Homemade Stalls for Goats

Whether you have only a few goats for pets or a commercial herd of 50 does for meat production, separate stalls help you provide individualized care for your goats throughout the year. Although you can purchase premade stalls from livestock supply stores and individual fabricators, constructing your own stalls gives you the double benefit of customizing your design for your herd and saving money.

  1. Materials

    • Wood is your least expensive option for building materials, but goats are notorious for chewing and gnawing on it, so wooden stalls have a shorter lifespan than those made with other materials. If you choose to use wood, don't use treated lumber, since it could poison your goats when they gnaw on it. Steel piping is a wonderful option in terms of strength, but unless you know how to weld (or you can barter for such services with a friend), having to pay a contractor to weld the tubing together for you could prove costly. Cattle panels work well, but you need to provide a support structure to keep the stalls from falling over. Steel T-posts and baling wire are affordable options for a support structure, but you must be sure to secure the wire tightly to avoid having your goats cut themselves on the sharp ends.

    Considerations

    • Think about the goats that will use your homemade stalls. Adult male goats (bucks) are much larger and stronger than a group of kids or pregnant does. If you're making a stall for a buck, the sides must be at least six feet high and constructed of very sturdy material (such as cattle panels) to keep your buck from escaping. As a result of their small size, kids are escape artists, as well, so make sure your kid stall is either constructed of solid materials or has little openings that they cannot fit through. Although cattle panels won't contain younger goats, the shorter goat or hog panels are ideal for this task.
      Plan ahead and allow enough space in your homemade stalls to accommodate the number of goats you wish to contain. Allow at least 25 square feet of space for each adult goat; this provides enough room for your animals to move around and get adequate exercise--an important consideration if they are going to be in the stall for more than a few days. Remember that it's better for your goats to have too much room than too little. If you construct built-in feeders, position them in accessible locations to make feeding time easier.
      Pay particular attention to your stall gates, especially if you house your grain supply in the same building as your goats. Overeating disease often occurs when goats escape from their stalls. Gail Damerow, the author of "Your Goats," recommends that you use latches that require two distinct motions (such as lowering and pushing) to make it harder for your goats to open the gates.