housing or shed

Introduction to Goat Housing or Shed:- Goat shed or housing plays important role in any successful commercial goat farming. Based on number of goats, you should plan for goat housing. If you want to start with low numbers of goat and wants to invest less initially, there is an option for going to construct a simple goat shed. For commercial goat farming business, one must know how to build goat housing. Goat shed is required for security to protect goats from unwanted predators (such as wild dogs, wolfs and snakes), unpredictable weather conditions and to provide shelter in night times. After planning on number of goats to be raised, you can get an idea on shed dimensions or size which can have both covered area and open area. Cost of goat shed construction depends on many factors like number of goats, space allocated for feed storage, and type of rearing like zero grazing (stall feeding) or open field grazing (where they require only night shelter). In the following write-up, let us talk about goat housing.

Tips for Goat Housing Selection and Construction:- The following tips are useful in selecting and managing the goat shed.

Select the land for shed construction which is not impacted by wild winds, predators and floods. The space should be dry and on height.
For good cross-ventilation and good air flow, East-West orientation of goat shed is preferred.
Go for simple shed with low coat material especially when you are in trail method of farming.
Always clean and keep the goat shed dry.
Make sure the shed is well ventilated and has good air flow.
Always make sure to have separate sections for goat based on their age and health conditions.
Gable roofing is preferred in shed construction. However, in case of small goat housing, lean type roofing is preferred.
Goat Housing – Goats should have feeding area and partition for kids.
Goat Housing – If you are planning for intensive goat farming, the pen and run system of housing is preferred.
Goat Housing – Clean the shed and feed area and provide clean and fresh water.
Goat Housing – Any sick animal from shed should be isolated, and in case of death, make sure to bury or burn the animal far away from shed.
Goat Housing – Make sure to have separate feeders for concentrate feeds, green fodders and water. Clean these feeders regularly to avoid any contamination.
Goat Housing – Construct the Goat shed in an elevated area to prevent water stagnation.
Goat Housing – Goat manure should be removed from the shed on regular basis to avoid any diseases.
Goat Housing – If you are growing any green fodder, make the out let from the shed, so after cleaning the shed, water can flow freely to nearby fields.
Goat Housing – Make sure to construct a feed room as part of shed, so that the feed is protected and will be handy.
Goat Housing – In front of the shed, open area should be secured by fence. This area can be used on and off (especially when cleaning the house).
Goat Housing – There is no restriction on length of goat shed. However, it is better to have width of the house should be between 24 feet to 30 feet.
Goat Housing – You can have one or more gates depending on the shed dimensions. The gate can be made with iron or wooden battens. When it comes to gate dimensions, 1 meter x 1 meter is preferred.
Goat Housing – Types of Goat Shed:- Types of sheds depend on the system of goat rearing, let us talk about different type of goat sheds those can be constructed for commercial goat farming business.

Goat Shed Construction Over the Ground: Usually this type of goat shed is made over the ground and this type is most common in Indian goat farmers. The shed floor can be built with brick or soil or cement. However, it is better to spread some dry straw material on the floor. Make sure to maintain the floor always clean and dry.
Goat Shed Construction Over the Poles: These goat sheds are built on poles, usually they height of the floor is going to be about 1.5 meters 2 meters from the ground level. The best part of this type of shed is it can keep goats free from Damp /humid/moist/wet conditions. This type of shed is also useful in areas where occasional floods are possible. This type shed floor and pole are made from wood or bamboo. As this goat said is built above the ground level, one can maintain (especially cleaning) very easily and expect less diseases. Apart from this, any predators like wild dogs or snakes can be prevented from entering into the shed.
Goat Shed with Concrete: Concrete is being used to build these kinds of goat sheds. Compared to other two types, this has more advantage due to easiness of cleaning and management. This type of housing is little bit expensive when compared to others.
Goat Housing – Space Requirement Based on Goat Age and Condition:- The following are meant for Indian Conditions.

