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UNIT 4: GOAT HOUSING

 Housing
 Shed orientation
 Shed dimension
 Roof, ventilation management
 Important consideration for construction of goat shed
 Disposal of the manure
 Shed for kids rearing

Goat Housing:
Goat house can be made by using various designs. And specific goat housing design is suitable
for specific production purpose. Three types of house are most common for raising goats.
1. Over Ground housing
Generally this type of houses is made over the ground. This is the most common house for goats.
You can make the floor of this type of goat house with brick and cement or simply with soil.

2. Over Pole housing

This type of houses is made over pole. The floor of the house heights about 1 to 1.5 meters (3.5
to 5 ft.) from the ground. The poles and floor in this housing system are usually made with
bamboo or wood.

3. Concrete House

These types of goat houses are fully made with concrete, and slightly expensive. But concrete
houses have many advantages. It is very easy to clean the house, and easy to always keep your
goats safe from all types of predators.

Shed Orientation:
Orientation plays a major role sheds design as it impacts ventilation. The shed should be
designed in such way that air is circulating and goats are protected from direct sunlight. Hence
East to west orientation is preferred. Cool and warm during winter days. They get good sun
during in the morning and get protection from the sun during daytime. Air is freely moving
which void damping and generation of parasites and worms in the shed.

This keeps goats healthy. That does not mean that you should not follow proper vaccination
routine for goats.

Animal Housing and Environmental Science, Diploma II Year, Dr. Mani Raj Dhakal (B.V.Sc & A.H, 2018, IAAS, TU)
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Figure 3a East West orientation recommended for tropical countries

Figure 2b North South recommended for rainy areas

Animal Housing and Environmental Science, Diploma II Year, Dr. Mani Raj Dhakal (B.V.Sc & A.H, 2018, IAAS, TU)
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Flooring
Flowering should be hard enough and should provide comfort to goats. Mud is preferred and
comparatively cheap. Cement is also used nowadays as it is easy to clean and avoid most of the
parasite founds in a mud bed.

Elevated flooring is good, but it is very much costly. It helps to save labor cost. You should go
with this type of flooring if you have a good budget and taking help from experienced goat
farmer to set up your goat farm.

Floor: The floor could either be packed earth, concrete or slatted (using bamboo or wood).
Packed earth or concrete floors should have a slope of about 5% for good drainage. Raised
platforms where sheep and goats can lie above the floor and away from manure and urine are
beneficial. These can be placed along the longest wall of the barn. 7 Slatted floors should be
raised about 1-1.5 meters above ground level to facilitate easy cleaning and collecting of dung
and urine. The gap between the slats should be 1.4 to 1.6 cm to allow easy passage of fecal
material and guarantee safe footing for the animals. Newborn and young lambs should not be put
on slatted floors. A piece of wood temporarily placed on the slats will prevent leg injury to very
young lambs and kids. A raised, slatted floor in tropical and subtropical areas has the following
advantages:

 No need of bedding
 Allows manure, urine and debris to drop through the slatted floor, thus removing a major
source of disease and parasite infestation
 Requires less labor to clean and maintain
 Remains relatively dry and clean
 Reduced space requirements
 Manure is easily collected for fertilizer use or for sale
 Allows air to pass through the slats increasing ventilation and comfort in hot weather.

The main disadvantage of raised, slatted floors is the high expense of construction. Some
materials, such as bamboo, may be cheaper than wood but may provide less secure footing. For
all but the smallest barns, commercial wood is preferred to bamboo as it stronger and more long-
lasting. Cost, ease of installation and safety must all be considered when selecting flooring
material for a slatted floor. Other concerns with slatted floors are leg and foot problems from too
wide a gap or poor maintenance of existing slatted floors.

Shed Dimension

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 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

Animal Housing and Environmental Science, Diploma II Year, Dr. Mani Raj Dhakal (B.V.Sc & A.H, 2018, IAAS, TU)
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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 filed

Roof, ventilation management

Roof:

The roof provides protection from sun and rain. Slope is important in removing rain. A greater
slope is also beneficial in areas with high rainfall. The roof should be waterproof with sufficient
overhang to prevent rain from blowing in. Adequate ventilation is essential in maintaining
animal health. A high roof encourages air movement but is more likely to be damaged by strong
winds. A roof vent can assist in proper ventilation. Roofs can be constructed from iron sheet,
grass/bushes, wood, stone/brick or earth depending on production system, material availability
and climate.

Ventilation
Ventilation is of utmost importance to maintain a desirable interior temperature of 28 to 30°C. If
the animals cannot get rid of heat because the surrounding temperature is too high (above 30°C),
they eat less and therefore produce less. Majority of pneumonia cases can be traced to
excessively warm and humid interior and sudden changes in temperature. It is, therefore,
necessary to make the shed sufficiently high and make sure there are openings for ventilation in
the roof or walls.

