2 of our 3 outside pens have lost most of their grass and are now "dry lots". I put down some 1/4 inch gravel in the fall when it was really mucky. It is hard to clean the poop. When the snow melted the trodden down winter poop was gross, so I put down more of the gravel. It is still hard to clean. I tried raking, sweeping, scooping... Now we are having a rainy time, and I feel awful about the gross factor.
All the pens have wood platforms that I clean every day, and the goats hang out on those. But the yuck sticks to their hooves and my shoes.
Any suggestions that worked for you?

A landscape cloth under the gravel or mulch you put down should help a lot. It will keep the layer of stuff you put on it on top and not slowly losing it to the earth. We have the tree trimmers dump their loads here and i love the mulch. We do not have the cloth down so every now and agaiin need redo it. But paul puts me down a 6-8 inch layer and i am good for a long time.

 

Thank you for the reply.
The problem you described isn't what I am struggling with. I had that before I got the gravel, when I just put a few buckets of sand down. Now the problem is, how to get the poop pellets cleaned up. Obviously, gravel wasn't the ideal medium, because it's about the same size as the turds. So, I was wondering what other people have put down, that is easier to clean.

 

Well, our dry lot area is covered with cement pavers from Lowes. Easy to sweep poop off of, AND files down their hooves! A bit heavy to put down but well worth it!! We previously had a clay/dirt dry lot, but after sweeping all the poop up we began to get dips and holes.

 

Well, our dry lot area is covered with cement pavers from Lowes. Easy to sweep poop off of, AND files down their hooves! A bit heavy to put down but well worth it!! We previously had a clay/dirt dry lot, but after sweeping all the poop up we began to get dips and holes.

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Very nice!

 

There was a gentlemen, a few months ago. They made goat paths out of a type of leftover rock mix that hardens. It might.have been @goatblessings . Im not positive. But the weather was awful, rainy turned everything to mud..so he used this
It was amazing
Maybe he would help you.

 

Thanks Moers!
It looks like I can get something like that here!
That would be great!

 

It was the forum mud mud and more mud. What to do ..sorry it was @Goat Whisperer ..he explains what he used. Very neat idea.
Not goat blessings

 

We finally got our sand!
Some of it still needs to be spread out, but so far I am very happy with it! It is so much easier to clean up at the end of the day. It is very easy to sift the poop out.
The goats seem to like it, but sometimes want to avoid walking on it, sort of like avoiding wet ground. We put a few more wood platforms down for them.

Coco investigating a pile.

May getting up from a nap in the shade (she always swings her leg after getting up).

New platform.

The lion king staying off of the sand.

 

That looks amazing!

 

Thanks!

 

Looking good! All you need now is a beach ball and some sand castles.😆

 

Thanks! It does feel like it, and I like to do clean up chores bare foot now!
The only thing is... how do I get the goats to only poop on the sand, and not on the pasture?

 

I just want to visit with a beach chair, a good book, and hang out in the dry lot with the goats. [emoji16]

 

You are welcome to pop by anytime!! But someone might chew on your book. 😃

Wow, their pen looks like a resort club! great job!

Thanks!

 

Are you worried about how hot it will get in the summer?

Sent from my SM-A115U using Goat Forum mobile app

 

Are you worried about how hot it will get in the summer?

Sent from my SM-A115U using Goat Forum mobile app

We already had so e really hot days. The goats seems ok moving through it, from shade spot to shade spot.

 

Wow, their pen looks like a resort club! great job!

 

We just had twodays of pouring rain. Before the sand, we had dirt and fine gravel. All the yuck stuck to everyone’s shoes and feet. Now it is just wet sand. I am very happy with it!