31-Ft. "Goat Tower" Keeps Animals Fit, Happy

31-Ft Goat Tower Keeps Animals Fit Happy BUILDINGS Livestock Goats love it and people driving by can t believe it says David Johnson of Findlay Ill about his 31-ft tall 7-ft dia goat tower built with the help of the late Jack Cloe Herrick Ill The tower was constructed with 5 000 hand-made bricks each one a different size and shape The tower has 276 concrete steps arranged to form a spiral staircase that allows Johnson s goats to climb up and down with ease
    Johnson has 34 Saanen milk goats that use the tower Goats are the most curious animals in the world so they use the tower a lot They come and go passing each other on the ramp as needed
    The tower has six floors made from poured concrete with three openings on each side The tower sets on a 10-ft sq concrete block set 6 ft deep in the ground
    Johnson got the idea to build the tower after seeing a magazine photo of another one located in South Africa
     As far as I know there are only three brick goat towers in the world There s one at the Fairview Winery in South Africa and one in Portugal says Johnson
    The tower s spiral steps consist of 2 1/2-in sq 40-in long concrete slabs with rerod in them The steps are cantilevered through a double row of bricks and are about 1 in apart where they meet the tower but about 6 in apart at the ends
    The roof is intentionally steep to keep birds from roosting It s made out of copper because it s long lasting and again birds won t roost on it He had to use a crane to lift the roof into place
    The roof is supported by wheels that ride on a circular steel rail along the upper edge of the tower wall I cut a door into the roof and plan to use a garage door opener to rotate the roof and use it as an observation tower I might even bring a telescope up there to look at stars says Johnson
     People often ask if any goats ever fall off the tower and I always tell them the answer is no because goats are very sure-footed Once in a while we do get freezing rain and then I use a portable torch to melt the ice from the steps
    The concrete floors give structural support to the tower says Johnson About every six months I use a high pressure water hose to blow manure out of each room It washes out onto the ground and later I scoop it up and use it for fertilizer on my farm he notes
    Contact: FARM SHOW Followup David Johnson P O Box 470 Findlay Ill 62534 ph 217 459-2337; djohnson@asi-agriserve com

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