Pens for livestock
Working pen for
sorting livestock
10’ x 10’
Works best in the corner of a fence, with a gate in one side.
Also should have a working chute maximum 6’ wide at area where would load or unload from a livestock truck. (Shurley)
Works best in the corner of a fence, with a gate in one side.
Also should have a working chute maximum 6’ wide at area where would load or unload from a livestock truck. (Shurley)
Breeding pen:
150’ x 150’ will
hold 30-50 goats (Shurley)
Quarantine pen:
size depends
on # of animals coming in at one time.
Should have washable floor that can be easily disinfected. (Shurley)
Maternity pens:
4’ x 5’ in size. One pen for every 10 does in
herd. (Schoenian)
5’ x 5’ with heat lamps. (Shurley)
5’ x 5’ with heat lamps. (Shurley)
Regulations for setting up the milk room and parlor
Contact your nearest Wisconsin USDA office and ask for
information on setting up a dairy. They'll give you a packet of information with copies of the
statues, specific instructions on special topics such as minimum separation
distance requirements between potable or non-potable wells, reservoirs, springs
and possible sources of contamination, C.I.P. milking system requirements, milk
house construction requirements, milking parlor construction standards, bulk
tank installation requirements etc. They will also have information on
value-added operations such as selling milk and meat products if you are
interested in that.
State of Wisconsin, regional office locator: http://offices.sc.egov.usda.gov/locator/app?state=us&agency=fsa)
State of Wisconsin, regional office locator: http://offices.sc.egov.usda.gov/locator/app?state=us&agency=fsa)
Sample Farms: Diagrams of existing dairy set-ups
This section contains diagrams of barns that have been
remodeled for goat dairies. You will see the circular flow from pens to
milking parlor that is so important to a smooth milking routine, and you will
see different ways to handle the feeding of hay and baleage.
Click on the farm number in the left column to see a diagram of the barn and a description of the farm:
Click on the farm number in the left column to see a diagram of the barn and a description of the farm:
| Barn types on farm | Milking setup | Stand | Feeding | Equipment | |
| Farm 1 | Remodeled older barn with additions | portable milking machine | oval metal | round bales hay and baleage | tractor |
| Farm 2 (see below)* | Two remodeled older barns | highline, swing, pipeline | metal double 8 | small and lg. square hay, round baleage | tractor |
| Farm 3 | Two pole barns | lowline pipeline | cement single 6 | round bales, hay | 2 tractors, 2 skid steers |
| Farm 4 | Two converted horse arenas side by side | highline pipeline | metal double 6 | round bales, hay | skid steer |
| Farm 5 | Remodeled barn | lowline pipeline | cement double 8 | small square bales hay, fed from outside building directly into indoor pens (idea could be adapted for round or lg. squares) | tractor |
| Farm 6 | Pole barn with 2 additions | low line pipeline | Milking pit with stanchions along two sides | large square bales | skid steer |
* Farm 2 has a lot of detail.. Click each entry separately.
(Producer tip: Consider making detailed drawings like this for your own farm. It saves a lot of time when you are planning a job or ordering materials.)
Stocking Rates
Stocking rates vary widely from author to author. There are several listed here, so you can see the range of what is considered acceptable.
When you figure stocking rates, measure only open space. Take the total area of the building and subtract feed bunk space, gutter space, ramp and walkway space. Then divide the remaining area by the stocking rate.
Be sure to read through “Grouping Goats To Simplify Feeding” in the Nutrition section of this website, so you can see how many pens you need.
| Area | Sq. ft/ Adult Goat | Sq. ft / Kid |
| Indoor Areas | ||
| Confinement housing loafing areas |
Varies widely:
15 sq. ft.** 20 sq. ft (**** and*****) 10 sq. ft. but 5 sq. ft. (absolute minimum) (Shurley) |
Varies:
8-10 sq. ft.* 5 sq. ft. absolute minimum per set of kids (Shurley) |
| Holding pens | 5.5 sq. ft. | |
| Open front building with lot | 10-15 sq. ft. **** | 6- 8 sq. ft * |
| Slotted floor (confinement) | 8-10 sq. ft. * | 4- 5 sq. ft *. |
| Outdoor Areas | ||
| Outside lot | 25 sq. ft. **** | 15-20 sq. ft. * |
| Pasture |
8 adult dairy goats per acre*
6 adult dairy goats per acre (Brown) 5 large meat goats per acre *** |
-- |
* adapted from The Sheep Handbook **ADGA *** Greene ****McKinney *****Schoenian
Note re: Schoenian recommendation of 20 sq ft. of space for goats in confinement: an additional 30 sq. ft. of exercise yard is needed if pasture is not available.
