Newbie question: Does goat shelter have to have dirt floor?

[Granolamom]

I'm getting everything ready for the 2 goats we will hopefully be getting in the near future. My plan was to house them in a converted kids' playhouse at night, and I was about to purchase one off Craigslist. Then, last night, I was on the Fias Co Website, and read that the goat shelter needs to have a dirt floor, in order to let the urin seep into the ground. Well, shucks! So much for my cute playhouse plan! Or do you think I can get away with it, by using lots of wood chips, Stall-dry, and straw on top...? Will I regret it if I do it that way?

 

[redhen]

my goats house has a plywood floor that was sealed and then covered over with vinyl flooring....and i just keep my straw bedding real deep....so far it has worked great....

 

[enola]

You will regret it ! No matter how much you clean, bed and clean again, the wooden floor is going to get soaked...... in other words ruined.

(Hoping not to make anyone mad with the following opinion)..... Over the years I have learned, if you are not prepared for an animal before you acquire it, you are asking for a night mare.

And this is particularly true with goats. They are sweet little animals tha are VERY VERY destructive when they are just being their little ol' goatselves.

 

[Granolamom]

Quote:
That's exactly why I'm asking these questions waaaayyy before they get here: so I'll be ready for whatever. I will wait for some more opinions, and then either cancel the purchase of the playhouse, or go with it ( I do prefer the idea of having a little "house" that I can lock up at night, to keep them safe in, just like I do with the chickens).

 

[PotterWatch]

Our goat house has a wood floor. We have it sealed well and keep the litter deep just like redhed said. We were prepared for goats, we just don't have the option of a dirt area where our goat house goes.

 

[bheila]

Line the floor with linoleum or a rubber mat first. I use stall pellets in our goat shed and I love it. I just scoop out the poop and pee every couple of days. What I love about it is it's like clumping cat litter for the urine and my goats poop in the same corner so they make it pretty easy for me to clean. To me there is less waste then shavings to clean.

 

[PotterWatch]

How much do the stall pellets cost?

 

[Granolamom]

Quote:
...and what are they made of? I would like to use the manure for composting/fertilizing. Would I still be able to do that? Do you get them at TSC or comparable store?

 

[mamabird]

Welcome to the world of goats! It does sound like you are planning ahead...and I would go ahead with the playhouse idea. We have a wood floor in our goat shed - it does get messy if you don't change the bedding frequently, but it can be done. I would use horse stall pellets (the kind that expand when they get wet) and shavings. You could always get a stall mat to put down overtop of the wood to help with the 'wet', but no matter what you do - if you stay on top of cleaning, you should be fine.

What kind of goats are you getting??

Here - stall pellets are about $6 per bag at TSC and are made of compressed pine (I think)

 

[helmstead]

You can go either way. We have dirt floors. A few of our houses have wood floors. I do recommend matting the wood, because it absorbs ammonia like nothing else and is impossible to deodorize.

The pelleted shavings are more expensive, but I can't remember exactly how much. I just use kiln dried pine shavings, which run about $5 a bag.