Our wannabe farm is starting to feel like a farm. We’ve added another goat to our place and she is such a sweetheart. The farm we got her from use to show her, so she has been handled amply. She may also have been bred and will be due in March 2020 if the breeding took. We are really excited about our goats because they are our first real livestock, and they are a lot of fun to have around.

The electric fencing was a great idea! It was super simple to set up and took us just a few hours to put together. Although, it took the goats each a lot longer to learn about the hot wire, but they eventually got it and no longer try to get out. Our new goat Joy took a little longer than Butterscotch. She’s used to being with a large herd, so every time we would walk away she would just plow through the wire or crawl underneath the bottom wire. We ended up having to put some bricks around the area she would crawl under. Once she stops looking to that area we will remove the bricks.

This is Joy, our new girl. Isn’t she a cutie?

After some researching, I came up with a quick way to build them a shelter, and I also found tons of ideas for a goat playground. Goats are clever animals that know how to have fun. They need things to jump on and explore, otherwise they get into trouble finding fulfillment for themselves. We have plenty of materials laying around to get creative for their playground. And we have plenty of wood for building them a shelter. A quick search on the internet gave me great ideas for using the bunch of pallet wood we have laying around. I presented the idea to my husband and he agreed it would be a quick solution for shelter for our girls. Winter is creeping up on us, night temperatures are already below freezing, so they will need something soon to shield them from the harsh cold wind and snow.

It took a total of six pallets, two sheets of smart panel, a few cut 2×6’s, a miscellaneous pallet frame of 2×3’s and OSB plywood and some miscellaneous pieces of 2×4 and 2×3’s for this shelter. We used a pallet on each side, two on the back with one in the middle as a separator and one attached to the middle pallet creating a front barrier. We used one sheet of smart paneling on top for the roof and one split into three pieces for the front and sides. We just did enough on the sides so that if they are laying down the wind is blocked. The front is facing south and the wind normally blows from west to east vice versa. There are more sheets of smart paneling laying around I plan on using for the back for added protection from the wind. I also plan on slapping a coat of paint on it, just to protect it from the elements and make it a bit more presentable. I didn’t get any pictures of how we put it together, but there is no real right or wrong way. Use your imagination and trust me, it will come together nice either way you do it. Pallets are versatile and if you get some good ones they are extremely sturdy as well. For this not costing us a dime, I’d say it came out pretty well and I’m extremely happy with how sturdy it feels. I just hope the girls make use of it!

What do you think about our free pallet shelter for the goats? Think it should hold up fairly well through the winter?

This area is the weedville of our 40 acres. Come spring, the weeds will start growing again and they will have plenty to eat. Other than supplementing them with selenium and hay, they should have a lot to graze here.

It’s not pretty but I believe it will do the job of keeping them out of the elements. They have a fairly large area now for just the two goats and I cannot wait to continue building their area out!

Until next time, God bless!

-Cristina