Added Another Barn!

NIGEL:

Originally we anticipated that the goats would sort the pecking order & then get along reasonably well. Unfortunately this hasn't really happened! Daisy, being completely passive, is at the bottom of the pecking order, which is fine. The problem is that the French Alpines (especially Lunch & Chards) bully her beyond the pecking order activities (according to what we have read). Lunch would drive his quite long & sharp horns into her midriff so hard it would lift her off the ground...& sometimes drive her into the barn wall!!

With winter approaching (we've been relatively lucky as it has been mild) I needed to ensure all had shelter from freezing rain, snow & blistering winds 30-70 mph! So I added another barn using as much leftover materials as possible/practical, while the weather was decent (& not so decent as well!).

Not being able to use concrete (too cold for it to set properly) I have completed a 2nd small barn by digging deep holes into the ground to anchor the framework. Susan now calls the coop & two barns.... the compound! This one has a window for the warmer months, doors, a feeder & another rain barrel.

It will also come in handy if/when we breed kids from Merlot & Daisy. The trouble has been finding a Boer billy to be the sire. Most Boer goats appear to "live off the mountain," so I am a little behind it getting them mated.

I also added to the 1st barn (see first 3 photos), by extending the shelter all the way to the coop & adding a small awning to limit wind blown rain from entering the shelters. In both barns the floors below the sleeping lofts are now completely concrete block to provide dry areas to stand & lay. We have a had, & continue to have, loads of rain which flows down the slopes of our yard & paddocks. A lot flows through the barn areas. The goats definitely have a choice of cover, although I am locking Daisy in the new barn at night to be sure she is under cover.