One morning, having finished devotions and still enjoying a cup of coffee, I found myself doodling. Often my doodling amounts to a thought for an article or even a new book. Sometimes it's a sketch for a drawing or painting, I'll probably never get around to; but not that morning. In less than 10 minutes, there was a picture, as well as a list of supplies. I sat back and looked. What I had drawn was what would become new shelters for the goats. When relocating to Goshen, I decided I didn't want a big barn or pole shed, as too much heat is lost in the winter. A local flea market had these wonderful wooden boxes that made the best goat sheds, but since they were boxes, there was no watershed and the elements have taken their toll.
I figure the current boxes, pictured above; have one more winter in them, providing the snow isn't too heavy.
The new design has already been prototyped and is now slated for mass production. So far, there are only two, but two more are cut and ready to be assembled. This teepee design is great for heat conservation, as well as watershed. The design has no waste in production and there's even a special little spot for babies to tuck in a corner with minimal heat loss.
As you can see, the doorway is on opposite sides, so these can be placed nearly face to face with walking room only, to offer windbreaks at the openings. I'm pretty much picturing about a dozen of them randomly placed in each pasture.
The greatest thing about these structures, as if more is needed . . . They are portable, which means no muck! Just pick them up and move them to a new clean spot, scatter some clean straw and voila, nice clean accommodations without shoveling!