Temperature tolerances
The comfort zone for dairy goats is 55-70 degrees F. Temperatures over 80 degrees F. seriously reduce feed consumption and milk output. (Steevens)
Ventilation
In Winter........ move 20 cubic feet per minute per animal
In Summer..... move 150-200 cubic feet per minute per animal
In Summer..... move 150-200 cubic feet per minute per animal
(Stevens) (McKinney)
Do not put fans on the floor. Goats get pneumonia very easily whenever wind blows in their face. Hang fans well above the goats heads. (Zimmerman)
Link:
Getting ready for summer http://www.uvm.edu/sustainableagriculture/SRDPspring06.PDF
Getting ready for summer http://www.uvm.edu/sustainableagriculture/SRDPspring06.PDF
Very specific
information on air exchange rates for different classes of goats.
Wall Materials
For walls: Goats will chew holes in anything made of plywood or pressed
wood, but they do not chew rough exterior 100%
wood siding, so it makes a very good material to use for walls. It comes in 4’x8’ sheets and there are lines in the wood every 6-8” like a wide wainscoting. It’s available at Menards and Home Depot near the plywood.
For washable walls in milk rooms, sick pens and maternity pens, use 4 x 8 panels of "white board", with joining and edging strips to seal the edges. There is a special nail/screw for these panels. You will need a good, even structure behind the panels to support them. These panels can also be used to line the bottom of feed bunks, to keep the bottoms of the bunks from rotting out, and so they can be cleaned easily.
Producer's Tip: Extra pieces of white board can be put to work on the wall as blackboards. Use white board markers, and clean the board with rubbing alcohol.
wood siding, so it makes a very good material to use for walls. It comes in 4’x8’ sheets and there are lines in the wood every 6-8” like a wide wainscoting. It’s available at Menards and Home Depot near the plywood.
For washable walls in milk rooms, sick pens and maternity pens, use 4 x 8 panels of "white board", with joining and edging strips to seal the edges. There is a special nail/screw for these panels. You will need a good, even structure behind the panels to support them. These panels can also be used to line the bottom of feed bunks, to keep the bottoms of the bunks from rotting out, and so they can be cleaned easily.
Producer's Tip: Extra pieces of white board can be put to work on the wall as blackboards. Use white board markers, and clean the board with rubbing alcohol.
Water
Considerations
In order to prevent goats from defecating into short tanks,
either raise tanks on a cement platform, or use a tank with higher sides, and
then put a cement blocks in the bottom of the tank to limit the depth to the
recommended 12 to 14 inches, so that if a goat falls in, it can get its footing
to get back out. You also can place
ramps in front of a deep trough to enable small goats to reach the water.
(Shurley)
Removable Watering Unit
Producer tip: See how to build this inexpensive indoor water unit made with standard metal water pipe, a Hudson Valve, a Plasson Coupler, a standard bucket and bucket
holder. Easy to clean and works great. Can be heat-taped in
winter. (Parts available from Kencove Farm Fencing.)
This is a portable pasture water barrel. See more information on it at the Grazing page, and see plans for making the barrel at Plans.
(Red River Farm LLC)
(Red River Farm LLC)Water Conversions
| 1 gallon | 231 cubic inches |
| 4 quarts | 1 gallon |
| 31.5 gallons | 1 barrel |
Stocking Rate for Waterers
|
Stocking Rate for Waterers |
Adult Small Ruminants |
Young Small Ruminants |
|
Per automatic bowl |
40-50 |
50-75 |
|
Per foot of tank perimeter |
15-25 |
25-40 |
(Adapted from The Sheep Handbook)
Water Tank Capacity (round)
| Diameter in Feet | Gallons per 1 Ft. of Depth | Gallons per 1 In. of Depth |
| 3 feet | 52.88 | 4.41 |
| 4 feet | 94.00 | 7.83 |
| 5 feet | 146.88 | 12.24 |
| 6 feet | 211.51 | 17.63 |
| 8 feet | 376.00 | 31.33 |
| 9 feet | 476.00 | 38.00 |
| 10 feet | 588.00 | 49.00 |
Water Tank
Capacity (oval)
| Width in Feet |
Height in Feet |
Length in Feet |
Gallons per 1 In. of Depth |
Total Gallons |
| 2 Feet | 2 Feet | 4 Feet | 3.94 | 91 |
| 2 Feet | 2 Feet | 6 Feet | 5.91 | 144 |
| 3 Feet | 2 Feet | 8 Feet | 12.47 | 293 |
| 3 Feet | 2 Feet | 10 Feet | 16.08 | 374 |
| 3 Feet | 2 Feet | 12 Feet | 19.69 | 455 |
Windows
In confinement housing, there should be 1-2 sq. ft. of window per goat. (McKinney)