I thought that the “barn expansion” project was coming along well. I had the posts and crossbeams up for the roof, and had acquired, through a good friend, metal siding for the roof and the walls at fire sale pricing.
The project, when completed would add additional space for the goats, and much needed hay storage. I was adding a 12 foot X 24 foot enclosed area, so I figured it would be great, considering the goats are currently in a 12 foot X 24 foot area. – Almost double the space.
The only thing I didn’t count on, was that the goats were going to try and use the area before it was finished!
The extension to the barn is going to attach to the wall of the current barn that is outside their fenced paddock. That means, if they get out or through this wall of the existing barn, they could get out of the paddock and get into trouble (spelled o-r-c-h-a-r-d or b-l-u-e-b-e-r-r-i-e-s).
Well, being goats, that ’s exactly what they did. It seems they were having head-butting contests and the losers were being slammed into this particular barn wall – and they knocked a protion of masonry paneling off – 2 feet wide by 8 feet high. So, when I went to move the hay that was stored there under a tarp, so I could work on the roof, it presented itself as a problem to be reckoned with… IMMEDIATELY!
Fortunately, I had an 8 foot wide piece of cattlepanel that I nailed up to the inside framing of the wall. That will contain them while I am working on the project, and the tarp should keep the rain out for now. But, with every step, I am now having to do additional work to contain them, and keep the elements out of the barn!
So, the project will slow down as I have to remove the tarp to do some roof framing, and then put the tarp back up until all of the framing is done. After that, I have to find a clear Saturday so I can take off tha tarp one last time and pout the metal roof on (after the metal is delivered).
Hopefully, I can get the roof done before the middle of December and then can frame the walls and put the metal siding on before January!
Maybe I should get more cattlepanels to keep them from running through the metal siding – or maybe I need to hire a referee for the nighttime goat olympics! Anyone interested in an exciting career move???
–Pat
Tags: barn, farm problems, goats