Does anyone know if chickens and goats can co-habitate?

[redwa]

We have a large aviary coop, pentagon shape open on three sides with 15 chickens. We want to get 2 pygmy goats in the spring. Was wondering what you think about the goats using the coop to sleep at night. During the day the whole gang will be free ranging but at night they will be enclosed together. I have heard that the goats protect the chickens. That would be good since we have recently discovered we have a bob cat in the hood. Any thoughts?

 

[speckledhen]

My friend Kate (helmstead) houses her goats and chickens together. Hopefully, she'll pop in to elaborate.

 

[gritsar]

My goat gets along fine with the chickens. In fact when I feed him the chickens climb all over and under and between him and his feed bucket to steal his food.
I don't know about spending the nights together. My chickens and the goat have seperate housing.

 

[Renee]

My neighbor's goat eats all of their chicken feed. The goat is fat, the chickens are hungry. That full-grown Nubian goat can get on her belly and shimmy through a 8"x10" pop hole. They are still working on a solution.

Otherwise, they get along very well, and the goat cries for them in the morning before they are let out of their coop.

 

[Barnyard]

I have the same problem with my pygmy's eating my chicken food, and pig food and dog food. Shoot they will eat anything they can get ahold of. So, with that being said, I keep my goats separate from the chickens.

 

[Wildsky]

They LOVE each other.

My chickens still get closed into their own coop etc. but they have acccess to the goats area - and they visit every day to check out the area for treats.

I have a small hole cut in the fence (I have a big fat goat that can't get through the hole) the chickens come and go during the day as much as they want.
The Goat shares space with the horse, and all do well together, the compliment each other and make life easier for us.

The chickens love to scratch around and spread the goat "raisins" and the horse poop. THe chickens scratch through the hay and pick out all the bugs.

 

[ChooksinIowa]

We have about 100 chickens or so, and 17 goats (7 full size Nubians and 10 pygmies/Nigerian dwarf goats). Our chickens have two coops, both outside of the goat enclosures. The full size and small goats have separate pastures (likewise the 3 Icelandic sheep). The chickens have feeders and waterers outside of the goat enclosures, but they spend much of their time inside the goat enclosures. We enclose our goats with cattle panels. The goats can't go through the welded wire panels but the chickens can. They go where they like. They pick and scratch around in the goat area a lot. They seem to like taking rides on goats backs. Sometimes the chickens roost on the goats' backs in the goat barn instead of going into the coop. Either way, they are all happy and cohabitate really well, but I agree that the chickens need a feeding area that the goats can't get to, otherwise the goats will eat everything.

As for pygmy goats protecting chickens from a bobcat...I'm not too sure. I think a bobcat could probably win against a pygmy goat, but don't take my word for it. We have llamas to protect our pygmy goats from foxes and coyotes.

 

[KLH2010]

Ditto to what everyone else has said. My chickens go out in the goat pasture and nobody bothers each other but the goats love to eat the chicken feed any chance they get.

 

[redwa]

Thank you all for your very helpful replies. Just what I suspected, they'll probably get a long just fine, provide lots of entertaining moments, but they would all be best served with their own space at night and no access for the goats to the chicken food. Just what my husband didn't want to hear because it means we have to add on to our existing livestock area. He is tired of building more shelters. He just finished building a tree house for the kids. Hmm maybe if I could get the goats to climb the ladder they could share the tree house with the two legged kids...

 

[Sugar Sand Farm]

My banties freerange with the goats all the time. I have seen the little chiks sleeping on the goats back. So far I have never had a problem with them.I don't feed the banties in the pasture I keed them in their pen so the goats don't get into their food.