Winter tips for NDGs in harsh climates
Hey everyone! I’m a first time goat keeper here in Finland and have a small herd of Nigerian Dwarfs. We got them in April and they have been an absolute joy.
It’s that time of year up north when we start thinking ahead to winter and I would love to hear any advice from cold-weather goat keepers on how to make the winter as easy as possible for both our goats and us.
We converted a horse run-in shelter into a fully enclosed and spacious goat barn. It has good drainage and a sand/dirt mix floor. We’ll be adding insulation soon to prevent drafts in the lower sections of the walls, put in sleeping platforms, and use a deep litter flooring method.
The roof isn’t fully attached to the high walls in order to allow ventilation. From what I understand, this is okay as long as everything else is kept dry and draft-free at goat height. It’s a fairly tall structure so the goats are well below the open sections.
We do have a small stable in case of extreme cold (how extreme is too extreme, in your experience?) but this won’t be available to the goats starting in mid 2027 since we will be getting horses.
I appreciate any tips on shelter, snow maintenance (I’ve never seen goats in deep snow haha), feeding, etc. Spring and summer have been easy but I’d love to hear from cold climate veterans! I come from the horse world so I’m still learning about goat keeping.