Tips and tricks for combining a goat and chicken barn

[@caribecastaway6447]

Finally, someone that actually uses their head to maximize the utilization of space and resources. This is just what I have been looking for. Thanks a bunch.

[@FlanaganHomestead]

Thanks for the kind words. I hope your animals prosper

[@wabroad]

I love the idea of lessening predators by having the goats close by, I am re-thinking how I want to organize our layout when we move to our new small lot in Jan!

[@agrarianarc]

I appreciate how frugal you are 👍🏽

[@moonrockpygmies]

I love the ingenuity. I'm building two more shelters and taking some ideas, thank you!

[@nikkibonbon1600]

Love your barn with the trees beside it and how your barn is on a hill. Beautiful! Love your lay out. Innovative. Good way to make raising chickens and goats easier

[@FlanaganHomestead]

Thank you. It is pretty up here. I do wish for a little more flatland though.

[@desireeappier3031]

You have done an amazing job utilizing your space. I'm going to steal some ideas. Well done! 👍

[@theoetkers1798]

These are all literally genius ideas. Thank you so much for this video.

[@FlanaganHomestead]

Thank you, enjoy.

[@lendaselph8266]

Love the setup ... I am in the process of planning a goat/chicken barn and your ideas are easy to follow. Thanks for making this video!

[@FlanaganHomestead]

@@lendaselph8266 glad I could help

[@marleigh9194]

I enjoy your videos. I’m starting my goat/chicken barn today. I’m hoping to have the goats brought home this weekend! I decided to go the watering nipples after so many failed efforts.

[@riahsrabbitry9268]

Wow this is the best set up I’ve seen. I can’t wait till I can expand from rabbits to goats and chickens.

[@bonniemechefske3838]

THIS. IS. GENIUS! Wow! Such efficient use of space! I'm totally going to copy this! Amazing! Subscribed! Well done sir!

[@FlanaganHomestead]

Thank you for the kind words. Many years of limited space and having chickens and goats brought me to this point.

[@tiernanwearen8096]

@@FlanaganHomestead if you could only have one for homesteading witch would it be?

[@FlanaganHomestead]

@@tiernanwearen8096 not sure if you are asking have chickens or goats or which breed of these. If I had to choose between chickens or goats I think I would take chickens. We eat lots of eggs and they produce quickly and cheaply. Can get into it with a lot less money as well.

[@tiernanwearen8096]

@@FlanaganHomestead if you could only chose between pigs and goats as Homestead livestock witch would you choose and why?

[@grinergirls210]

I think your barn is so cool! I love how creative you are with the bunk beds! I think you could run a goat version of an AirBnB!

[@FlanaganHomestead]

You gave me a chuckle "goat air BNB" Thanks for the kind words and watching.

[@f2dw]

This is awesome! Thank you for sharing this video. You inspired me!

[@josephmaxwell6259]

This was a great video! Thanks for the tips. We're starting our herd and are hoping to keep the chickens with/near them.

[@FlanaganHomestead]

Thanks for the compliment. Enjoy your chickens and goats we have for years.

[@janellelouis4224]

Wow 😮 i'm seriously in grateful for yiu sharing your ideas. You just solved multiple of our issues. we have 8 goats and we are ptetty new to being goat parents. We our lil guys at 2 days old last year unexpectedly so we have been learning as we go. i subscribed to your channel today. thank you again passing on your knowledge.

[@FlanaganHomestead]

Thanks for watching and subscribing. I hope you enjoy your goat raising.

[@wolfsounds1]

Awesome idea! Thank you so much!

[@JourneyWithUs13]

❤Kia Ora from Melbourne Australia 🇦🇺 Thank You

[@LJones-uu4xy]

You definitely have ideas to be considered for integrating.

[@Kd4stt.]

Very good video, thanks.

[@queen_of_4]

great ideas, especially the goat body guards.

[@carriejensen9772]

Thank you so much for this video.

