Materials Needed
- Frame - (10) Ten 2x4x8's
- Flooring - (4) Four 1x6x8 (treated wood)
- Frame - 2.5 inch screws (1.5 lbs - that's how HD sold them)
- Feed box bottom and floor - 2 inch screws
- Head Gate - (1) one 2x2x8
- Tools - saw, screw gun, drill for your screws, measuring tape, level (I didn't use one, but probably should have!)
Hints
- I pre-drilled some screw holes, esp. the ones that were awkward to do w/o a helper, or the angle was difficult (not too many). Of course, it will also depend on the wood and the screws you use.
- Once assembled, where possible put more screws on opposite side for additional stability. In case that's not clear, imagine you are going to attach a 2x4 to another 2x4 using 2 screws, you could then turn the wood over and add 2 more screws on the other side - I did this after assembly - not as I was building
- If you want your stand to be secure on level ground, pay close attention to the legs - and where you attach them to the base frame - there are 6 of them. The distance from the frame to the ground is 12.5 inches. If you use another height - that's fine - just be consistent.
- A lot of the pictures look like I took them sideways. Most of the stand is assembled on the ground, since I didn't have a helper. The pictures show the position and angle I used while building the stand parts.
The Parts
The Base Frame
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The Head Gate
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The Seat
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The Feedbox
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The Flooring
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Finishing Touches
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The Base Frame
The base frame is a box made of 2x4's. The dimensions are 40.75 x 22 in. The short sides are attached on the inside of the long sides. In total you will need five pieces measuring 22 in (you might as well cut them all the same length at the same time). Two are used on the frame, the other three are used on the head gate.
In this picture, you see the frame with one leg of the head gate piece attached.
The Head Gate
The head gate uses:
- 2x4 - two that are 52 inches (legs), three that are 22 in (braces)
- 2x2 - cut in half (each piece +- 48 in)
Attach the legs of the head gate to the frame. The legs are attached so that the frame stands 12.5 inches from the ground.
At the top of the head gate put a 22 in brace on the outside (you will see this brace in the next picture).
Attach the swing gate to the frame:
One of these 2x2's is fixed in place, the other is only fastened at the bottom. I attached each of the 2x2 7.5 inches from the end of the 2x4.
I don't think it matters which side of the swing gate is fixed, on my old stand, it was the one on the left side, on my new stand I inadvertently put it on the right side.
Next attach two more 22 in braces to secure the head gate into its place:
Another view
Now add a 22 in brace on the front of the head gate assembly where the feed box will eventually be. The bottom of the feed box brace is 13.5 inches above the top of the bottom head gate brace. Get that??? In other words, there is 13.5 inches between the two braces.. Boy, I hope that is clear.
Your head gate is done!
Attach the Back Legs
The back legs are two 2x4's - one is 16 in, the other is 43 in. The 43 in one will tie into the front legs eventually for additional stability, and add a barrier that keeps your goats from jumping off the opposite side of the stand from where you are sitting. This picture shows how the back legs look on a completed stand.
However your stand looks like this at this point:
Attach the legs to the frame (remember the legs are positioned 12.5 inches from the ground). The top of the short leg should line up with the top of the 2x4 on the frame to give an even surface for when you attach the flooring.
Add an inside brace (should be 16 inches, but measure to be sure) as shown in the above picture.
Add an outside brace as shown near the bottom - one would think it would be 22 inches, but my measurements taken when building say 23 inches - measure to be sure you have the right length.
Stand that sucker up!
The Seat
The dimensions of the seat are 12x16. You will need:
- Four 16 In. 2x4's
- Two 12 in 2x4's
First attach a 16 in brace to the side of your stand that will have the seat. BTW it is located opposite of the side that has the tall back leg.
In the above picture you can see where it is placed in reference to the inside head gate brace. The seat sides when put on the frame will line up to form a straight line that your floor attaches to.
This picture actually shows it really well:
but we aren't there yet, we are here...
OK, so next you build the rest of the seat and attach the legs. I don't have very good pictures of this part. But, I first made the three sided frame (12x16x12). Then I attached the legs on the inside of the frame - again, mindful that the height of the stand is 12.5 inches... and lastly added the bottom brace on the legs. I ended up with this:
Now attach your seat to the frame:
You are getting close to done!
The Feed Box
The feed box attaches to the middle brace on the front of the stand. You have a full 22 inches to work with, so you can make it as big or small as you want. I made mine 12x16, out of 2x6's. If you think that is too shallow, you could use 1x6's (my old stand did). For the floor of the box, I used some 1x6 fencing wood I had. First I built the box:
Then I attached it to the front middle brace on the stand. (equal distance from the sides).
The Floor
Pretty self explanatory.. I used the 1x6 treated wood, and left gaps between the boards for milk/pee drainage. In the picture you can see how I worked with the frame when placing the floor so I didn't have to split any 1x6's. I used the 2 in screws to fasten it.
Finishing Touches
This picture shows how I added a second brace on that long side opposite of the seat.
I then added some fence boards to make the barrier more solid. You could also use a sheet of plywood (that's what my old stand has).
You are done. To hold the head gate closed, once the goat is on the stand eating, I used baling twine tied to the frame, and looped over the moveable 2x2. You can see how it's attached on my old stand in this picture.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Voila !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
