Goat Tower With Slide

This is Melvin and Lisa our 2 Nigerian Dwarf goats and I wanted to make them a tower or a perch if you will. I wanted them to have more things to do while they were in there pen but to be honest its more for our amusement (especially when they go down the slide).

The tower is 5 feet tall and 5 feet wide- it comes with a bench, climbing ladder and a slide.

Materials I used:

12- 10ft deckboards which I used for the floor

4- 6ft 4x4's 6- 12 ft 2x4's which I used for the frame and the stairs

Scrap 1x6's I found in the garage for the stairs but you can also use wood fence slats or more deckboards

1- Box of 2-1/2 deck screws

1- Used children's slide I found

I started with an old bench that I found in the garage and 2 bored goats (Melvin and Lisa). The bench is made of some old 4x4's and deck boards screwed together. I screwed the legs into the barn for more stability.

Its kind of like goat yoga but with wood. I gathered my materials all treated lumber which is:

12- 10ft deckboards which I used for the floor

4- 6ft 4x4's

6- 12 ft 2x4's which I used for the frame and the stairs

Scrap 1x6's I found in the garage for the stairs but you can also use wood fence slats or more deck boards

1- Box of 2-1/2 deck screws

I built the frame using the four 6 ft 4x4's as posts and screwed 2x4's 12 inches up. Once I attached the frame I screwed it to the bench for more stability. I then added another frame of 2x4's 12inches from the top to leave 1 foot of exposed post after the deck was installed.

For the deck I used 1x6 deck boards. The first piece I cut around the posts to get a better fit. I also added 2- 2x4's across underneath the floor more more stability. I screwed the deck boards into the frame and the support underneath. For the 1 side that has nothing but a 5 foot drop I added another deck board to deter them from hopping off that side.

To give the goats an easy way up to the top deck, I used two- 8ft 2x4 and mounted them to the the frame. I then used scrap wood slats for the floor. I also put 2ft 2x4's every 18 inches to give Melvin and Lisa more traction as they climb.

I added a slide and mounted it to the bench for a bit more fun. It is just held on by 2 deck screws (they are not very heavy).

I noticed the goats were still sliding on the ladder so I added more 2x4's which are now approx. 6 inches apart.