Cow urine collection system, from
mvhitech.blogspot.com/2012/04/cow-urine-collection.html
These notes are for a goat shelter / urine collection system being developed on conjunction with Global Community Works in Guatemala. The overall project is described here. As part of the planning process I spent some time on Google looking for ideas related to goat shelters and waste management. Here are some that look useful for a small setup and relatively low initial capital investment.
Cow urine collection system, from
mvhitech.blogspot.com/2012/04/cow-urine-collection.html
About the simplest is this one by "mvhitech".
Just a sloping floor, with an outside gutter leading to a collection pit. It's for cows,
but should work for goats. Some people put down rubber mats on the floor,
which minimizes the amount of bedding(straw) needed —
www.homesteadingtoday.com/livestock-forums/goats/440144-suggestions-low-bedding-no-bedding-stall-options.html
Sounds like that would make it easier
for the liquid to run to the gutters, but might be pricey. If the sides of the barn are open, I suppose
we would need to make sure the gutter is sheltered so it doesn't fill up with rain.
Cow urine collection system, from www.flickr.com/photos/indiawaterportal/8908565941
The "indiawater" people do something similar, but they put
a covered hole in the middle of the floor, with the floor sloping toward it.
Looks simpler than the mvhitech approach: no need to form the gutters, so avoid some fancy cement work.
Collection system from "farmnest" website. See main text for reference links.
And the really fancy one:
farmnest.com/forum/animal-farming/designing-buffalo-and-cow-shed-with-urine-and-dung-collection-tanks
(Look for the link titled gomutra-collection-pit.pptx). Like Indiawater, but this guy put in a full
plumbing system with a
U-trap and enclosed collection tank. The main advantage is that it's enclosed, so fewer smells and
insects.
Shelter from the goatwisdom website.
A lot of people seem to prefer a shelter with a raised floor. Said to keep the animals dry in
rainy weather and to provide from protection from insects, predators, etc.
For example GoatWisdom
www.goatwisdom.com/ch9husbandry/shelter.html has a good site with photos. They built a barn with
raised wood floor and sawed 3/8" slots for urine to run through. Doesn't mention collection, but
looks like one could put collectors below the slots.
Prefab shelter by KVK in India.
For the luxury version, KVK in India
timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kochi/Hi-tech-goat-sheds-becoming-popular-among-farmers/articleshow/18511239.cms
designed a raised prefab galvanized iron and fiberglass shelter.
It's more expensive but highly durable. One advantage is that it can be easily disassembled and
moved to a new location — that's probably a big advantage in parts of the world with a lot of
political instablility. One article mentions that they have urine and manure collection systems built in,
but I didn't find any details. Google-ing "Krishi Vigyan Kendra Goat Shed" finds several details
about it.
Low-cost goat shelter by Goatseeker. Design based on the Quonset hut.
This doesn't really apply to what we're doing now, but might be useful in the future. GoatSeeker goatseeker.com/guides/quonset-hut-goat-shelters has a simple design that's basically a Quonset hut made out of a tarp with a metal frame. Looks cheap and easy to put up. Their page includes good detailed instructions.