[@ZacandCompany]

This is amazing. Thank you so much! One suggestion is to build a frame around the outdoor goat feeding trough using 2x4's, and then put in 2x4's vertically as well, with the end result being holes which they can stick their heads into, but they can't jump into. Taking it even further, you could make a V shape hole so they have to stick their head in up top and move it down lower, then they might not be able to pull back and drop food on the ground while chewing. This would only seem useful imo if feeding chunks of produce that they had a tendency to bite and drop because it's tough to get in one mouth full.

[@FlanaganHomestead]

Thanks for the compliment and the suggestions. I can improve on the feeder a bit

[@hoosierfriend418]

Thank you!

[@lostcreekcabin2021]

That took some planning. Well thought out. 👍👍🇨🇦

[@pizzawarlord9232]

Nice set up

[@muaviahasnain2768]

It's really helpful thanks for wonderful video .....

[@FlanaganHomestead]

Thanks for the kind words good luck with your animals

[@Outyonderranch]

Nice shed love it....

[@FlanaganHomestead]

Thank you.

[@abelromero4373]

I kinda agree on the bedding. It saves those bald knees , with the bedding

[@katebing2944]

Great design. Thank you for sharing.

[@lizpurvis2386]

Thanks for the info

[@djawnsjhilson218]

Really great ideas and good use of work smarter and not harder! We only have 6 chickens and they are hard work! I can always appreciate any tricks to get more out of your effort!

[@FlanaganHomestead]

Glad you like the ideas. If there is any questions you have I might be able to answer let me know.

[@tshell41]

I love your setup and have been working toward the same idea. How many chickens do you have and how big is their coop space?

[@FlanaganHomestead]

I have had as few as six (when I wanted just eggs for myself) and as many as 30 when I sell off a few. Dozen at a time. Their dedicated space in the barn is only 5 feet by 8 feet. They have multiple heights of roosting bars. If they are crowded they can roost with the goats. Automatic chicken door let’s them out to pasture in the morning.

[@REDonFIRE]

@@FlanaganHomestead automatic chicken door?

[@FlanaganHomestead]

@@REDonFIRE I have an automatic chicken door

[@REDonFIRE]

@@FlanaganHomesteadHow do I set one up?

[@FlanaganHomestead]

@@REDonFIRE the chicken doors are pretty simple. Find the one you like and buy it they come with good directions. Most important is how large of a hole to cut for that door. Usually they have a link to a video on how to install. I have run chicken

[@danimal..1016]

Thanks 😊

[@TheKiltedHomesteader]

Thanks for sharing!

[@Miggiesmalls69]

Love your channel. Is this barn insulated?

[@FlanaganHomestead]

Thanks for the compliment. No this barn is not insulated. The goats and chickens can handle the temperatures we get here as long as they have a way to stay dry and block the wind.

[@Miggiesmalls69]

@@FlanaganHomestead Very cool and ty for the quick reply, I'm in south florida so no cold but pretty hot and humid, would you recommend insulation for something like this in a shaded area? Can't find a definitive answer but a fan is cheaper than insulation for a barn haha

[@FlanaganHomestead]

@@Miggiesmalls69 not sure what I would use in your situation. I think the most economical yet effective in your situation would be the large fabric covered rolls they use in pole barns.

[@hecksinc]

Hi, I love your barn!! Very practical. I’m a beginner in the farm life, basically a city chick who inherited a lot of land in a country area so I always have questions… did you have to train/teach the chickens to go through the hole from the goat side into the chicken side or did they just know? Thank you for your video, I gained a ton of information!

[@FlanaganHomestead]

I kept them in for a few days until they knew where home was (where they were to roost at night). Then I just left the hole open and they figured it out. There were a couple chickens that needed guidance for a day or two

[@CC-dc3fe]

Thank you

[@REDonFIRE]

Do I have to get chicken and goat feed or can they just graze off of the couple of acres I’m getting ?

[@FlanaganHomestead]

They can graze off pasture exclusively if there is enough. I like to give a little grain in the morning just so they learn to come to me when I call. Some goat mineral available to them is important as well.

[@kazuza9]

Good job. Do you milk your goats?

