Welcome to the Goat-Tel California

With newborn goats popping out like crocuses and the weather still wintery, our building priorities have shifted to accommodate.  We were setting up temporary pens for the mothers and babies using sections of portable corral, but there were some challenges.  First of all, weatherproofing the pens required covering them with big tarps at night, which was a hassle.  Secondly, the mothers were stressed by being so close to one another with open walls that they had to constantly monitor.  Thirdly, we were just plain running out of pens.  As a result, Bob's first strawbale structure here at Meherhaven is finished and occupied...by baby goats and their mothers!

Bob being Bob, this ain't no slapped-together goatshed.  Strawbale-insulated?  Check.  Built with reclaimed materials?  Natch.  What makes it special is that it also has a radiant floor heated by the sun.  You think I'm kidding?  Feast your eyes, gentle reader!

Bale walls stacked on the corrugated metal subfloor.

This building project was combined with the demolition of an ancient shed that had outlived its usefulness.  From this shed, we reclaimed corrugated metal roofing and a few timbers that the termites had spared.  Some of the corrugated metal was used as subflooring, supported underneath by wooden pallets.  A few pieces of the "plastic wood" that we removed from the motorhome box went around the floor structure as well.  Black plastic irrigation tubing was laid over the corrugated metal to form the radiant heating system.  This tubing was covered with a thin layer of cement, which allows for heat transferrence and easy cleaning of the stalls.

Heave-ho!  Aaron experiences the joy of cement first-hand.

After the cement had cured, we pinned the bales in place with 2x4s and baling twine.  At last I got to use the legendary bale needle, a long piece of heavy wire used to push twine through the strawbales and fasten them to the 2x4s.  Two salvaged timbers were set in the ground to support the roof beam, and more salvaged 2x6s were laid across the top of the longest bale wall to fasten the downslope ends of the roofing to.

That pretty much finished the usable lumber from the shed, so new 2x4s were put in place to support the stall dividers.  We were able to use reclaimed wire fencing to separate the stalls, though.

Cozy enough to birth the Messiah in!

While wandering through the scrapyard of our local fencing supplier, we found a 30-gallon galvanized tank that Bob bought for a song, painted black, and installed as a solar water heater for the radiant floor system. 

One of these things is just like the others/ One of these things could be the others' mother...

Finally, Bob built a sturdy door for each of the seven stalls, and the Goat-Tel was open for business.  We plan on plastering the bales for durability once the birthing season has wound down.  Since my knowledge of earth plasters is purely academic at this point, I'm really excited to have a small structure like this to learn on.

No complaints so far from the occupants.

In the meantime, I've been experiencing the joys of motherhood with our two bottle-babies, Faith and Brownie.  It's love.  Wanna see a picture of my kids?

Hobbies include nibbling hair, chewing clothing, and trying to jump over you.

Hopefully we'll get through the weaning process before their desire to rock & roll all night and party every day outstrips the limitations of the living room.  Otherwise I'm just gonna have to set up a big rockpile in there.