No self-respecting homesteader would leave their animals without the three essentials – water, food, and shelter. Whether it’s to get out of the baking sun, shelter from the rain, or get protection from the wind, your livestock needs adequate shelter whatever the climate.
Many of us rely on rotational grazing to improve our farm’s sustainability. Others use their goats for clearing alien plants and weeds. That means our goats need shelter in various different places which means creating something portable.
Featured image by Miranda Kurucz on Pinterest.
Portable Goat Shelter Ideas
Whether you opt for a houseboat conversion, an easy A-Frame design, or a more ramshackle structure made from recycled materials, we’ve got some great tips and ideas for you so you can start your own inspiring, yet mobile, goat shed project.
1. Ponderosa Portable Goat Shed
A practical solution to giving your goats shelter from the wind and the rain, this rough timber goat shed is both mobile and robust. The innovative architect at Ponderosa Hollow Farm in British Colombia, Canada, fixed a chain to the front and uses his quad bike to move the animal shelter into position.
2. Pygmy Goat Pallet Shed
Image credit Starving the Monkeys
This A-frame shed is built entirely from pallets, making it both affordable and easy to build. Simply follow the instructions given by Starving the Monkeys and you’ll have the perfect space and a raised bed for your goats – that’s bound to keep them happy.
3. EZ A-Frame Goat Hutch
Photo by Golden Acres Ranch
This pre-fabricated goat shed looks a lot like a kennel but I doubt your goats will see it like that. As any goat owner will tell you, goats hate the rain, and this EZ A-Frame goat hutch provides them the perfect shelter.
The sloping roofs also mean those with a desire for greener pastures can’t use them to jump the fences. Bobbie at Golden Acres Ranch in Florida swears by them and has been using them to house Tennessee Fainting Goats and their diminutive cousins, the Mini-Myotonics.
4. Pickme Yard Goat Tractor
Image by Pickme Yard
At first glance, this goat playground and shed combination doesn’t look particularly portable but, look closely, and you’ll see how the guys at Pickme Yard have cleverly incorporated “poles that go through the entire structure so that two people can carry it with ease”.
Simply pop it on top of a pallet with fresh hay for bedding, and you’ve got yourself a fully-functional shelter that will fit your homestead, as well as your Nigerian Dwarf Goats, do.
5. A Danish plastic bottle shed
Photo by Christof on Flickr
While this image is of a garden shed, I can’t see any reason you could transform this concept into a goat shelter.
It looks robust enough to withstand goat antics and will keep the critters warm on cool days. It could just be the perfect alternative to a traditional goat barn. Better yet, it’s a great way to recycle plastic bottles and reduce your carbon footprint.
6. Mountain Hollow Goat Shelter
Photo by Mountain Hollow
A simple design that gives your goats ample shelter from the rain and wind. A single person can make this mobile goat shelter from easily available and affordable materials, including cattle panels and a strong piece of tarpaulin.
Designed for Cashmere goats, this is ideal for goats with thick coats or herds living in a hot and sunny environment. You can get this type of shelter from Shelterlogic.
7. Goat Hive by Stephen Taylor
Photo by Stephen Taylor
One of the more inspiring goat sheds, this goat hive concept is attractive and practical, but probably not the easiest to transport.
Simple to build, all you need is a generous pile of wooden building blocks, some decking timber for the roof, and a heavy dose of inspiration. Want to move it somewhere else? I guess you’ll just have to dismantle it and rebuild but it’s still got the makings of the kind of livestock shelters that will fit perfectly on a homestead or small-holding.
8. Mobile Goat Home by Zaytuna Farm
Photo by Zaytuna Farm
This converted car trailer makes a luxurious mobile goat home for the Boer goats of Zaytuna Farm.
It provides much-needed shelter for them as they spend their days clearing away alien species, such as camphor laurel, privet, and lantana, from the weed-infested valleys near the village of The Channon, Northern NSW, Australia.
9. Skid Barns
Photo by Bedlam Farms
This clever mini shelter, created by the guys at Bedlam Farm, Cambridge, New York, are designed to be “skidded” from place to place. Using a truck or tractor to move them, these skid barns make great windbreaks and protect your livestock from the rain. At Bedlam Farm, they are used for sheep, but they could work equally well for either goats or pigs.
10. A Drum Deal
Photo by Golly Gee Goats
This clever idea, from GollyGee Goats, sees old plastic drums transformed into shelters for their dwarf baby goats.
Designed to keep the babies warm at night, I see no reason why these couldn’t be used outdoor, providing a snug goat shelter for your little ones when the winter weather blows in.
11. Alaskan Goat Igloos
Photo by Henry Milker
Give your old dog house a new lease of life by turning it into a goat shelter. It’s not the most attractive solution for your animals, but goats are rarely fussed about appearances – they just want to stay warm and dry.