[@FlanaganHomestead]

We have only milked our goats a few times. Just so the kids would know what it tastes like. We have considered doing it when several are in milk and learning the process of making cheese, soap etc but have not had the time yet.

[@farmingwithdalton9715]

So I see by watching your videos that your male goat is in with your females most of the time do you leave your buck in your round only reason I ask that is Nigerian dwarf goats cycle every 21 days and I’m looking into getting into breeding them, and some people say to separate the males. Just wondering what your take is on it

[@FlanaganHomestead]

I leave him in. I know many would say not to do this. Occasionally I save a few does for spring breeding. This gives me baby goats in the fall. I can then take mom and her kids to my Christmas tree farm where I have a petting zoo. Everybody loves baby goats.

[@SuperGarden78]

What kind of flooring is it?

[@Philanthropy99]

Love it

[@cozyfarm4366]

Thank you 👍🙂

[@victorm7274]

I put a small roof over the goat feeder with an slanted top so chicken don’t get on top. It stop the goat from getting on top and pooping on it on their feed.

[@alexcruz4640]

I’m new to homesteading so i might be wrong but is it possible that the chickens could pass diseases to the goats and vice versa?

[@FlanaganHomestead]

Some diseases but not many can be transferred between these two animals. The benefits I feel is greater than the risk. It is recommended by many including myself to have the chickens roost and the goats bed down in separate areas. They leave a lot of feces at this time which is the main mode of disease transference.

[@tiernanwearen8096]

@@FlanaganHomestead does having the goats and the chickens in the same space make them both warmer?

[@autobotsvsdecepticons9165]

Great ideas! I have 4 ND does, I'm about to get a buck for breeding. Let me ask you, since you keep your buck with the herd do you have any problems with him trying to breed the kid goats? Also, do you separate your kids with their moms once they're born?

[@FlanaganHomestead]

Yes, he does try to breed with the young does as soon as they are mature enough to go into heat. Ideally we would let them mature more before breeding. I don’t worry about it too much. In nature multiple bucks breed anything in heat. The does that get pregnant have stayed healthy and do a pretty good job kidding. Not quite as good as the older does. I do not separate the kids from the moms since I am not currently milking. The moms do best feeding the kids the best natural nutrients when nursing them.

[@autobotsvsdecepticons9165]

@@FlanaganHomestead thanks for your advice.

[@javmichel2068]

Outstanding

[@Miserableplace]

What are the goats used for?

[@FlanaganHomestead]

First, they keep the brush down on my property. Second, they are in my petting zoo at my Christmas tree farm during sales season, also pumpkin patch petting zoo. Next, I breed them and sell goats. The Nigerian dwarfs are a good milk milk, although I am not currently milking them.

[@Miserableplace]

@@FlanaganHomestead Thanks. Your videos are great by the way. 👍

[@bethanydavis6446]

Do your bucks sleep in the same area as the does?

[@FlanaganHomestead]

Yes, mine do. This makes for less control on timing of breeding but that is not something I am concerned about.

[@teffyvargas5916]

This makes sense I lost a goat who broke into my chickens coop and ate their food , so I often see people have them together and don’t how that works

[@FlanaganHomestead]

Sorry to hear that. I too lost a goat that got into a full bag of chicken feed. It is amazing how small of a hole some goats can get through.

[@REDonFIRE]

@@FlanaganHomestead goats can’t eat chicken feed? I’m new to researching this.

[@MickSupper]

Probably 8 years that I have had chickens and the hens love to sleep and crap in the nesting boxes, and it dawned on me the other day that it might be because the laying boxes are higher than the roosts, so I'm thinking of putting my nesting boxes closer to the ground, lower than the roosts. Seeing your setup and I think that's why, because you have that perch sticking out so they can go inside and lay eggs and it's obvious that they are sleeping and crapping on that perch. Has anyone else came to that conclusion or is it something obvious that I am just now realizing? That pallet on the floor in the goat's pen is begging for rats and snakes to make their nests underneath. I wouldn't put a framed wood floor for goats or chickens because rotting is inevitable. My goats lay happily on the ground they built up with hay and their own poop. I did find some really good tips in this video though. I like what you did with the compost pile. For years I've been throwing food scraps in the chicken coop, but lately they don't seem to eat it and it brings in a ton of flies, so offering them to the goats and chickens sounds like a good idea.

