Goats and sheep need less elaborate housing than poultry: a three-sided shelter facing away from the prevailing wind, 2-2.5 m² per goat and 1.5-2 m² per sheep, with deep dry bedding and a separate kidding or lambing pen. They tolerate cold far better than damp, so keep the floor and the animals dry.
Part of Barn & Livestock Housing Design
Small-ruminant housing is the shelter, fencing and birthing pen that keep goats and sheep dry, contained and safe through weather and lambing.
Damp Is The Enemy, Not Cold
Goats and sheep are far more cold-tolerant than moisture-tolerant. A wet goat in wind chill is a sick goat. So the shelter’s first job is a dry floor and a windbreak, not warmth. The second job is containment: goats are legendary escape artists and will test every weakness in a fence. The third is a quiet, bedded pen for births.
The parts have their own pages: Shelter Requirements, Fencing & Containment and Lambing Area. For keeping the animals themselves, see Goat Raising.
What You Need
- A three-sided shelter, open side away from the prevailing wind
- Deep bedding — straw or wood shavings
- Fencing that holds goats: 1.2 m minimum height, tensioned, no horizontal rails to stand on
- A separate birthing pen of 2×2 m per doe or ewe
Method: Plan The Housing
Step 1: Count the animals. Multiply goats by 2-2.5 m² and sheep by 1.5-2 m² to get the shelter floor area.
Step 2: Orient the shelter. Face the open side away from the prevailing wind; see Prevailing Wind Patterns.
Step 3: Keep the floor dry. Choose a well-drained spot and keep bedding clean and deep.
Step 4: Fence before the animals arrive. Put the fencing up first; see Fencing and Shelter.
Step 5: Prepare the birthing pen. Have it bedded and draft-free before the first births.
Common Mistakes
- Planning for cold, not damp — mud and wet bedding make animals sick faster than frost.
- A fence with rails — goats stand on horizontal rails and walk over.
- No birthing pen — births in the open, in wet or cold, lose young animals.
Safety
Birth and disease
Birthing fluids and afterbirth can carry disease that spreads to people; see Lambing Area. Electric fencing needs a proper energiser; see Fencing & Containment.
What’s Next
- Learn next: Shelter Requirements — space, bedding and height
- Combine with: Pasture Management — what the animals eat when they leave the shelter