Unfortunately, the original link for this shelter doesn’t work, so I’m not sure where they got this goat shelter from. I also couldn’t find a similar product – the closest I found is this igloo on Amazon:
- ALL SEASON PROTECTION INSULATED IGLOO DOG HOUSE: Patented dome design provides protection...
- ENGINEERED STRONGER: Constructed from heavy-duty structural foam and dome shape, keep our...
- CHANNEL DENNING INSTINCTS: Dog crate or outdoor dog house training is vital for dogs...
- MADE WITH RECYCLED MATERIALS: Petmate is not just a friend of furry family members, but...
- NOT JUST FOR DOGS: This can also work well for an outdoor cat house, goat house or even...
But it would only suit very small goats!
If you’re looking for a simple way to give your Dwarf Nigerian goats some shelter, you could consider investing in a smaller igloo, like the Petmate Kitty Kat Condo.
- Durable cat house keeps pet warm in winter and cool in summer
- Constructed with structural foam insulation for best comfort
- Carpeted floor offers warmth and encourages scratching
- Hood diverts rain from entryway
- 26 x 25.3 x 18.5 inches; made in the U.S.A.; 1-year warranty
12. The Frugal Little Goat House
Photo by The Little Frugal House
Thinking about building your own movable goat shelter? This idea from the Frugal Little House is cheap and easy to make. All you need is three wooden pallets, some scrap wood, and a few screws. The great thing about this design is that it combines a practical goat shelter with a playground, giving your animals the best of both worlds.
13. Living in a Box
Photo by Sensible Survival
This simple goat shelter by Sensible Survival doesn’t require any expensive materials like cattle panels or fencing materials. It’s built almost entirely from recycled materials as well so is cheap to make and the front and back handles mean it can be easily moved into position by two people.
14. Mobile Goat Feeder
Photo by Applegarth Gardens
Thinking of killing two birds with one stone? This mobile goat feeder sports an ample roof to keep the rain off both the feed and your goats. As you can see, your baby goats will use it as a playground and a bed, making it a versatile structure that’s ideal for homesteaders raising goats, especially the dwarf varieties.
15. The Cargo Igloo
Photo from Alaska Air
These cargo igloos from Alaskan Air Cargo have been given a new lease of life in the Puget Sound area, with farmers converting them into storage barns, work areas, and enclosures for goats and chickens. They’re not the most mobile, but they are versatile, robust, and surprisingly spacious.
16. Moveable Shed with Water Catchment System
Photo by Ray Milosh on Build It Solar
This goat house may look a little ramshackle but it’s actually quite ingenious, coupling up as a water catchment system as well as a small barn.
Having seen a design by Joel Salatin, Ray Milosh decided to build his own version. Using cattle panels and tarpaulin, he created this intriguing structure that can provide enough water for “three goats, a cow, and half a dozen chickens… for 50 to 75 days without rain.”
17. The Rooster Hill Farm Shelter
Photo by Rooster Hill Farm
The guys at Rooster Hill Farm decided to upgrade their livestock shelters and ditched their traditional “board and batting” approach, replacing it with plyboard to make the shelter lighter and easier to transport. It still needs a tractor to drag it into position, however, so isn’t ideal if you’ve only got a little farm.
18. The Goat Boat
A Pinterest user called Miranda Kurucz shared an image of this luxurious little goat barn which brings a new approach to farming and homesteading. The Dwarf Nigerian goats pictured certainly look pretty happy with their towable home.
What is Your Favorite Portable Goat Shelter?
You don’t have to settle for a bog-standard goat shelter – these ideas and tips will help think outside the box and create something unique but durable. Incorporate a water-catchment system, fence, or a mobile feeder into your design and fulfill all your livestock’s needs in one go.
Some of these projects you can put together for free, using recycled materials and scraps liberated from the nearby tip. Alternatively, you can purchase products like the Petmate Kitty Kat Condo and give your little ones a snug area where they can shelter from the elements.
Whatever your final choice of design, we’d love to know what products you used, if you managed to build it for free and how your little ones have adapted to their new free-range shelter. Please keep us posted by commenting below.
John
Saturday 19th of November 2022
Your website has so many obtrusive ads that cover information and pictures it renders the entire article useless.
Elle
Tuesday 22nd of November 2022
I'm sorry to hear that John - we'll take a look at the ad settings!
Miranda Kurucz
Sunday 29th of August 2021
How awesome!!! Lenny and Carl still have their Goat Boat as their mobile summer home.
Elle
Wednesday 1st of September 2021
Hi Miranda! It's so good to hear from you, how cool! Your Goat Boat is absolutely awesome, bet Lenny and Carl love it :D Their names are pretty awesome too, by the way - don't think we added those to our "best goat names" list yet!