Goat setup help

[CrazyChickGirl]

I'd like a little help with very basic goat set up. We have a open bottomed shed type thing with a raised roof. Do we need to completely predator proof it, like with chickens? Hardware cloth covering all holes? We do occasionally get raccoons and possums. Cats are regulars.

And what kind if containers to you prefer for water, grain and hay? Do you use bedding? And then rake it up regularly?

Thanks!

 

[CityFarmer202]

Small predators aren't too much of a problem, tho a large coon could do a little damage...its the big ones u really need to worry about (coyotes, stray dogs, mountain lions, bear etc.) i just use metal trash cans to store grain and a shed for the hay, or do you mean to feed them? If so, i use the rubber tubs for grain and hay is in a manger style thingie. Yes, i have a part of my shed with straw/hay for them, tho it depends on the weather Good Luck!!

 

[CrazyChickGirl]

How do you know if you have large raccoons? I don't think we get very many... I've never seen one or evidence of one but I've heard that there are some in our area. I have seen rats. Do you think rats would bother them? We live kind of in the suburbs, right next to the country. No mountain lions or anything like that. Thanks for your advice!

 

[CityFarmer202]

Rats will only go for their food, so keep that tightly closed so you don't attract them...I think you should be fine with the raccoon's, but i would secure any big holes. A raccoon will not kill your goats, but could hurt them if he was really hungry, tho in the suburbs, they shouldn't be starving enough to mess with a goat.

 

[H Diamond]

Will your goats have any type of run? As was stated, you should be more worried about large predators than the small things.
I'm confused on your shed... does it have any walls, or just the roof (like a car port)? Any hay that makes it to the ground they probably aren't going to eat much of, so you will need a way to keep the hay off the ground. Grain is good fed in pans of some sort, water just get a nice big tub for them.

 

[CrazyChickGirl]

It has 6 ft fence type walls, but originally was a car port. So between the walls and the roof is about a foot. It has an opening that is a little larger then a door that my husband was going to make a gate for so we could close them up. It's about 12x14 or something like that. I was planning on letting them play in our yard most of the time and locking them up in their shed/ barn at night or when needed.

 

[CrazyChickGirl]

Here is a photo of what we have to work with. It's currently filled with bikes/ lawn mower and other various things that needed to be cleaned out.

 

[CrazyChickGirl]

And yes, that's the neighbors house behind the shed. Is this just not a good plan for us..? Also concerned about our beagle. I really want to make this work well for us. But maybe it's just not possible. Sigh.

 

[H Diamond]

I think you could make it work. You might talk to your neighbors first though, lol. Unless you have a big coyote/dog problem, I wouldn't bother with fencing the gap, but it wouldn't hurt anything. Your future goats would certainly enjoy some straw or wood shavings for bedding.. make it deeper during cold times of the year. Do a google search for "goat hay feeder" and you will get lots of ideas for simple hay feeders. Unless you live someplace that doesn't have bugs, your biggest problem I would guess will be flies in the summer. You'll definitely have to keep the bedding fresh in that type of space to keep the flies from going crazy.
If you're wanting to do milk goats, you could just feed them their grain on the stanchion. If not dairy and just "pet goats" you could just use a feeder like this: http://www.enasco.com/prod/images/products/85/AC105835l.jpg
And again, just some type of round tub or large bucket (depending on how often you want to change the water) clipped to the wall somehow (so it doesn't get knocked over and they are without water for hours while you're gone) will work just fine for water.

Oh, and the last thing... any plants, shrubs, grass, trees, etc you have in your yard will be fair game to your goats. Make sure you do not have any poisonous to them plants back there either.
They 100% will eat your trees, your rose bushes, anything that is palatable to them that they can reach.

 

[CrazyChickGirl]

We do have a poisonous tree/ bush. It's really tall now and the leaves would be out of their reach. I was thinking about just keeping leaves raked up so they didn't get the ones that dropped?