[QUOTE=Kiwayu;8009282]
Cost isn’t a problem, my barn and house are solar powered! :)[/QUOTE]
I used heat lamps for my goat kids when I lived in Minnesota. I didn’t like it but sometimes the weather just wasn’t cooperating and hypothermia was an issue. A couple heat lamps and the goat will go under them if needed. I also modified a newborn foal blanket to fit my thin haired Nubian. That would work for sheep too, who I don’t think ever feel the cold ( i had hair sheep & wool sheep).
We hang heat lamp from the ceiling to the height about a couple of feet above the horse’s back. The heat lamp has guard around it. The cord is wrapped around the rafter before plugging into the outlet, also on the rafter, so there is no danger of the heat lamp touching the bedding while plugged. My horses have free access to the stalls as well as the pasture. When they are cold, they will come in and park under the lamp.
Gloria-would you mind sharing some photos of your heater setup?
No different advice about heaters, but how about a goat coat?
Probably the safest thing to do would be to make a “drop” ceiling in the horse stall out of rigid foam insulation to help keep in the heat created by the goats. When you don’t need it, just take it out and store it. Depending on how the stall is set up and the size, you can either suspend it from above or temporarily tack strips of wood to the stall walls at an appropriate height to hold the foamboard.
We did a modified version of this in our garden shed for a sick lamb after he graduated out of the house, but was still not well enough to go back to the pasture. I wish I had taken pictures, but it stayed really warm with just deep straw, the mama sheep and two lambs.
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