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Elevated (slatted-floor) goat and sheep shed

Elevated slatted-floor sheds are commercial small-ruminant housing structures built on a raised platform with a gap-floored deck through which dung and urine drop into a collection area below. The design is recommended by ICAR-Central Institute for Research on Goats (CIRG) Makhdoom for goat and sheep farms in high-rainfall, humid and flood-prone tracts, where conventional kutcha sheds become unworkably wet.

Principle

A dry floor is the single most important determinant of goat and sheep health. Wet, manure-soaked bedding predisposes animals to foot rot, gastrointestinal parasites, coccidiosis, pneumonia and clostridial diseases. By physically separating the animal from its excreta, an elevated slatted floor removes the underlying cause of these conditions rather than relying on chemical treatment.

Implementation

The platform is constructed 2-3 ft (60-90 cm) above ground on masonry pillars or treated wooden posts. The deck is built from bamboo slats, wooden planks, MS welded mesh, or moulded plastic tiles, with a gap of 1-1.5 cm between slats. This gap is wide enough to let pelleted goat and sheep dung fall through, but narrow enough to keep hooves from slipping. The space below the platform collects the dung-urine mixture, which is cleaned out every two to three months and composted; six months of composting yields a friable nutrient-rich farmyard manure. Side walls reach about 4 ft, with the upper space left open for cross-ventilation under a sloping roof. CIRG standard layouts cover unit sizes from 10+1 to 100+5 does plus bucks, with separate kid pens and a small isolation cubicle.

Adoption context

The design is used widely in commercial Black Bengal (Black Bengal Goat) farms in eastern India, Osmanabadi (Osmanabadi Goat) units in Maharashtra, and Nellore (Nellore Sheep) breeder farms in southern Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. It pairs with structured vaccination (Small Ruminant Vaccination Schedule) and intensive feeding for Bakrid-market ram lamb fattening (Ram Fattening Bakrid).

Limitations

Capital cost is two to three times that of a kutcha thatched shed of equivalent capacity. Plastic slats reduce labour but raise upfront cost; bamboo slats are cheap but need replacement every two to three years. The elevated system is unnecessary in arid tracts with a long dry season where ground-level sheds remain dry, and is incompatible with migratory grazing (Migratory Sheep Grazing).

See also: Dairy Shed Design.

References

  1. Goat Housing. ICAR-Central Institute for Research on Goats, Makhdoom.
  2. Floor Plan for 100+5 Goat Unit. ICAR-CIRG.