Goat age groups

Covered space(sq. meter)

Open space (sq.meter)

Initial 3 months

0.3-0.4

1-1.5

3 – 6 months

0.6-0.9

1.5-2

6 – 12 months

1-1.5

2-2.5

Adult Goats

2

4

Male, Pregnant or lactating ewes/ does

2.5-3

4-5

Goat Housing – Bottom Line in Goat Housing Management:- Before starting a commercial goat farming, visit couple of goat houses or sheds in your local area to get an clear picture of the shed material and shed dimensions and intensive or stall-fed goat farming. Even you can watch YouTube videos or read these kind of blogs for more information.

goat farm sheds design

For efficient production in dairy goats, good health and comfort to the animal is a must. To achieve this, housing of goats is important. The house should protect the goats from sun, rain and cold nights. To prevent water logging the floor of the pen should be raised by about 1 to 1.5 meters from the ground floor. Slotted floors help in easy collection of manure and urine.

To protect the goats from cold air a wall of at least 1.5 meter high should be built. If the floor is made of clay it should be compact and sloppy towards one corner.

Housing

Goats come originally from the open mountains and do not like being closely confined. They like plenty of fresh air and love a clean and dry sleeping place. Under village conditions, goats generally do not require any special housing. They should, however, be protected against bad weather and wild animals. Under farm and city conditions, it is economical to provide special housing for goats. Several pens may be made according to the number of goats.

In case of milky goats, separate pens for lambs should be constructed at the very adjacent of the dam’s pen. The partition between the mother and the kids should be such that both can see each other. The buck should be housed away from the milking goats. The house should have plenty of fresh air, sunshine and well drained. The materials for constructing goat’s house may be of anything like bamboo, wooden or pukka.

Efficient Goat Shelter for Hot Zones

Scientists at the Central Institute for Research on goats (CIRG) at Farah near Mathura have designed an effective and low-cost housing for goats. The high-roof shed covered with fire-proof material has been found to be cooler than housings made using conventional reeds, hay thatches and asbestos sheet.

The scientists have established that a shed with its main axis running east-west provides a cooler environment underneath, and it was the best for hot-arid conditions. The open type shed has an advantage over the closed ones. The width and size of the shelter vary with the animal size, and for goats and sheep the optimum has been determined to be five to six meters. The length will depend on the strength of the flock or herd.

The height of the shelter in the hot regions should be between three and five meters, and a height less than this will result in poor ventilation. The heat loss through radiation to cool sky is also curtailed in low roof shelter. The shape of the roof can either be flat, sloped or ‘A’ shaped. The A-type roof has definite advantages over the rest in the hot region, as one side of the roof will save the other half from direct solar radiation by casting its shadow. This helps in cutting down heat gain from the roof of the shelter.

Of the different materials used for the roof, the fire-proof tar-coated type has been found quite effective. Shelter surroundings should be kept as green as possible to avoid heating up of the shed. For good ventilation and to protect the animals from the direct hit of hot winds, the eastern and western sides of the sheds should be covered up to a meter height. The roof and eastern and western sides of the sheds should be covered up to a meter height. The roof and walls should be white outside and colored inside. Painting the sidewalls white outside reduces the surface temperature inside by 12 to 22 Degree Centigrade when compared to unpainted walls in places where temperatures remain above 37 degree centigrade.

Water can be sprayed on the floor and roof of shelters periodically to reduce heat load on the animals during peak summer. The scientists have also prepared the details of shed under loose housing system. Adult breeding goats or nannies are to be housed in groups of 60 to 80 goats. Milch goats should not be allowed to run together in their house for getting roughages and concentrates. They should be fed in separate stalls or in a group of eight to ten does.

Goats in an advanced stage of pregnancy, at least four to seven days before kidding, must be housed individually. Kids from one week after birth to sub-adult stages should be kept at the rate of 20 to 25 per shed. By making suitable partitions in a larger shed, unweaned, weaned but immature and near-matured kids can be housed separately. Drought-free small rooms to house 15 to 20 newly born kids are essential to raise a good breeding stock. The bucks should be kept away from the milking goats, in small groups of 10 or 15, Isolation sheds to keep sick and diseased animals must be provided far away from the rest of the sheds.

Besides housing, other facilities to store concentrate feed, medicine, dipping tanks and related material ought to be provided. Feeding and water troughs should be included within the housing shelters and care taken to ensure feed and water supply all the time.