[@kellypearsall4540]

How do you control all the urine?

[@FlanaganHomestead]

Urine is absorbed in all the sawdust and shoveled out. I don’t keep it rotated as quickly as I should. I can be quite the problem.

[@lastharvest4044]

@@FlanaganHomestead Check out biochar... easy enough to make and good to mix in with the sawdust

[@FlanaganHomestead]

@@lastharvest4044 just did more biochar research. Very interesting. I will try to incorporate. Thanks.

[@tiernanwearen8096]

What about insulation?

[@FlanaganHomestead]

I don’t insulate because we don’t have very extreme temps. Also there is always an opening for them to get in and out which allows heat out.

[@theozarksjourneytoself-suf5420]

Can you talk about adding ducks to the mix? LOL

[@FlanaganHomestead]

Ha, I have considered adding ducks but don’t have any right now. So sorry I have no expertise there.

[@theozarksjourneytoself-suf5420]

@@FlanaganHomestead Let me tell ya! Don't do it... hahaha!!!!! I need a miracle solution for how to keep the water clean. They want to dip their muddy beaks in EVERY water container out there... AND they try to swim in everything.. LOL

[@FlanaganHomestead]

I knew they were messy. Hadn’t thought about dirtying water supply. Maybe keep water low for ducks. One higher up for goats and the water nipples for chickens.

[@theozarksjourneytoself-suf5420]

@@FlanaganHomestead thanks for your reply. I did try the nipples at first with the chickens but they still wanted to drink out of the goat buckets of water. Lol. I have tried using every height of water container I could find and even have two low swimming pools for the ducks but they still want to get in the goats higher water trough. The only thing I have found that does seem to work the best is putting the water in a 5 gallon bucket but halfway down so that the ducks cannot reach it to get their beaks into it. However the smaller goats cannot get to that particular water.

[@kevincain2697]

U need to clean up all the chicken poop .

[@FlanaganHomestead]

Can’t deny it is time for a cleaning

[@Specogecko]

I think your forgetting that goats pee aswell

[@FlanaganHomestead]

Never forgot that. They seem to know how to stagger each other so this is not an issue

[@Specogecko]

@@FlanaganHomestead I’m talking about the concentration of urine on the ground and on the wood.

[@umuzara9642]

Kalo

[@Miserableplace]

The huge amounts of shit everywhere is scary.

[@FlanaganHomestead]

It’s not as much as you think it mixes in the sawdust and chips and it all looks bad. However it is much more than should have been there. I chose to not hide it as the reality is I was behind on my chores when I filmed it and wanted to be honest in my presentation. I do get behind as others do.

[@Miserableplace]

@@FlanaganHomestead I have a some land in a hot climate (4500sqm) and I am thinking about doing goats, chickens and citrus trees. It will be purely for a hobby. But I would like to do it properly and care well for the animals. They will basically be my pets.

[@lastharvest4044]

@@Miserableplace Check out deep bedding, it works great with chickens if you have access to woodchips or sawdust. Once it gets going it breaks down in less than a day, and smells like forest floor at all times. Otherwise, you're either rotating daily-weekly or cleaning out almost daily (depending on space and stock density)

[@lastharvest4044]

​@@FlanaganHomestead Yes, life happens.. many people don't consider what happens if you get sick, or just overburdened with the rest of the farm management. This barn has a great workflow.. I will incorporate some of your systems into my new chicken/goat barn. Very practical

[@jasonmcbride9995]

My friend. This may be the nastiest barn I've ever seen. Please clean out their water bowl.

[@FlanaganHomestead]

Why I recorded the video right before cleaning the barn instead of after cleaning is a good question. You are right. How it looks in the video it did need cleaning. The water trough is rinsed out all the time not sure what you saw there. Thank you for watching and input.