Our goats have a cozy, hay filled shed to call their home on these cold winter nights. We feed them in the shed every morning and have it insulated with bales of hay. There is only one problem- the goats don’t sleep in there! For some reason they sleep outside on the cold asphalt under the barn overhang in a corner by the chicken coop. We have gone out to look at them with flashlights at all hours of the night. Now that it is really cold out, I got very concerned.
I posted on the Horsetopia message board and got some great advice.
For example, “We have 3 little pygmy’s. They have fluffed up recently and look like little puffballs with legs. They grow a winter coat. They too have access to an insulated dog house (large one that will fit all 3 comfortably with room to spare) lined with straw but sometimes choose to be outside. Silly goats . If they are warm and don’t appear to be shivering or cold, don’t worry about them too much.
I know we all want our animals to be warm & comfy by our standards, but sometimes, by goat standards, they are warm & comfy just lying in the sun on a bed of straw.”
and
“i live in alberta where it’s not uncommon to get -30 weather. my 5 goats sleep in the barn in cubbies full of straw and wood pallets covered with wood. i have a double door and keep the top half closed. one of my goats doesn’t even go in the barn until it gets fairly cold. i also have two donkeys living in the barn with the goats. they have about 2 feet of straw in there (more if it is -30) and if it is calling for -30 or lower i shut the bottom door overnite. They all get good winter coats but some days you can tell they’re chilly and look kind of miserable. also when it’s colder than normal they get extra hay and cubes. if yours prefer sleeping under the overhang maybe a wooden platform with some straw might be a little comfier so they’re not on frozen ground. i always worry so much with the severe cold but they seem to come out of it just fine. two of the goats are seniors, 3 young goats and two very senior donkeys. my goats also love if i bring out a bucket of really quite hot water to slurp up. their goat “tea”. they do also have a heated water trough. i have also read that if otherwise healthy with a good coat the temps don’t really bother them until it hits about -20. i think it worries me more than it actually affects them.”
So I took this advice, brought them some hot water and built a little hay nest where they like to sleep.
They may not be bothered by the cold, but this will give me some peace of mind.
Birch and Rosey love jumping on the bales of hay and hopping back and forth between them. All that action probably keeps them warm too! They seem happy and warm in their fur coats, so I’m happy.
