I was talking with a friend the other day who had been having some behavioral issues with his goats, and was a bit confused about what was causing it.
Goats are known to be animals full of personality and attitude, and that can very often lead to disagreements and frustrations with one another.
I’ve always found that issues like this are down to a question of space.
Indoor space especially, if too limited, can mean goats don’t get enough personal space and start acting out.
So, I decided to look deeper into the question.
How much space does a goat need in a barn?
As a rule, each goat in your herd should have at least 20 square feet of indoor space. If you are keeping them penned separately, up to 40 square feet is a common amount of space to give each goat. At least 20 is the best amalgamation of the advice I have found and in my experience.
Goats need a fairly extensive amount of indoor space, then, and you should keep this strongly in mind if you’re thinking of rearing goats.
They are not like house pets and need a lot of space to keep to themselves at night and stay happy and healthy.
Different goats will however have different needs, so it’s important to take a few things into account about your own personal circumstances.
How big should a barn be for goats?
So, the basic rule is at least 20 square feet for every goat in your barn.
This is the bare minimum and would be best for goats who will spend a lot of their time roaming on a large pasture.
So, obviously, you will need to look at how much outdoor space you have, and plan accordingly.
If you have less outdoor space, your goats may need a bigger personal space to come back to.
The local climate is also an important consideration.
Goats are pretty hardy and are not bothered by most types of weather, but they are still not huge fans of the cold and certainly not of rain.
If you live somewhere very wet or with very long winters, you will want to provide your goats with a larger indoor space as they will be spending more time there.
If you live somewhere very warm and dry, your goats will spend less time indoors and would do okay with a smaller sleeping area.
Never less than 20 square feet, though.
So, how big would your barn be in total then?
If you’re penning in your goats separately, you’ll need to factor in the space taken up by fencing and by the space you need to walk around and access your goats.
For a family of, say, four goats, the barn would be somewhere between 500 and 750 square feet, or larger if they will spend more time there.
You’ll need to plan carefully and, again, it’s better to build it slightly too big than too small.
Goats need a lot of space both indoors and outdoors.
What do I need in a goat barn?
Your barn won’t simply be a big, empty shelter for your goats.
It will need to accommodate a few different things, some of which I’ve touched on already.
Obviously, the key thing is your goat’s individual pens.
Plan the barn around these, which will take up the largest amount of space.
Fencing is the divider here, and different breeds of goat will need different heights for their fences, but at least 42 inches tall is a good bet.
Goats like to be able to see each other even when they’re penned separately, so keep this in mind.
Fencing will take up more space than you realize, so plan carefully.
As I said, you also need to make allowances for when you yourself use it.
It will need to be tall enough for you to walk in and have enough space for you to move goats and feed in and out.
A barn that is too small can cause havoc for a number of reasons, especially when you need to get specialized equipment inside.
You will also need an area to store hay and grain for your goats, and each individual pen will need space to hold both food and some form of bedding.
Storing food directly inside the barn eliminates the need to move feed across from one place to another and makes the process much faster.
An area to store basic tools and care equipment is also handy.
Your goats will require some form of grooming, and, again, having your brushes, buckets and other grooming gear inside your barn eliminates the need to carry it over from somewhere else.
So, there are more than a few requirements for a goat barn.
The main and most important thing, of course, is that every goat has a good amount of space to themselves.
Everything else is mostly secondary and down to convenience, but equally it will give you the best chance of caring for your goat as well as you can.
Goats need no small amount of space, then.
They’re highly active and, weather permitting, will spend most of their time roaming around their large range browsing for food and playing.
The outdoor space is, in many ways, much more important than the indoor space; for the healthiest and happiest goat, the barn will mostly just be a place where it sleeps at night, and won’t spend much time there otherwise.
Consider your individual circumstances, in terms of climate and available outdoor space, when planning your barn for your goats.
Goats are by no means high maintenance, but they’re also, as I said, not house pets.
Keep all this in mind and you’ll have a great living space for your goats.