Asbestos roofing is essential in low height sheds and fiber shed could be used in high height
sheds. Always avoid metal roofing because they easily heat up and cool down in summer and
winter respectively. It is difficult to provide ideal environment inside the goat house in such
conditions.

The purpose of ventilation is to provide the desired amount of fresh air, without drafts, to all
parts of the shelter; to maintain temperatures within desired limits; and to maintain ammonia
levels below specified levels. Ventilation is of utmost importance to maintain a desirable interior
temperature of 28 to 30°C. If the animals cannot get rid of heat because the surrounding
temperature is too high (above 30°C), they eat less and therefore produce less. Majority of
pneumonia cases can be traced to excessively warm and humid interior and sudden changes in
temperature. It is, therefore, necessary to make the shed sufficiently high and make sure there are
openings for ventilation in the roof or walls

Animal Housing and Environmental Science, Diploma II Year, Dr. Mani Raj Dhakal (B.V.Sc & A.H, 2018, IAAS, TU)
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Important consideration for construction of goat shed

 Try to select a dry and higher place for making the goat house. Ensure that, the selected
goat housing area is high enough to keep the goats safe from floods.
 You must have to keep the floor of the house dry always.
 Always ensure the huge follow of light and air inside the house.
 Make house in such a way so that it become very suitable for controlling temperature and
moisture.
 Always keep the house free from being damped. Because damping condition is responsible
for various diseases.
 Never let the rain water enter inside the house.
 Try to make the wall of the house with concrete or by using bamboo poles.
 The house must have to strong and comfortable.
 Keep enough space inside the house for taking rest.
 The house must have to have the facilities of cleaning well regularly.
 Goats are feared about cold and water. So take extra care in rainy and winter season.
Otherwise they may caught by Pneumonia.

Floor space requirements

Age groups Covered space (sq. m) Open space (sq. m)

Up to 3 months 0.2-0.25 0.4-0.5
3 months to 6 months 0.5-0.75 1.0-1.5
6 months to 12 months 0.75-1.0 1.5-2.0
Adult animal 1.5 3.0
Male, Pregnant or lactating ewe/ 1.5-2.0 3.0- 4.0
doe

It will be better, if you can keep the nursing and pregnant goats separately. You can extend or
decrease the area of goat house according to the number of goat in your farm. But keep in mind
that, every goat needs their required space for proper growing and better production and the
house is suitable enough to keep them free from adverse weather and all types of

Animal Housing and Environmental Science, Diploma II Year, Dr. Mani Raj Dhakal (B.V.Sc & A.H, 2018, IAAS, TU)
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Disposal of the manure

Keeping our farm clean is the key to raise healthy goats. We must daily remove their waste from
the shelter, because they attract flies and insects. Goats waste when added to crop in land is the
perfect environment for flies to lay their eggs. Thus, a daily sweeping of the goat yard and
shelter keeps the goats clean and free from parasites. During extreme summer heat, it is
beneficial to put a livestock fan inside the shelter so as to promote good ventilation.

The farmers shall examine the ways in which they can take advantage of their goats waste. They
can use it as manure in their crops or sell it to a local merchant. Goats manure is an excellent
fertilizer for herbs, vegetables, trees and other crops. Goats manure is famous for increasing the
water holding capacity of the soil, among other uses.

Shed for kid rearing

Kids always require secure and comfortable accommodations, whether you separate the kids
soon after birth for hand rising or allow your does to nurse their own babies. Minimum back eave
heights of 4 to 6 feet are adequate for sheds, with the front eave heights of 6 to 8 feet. You can
use both clay and concrete flooring. Kids are vulnerable to predators. So it’s very important to
make your goat’s shed and pasture predator-proof. Keep your goats penned in at night. Make a
strong fencing around the pen, so that it can keep the kids in and predators out. Woven wire is a
good choice for this purpose. You can also add some guard animals, such as dog.

 Lambs or kids from weaning up to attaining maturity are housed in these sheds at the rate
of about 25 animals per shed.
 By making suitable partitions in a larger shed, unweaned, weaned but immature and
nearby maturity lambs can be housed separately.
 On larger farms however, three separate sheds may be constructed to house three
categories of kids or lambs.
 The shed shall be with a dimension of 7.5m (l) ×4m (w) ×3m (h) to accommodate not
more than 75 animals.
 The shed shall be partitioned breadth wise dividing into two compartments. The
compartments having dimension of 5m (l) ×4m (w) ×3m (h) shall be used to keep the
unweaned animals and other compartment with dimension of 2.5m(l)×4m(w) x3m(h)
shall be used for keeping the weaned animals.

Animal Housing and Environmental Science, Diploma II Year, Dr. Mani Raj Dhakal (B.V.Sc & A.H, 2018, IAAS, TU)