Building a goat sleeping platform was one of the simplest projects we have put together on the farm. The hardest part of the project was nagging reminding my son to please pick up some pallets for me since he has the large truck with out a cap on it.
Each section of the goat sleeping platform goats, used two pallets. You can make your goat sleeping platform as large as you need to or what your barn space will allow.
Raising different species of livestock adds much to our lives. I love thinking up projects that will enrich the lives of our animals and keep them comfortable. It doesn’t have to be a fancy fix to add some comfort to the goats, sheep and pigs lives. They don’t get fancy around here, but they sure are kept comfortable! Lots of dry bedding is one of the care essentials. As I age, I feel aches and pains where there were none before. Animals experience this phenomenon of aging, too.
Goats require good nutrition, safe, dry housing, and plenty of forage. Mostly, goats are easy keepers, as long as they have their needs met and any problems addressed promptly.
As often as possible, I like to use natural preventative care and natural remedies for my goats. Building these raised goat sleeping platforms fit right in with our preventative goals.
Why Build a Raised Goat Sleeping Platform?
Age is one consideration when thinking about building a goat sleeping platform for goats. Our flock of Pygora fiber goats are getting up in years now. Our first goats, that we purchased in 2004, are considered senior citizens! Goats can get sore joints as they age. Similar to large dogs in size, goats can get stiff, sore joints, and be stiff when they try to get up from resting. Giving goats a raised goat sleeping platform can help by keeping the joints warmer. Add a thick cushion of dry straw to make everything really comfortable.
Foot rot is another reason to build a goat sleeping platform. Anything you can do to keep the goat on dry ground, helps prevent an outbreak of foot scald which, with the right combination of bacteria, can lead to foot rot. Once foot rot is present in your barn or paddocks it will remain there. It waits for the right opportunity to flare up from a tiny sore area in between the goat hoof “toes”.
A third reason to build a goat sleeping platform is because goats like to climb! They will enjoy being up even a few inches off the ground. As long as the platforms you build are sturdy and stable, the goats will use this structure.
Fiber goats will have a nicer fleece harvest, if the goat remains clean and dry throughout the winter. Sleeping off the damp ground helps keep the fiber in top shape.
In Case Of Emergency….
If your barn happens to get a minor flood from a heavy storm, having a platform already built, gives the goats somewhere to stand while they wait for you to “rescue” them. This happened to us one winter. We arrived to find the goats fighting for places that were anywhere above the few inches of water that had invaded the stalls. Building a few swales helped redirect the rain waters but the goats were very unhappy about the situation!
What We Used for the Goat Sleeping Platforms
Two pallets per section. – I made a double platform for the stall with six goats. They can’t all sleep on it, comfortably but it keeps most of them off the ground. As we reconfigure the barn, arrangements will be made to have sleeping platform space for all the goats.
Stack two pallets. Add pallet stacks as needed. Two sections of stacked pallets will require one sheet of plywood to cover the open slats.
Cover the pallet structure with the sheet of plywood. Use a nail or two in each end to keep it stable.
Cover the pallet goat sleeping platform with straw. The space underneath the platform will trap warmer air. Also cover the stall floor with a good layer of dry bedding and straw. Replace wet areas as needed to keep the flooring dry.
Let me know in the comments if you try this with your goats or have found another method. I would love to hear your feedback.
Look for this project and over 50 others in my next book- 50 Do It Yourself Projects for Keeping Goats (Skyhorse Publishing 2020)
That is a good idea. I haven’t got any goats yet, but I’m thinking about getting them. Just a word about pallets: they can be useful, however, they are made with nails or tacks that easily come loose. PLEASE be careful with them around livestock as they can kill!
We built a 4’ x 8’ raised platform for our 3 Nubian Goats to sleep on. It’s only 4-5” off the ground but I thought it would help get them out of the muck. NOPE! Silly me, now it just means they have even less space in their barn. They’ll walk on it from time to time. But so far they sleep on the ground right in front of the platform IN all the muck. WTH?!? Good thing they’re cute . . .