Thursday, November 25, 2010

Make-shift Shelter

Vet2Be and I built this make-shift shelter for two of the goats. Hubby didn't realize that when I said we needed one more shelter for winter that I really meant it.

So this one is built out of straw bales that we got for free. Since it is for goats, we had to stack the bales as if they were legos so that they wouldn't be easy to knock over. The boxes are filled with straw and are just like the little, square legos that the kids use to fill in the sides.

Here's a view of the back. Lots of rocks, pieces of cement, and junk holding down the sides of the tarp so it doesn't blow away in the wind storms.


The front entrance. Vet2Be and I call the spot to the left the 'kitchen' because we put their hay inside.

It's very cozy and warm inside. It fits the two goats very well. Annie was born this spring, so she is only about 100lbs now and can walk inside the door without scraping her back. She is being bred to Curly who is two, but still not full grown. They can both stand inside and lay down with a little bit of wiggle room.

We really only need the shelter for a few more weeks while Curly is here. He's just visiting Annie for about a month. We'll probably leave the shelter up all winter, though and throw the straw into the garden in the spring.

2 comments:

Tonia said...

Hey it Works!!! You should have seen the first shelter I had when my herd grew quicker than my shelter before I got the tarp barn up!lol It was a huge wooden table along with the original goat house and the hay rack all covered in a huge tarp.. It was spring and they needed protection from wind and rain!
Good job on a snug temporary shelter!

TJ said...

Thanks! You're an inspiration for innovation for me! I love the photos of what you've done and what you've 'made do' on your farm.