Help! Goats are eating chicken feed!

FlightsofFancy

Songster
12 Years
Jan 22, 2008
647
13
161
Canton, GA
I need your help keeping my very persistant goats out of the chicken pen.
My very sweet Boer X Nigerian Dwarf, Ivy, is the worst! She heads straight for the opening in to the chicken pen to eat their feed. I have tried to make the hole smaller, but the chickens tell me it is much too small. Then when I make it just a little bigger the goats can get in. I have also tried to spray her w/ water, yell, make horrible noises and nothing deters her. She will still do it right in front of me. ARG!!!!!! I really want the chickens to be able to free range and be able to return to the coop to lay eggs and eat.
So anybody have some creative sollutions for me?

Notice how small the opening is between the 4x4s
Ivyoutside.jpg


Just thought this was cute. Little stinker!!!
IvyinDoor-1.jpg
 
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What about an electric wire strand at her shoulder height? She still might crawl under it, tho. It should be very hot the first time she hits it... I'd wet down the ground around the entrance so she gets zapped enough to not want to try it again. Wet ground = bigger zap.

Or you could put an invisible fence around the pen, and put a collar on her to keep her away from the chicken pen.

Cheers,
Michelle
 
Electric collar? Hmmmmm....that might work. I have plenty of those! I will get back to you and let you know if it works.
Cross your fingers!
 
The little stinker! Keeping goats away from food is just about impossible once they know it is there. And it isn't good for them either.
I would feed the hens in the evening when you coop them up for the night. That way they can eat at night and again in the morning. Then take the food up and put it away for the day.
If the hens are free ranging they should find plenty of food during the day on their own.
Good Luck! Goats can be persistant little buggers!
Carrie
 
Thanks!! I actually didn't even think about putting up the food. Great idea! And maybe if Ivy gets in there a few times and there isn't any food she'll just forget it.
Well, Maybe!!
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Our 2 pygmy's & 4 hens have their own rooms in our barn w/ their own doors that lead to our fenced in "field". Each morning, I have to 1st go into the coop section & lift the chicken food off the floor (I have a strong hook on the ceiling).

When I open each set of outside doors to let them out, STAND BACK, the goats race from their entryway into the chickens door (most of the time 1 of the 4 chickens is barely making her way out & gets trampled on).

Then, I stand & wait about 3 seconds & the goats squeeze back out the chicken door & look at me... questioning "where'd the chicken food go?".

So, I toss some food on the dirt in the field for the chicks or use the long trough-style feeder w/ the holes on top - but the goats just kick it over so it all falls out...

So, my chicks eat mostly what they find in the yard & compost pile, and ALL of our kitchen scraps. At night, the feeder comes down so they get few pecks for dinner.

A few weeks ago, our male goat (both 6mths old) was very, very ill. He looked like he was struggling to go to the bathroom - so bad that by the 2nd day, he could barely stand. And he would just scream/bleat. I thought he was a goner. Took him to the vet where he was put on an oral horse paste stuff to help clean out his digestive tract & he said that too much chicken feed is not good for the goats. So, since I've been lifiting the feed, Billy has not had anymore episodes (not sure why Becky never had any issues, but Billy was definitely always at the chicken feed).

So, sorry for the lengthy resonse... I just know what you're going through. We love our goats & chickens & are happy they are all living in harmony together. Good Luck!
 
I would get some cattle panels and cut them to size and place it so that the goat cant get to the chickens feed as its tixic to them and will eventually kill them. With the wire panels the chickens can pass thru and the goats cant.
 
I have never heard of chicken feed being toxic to goats, and mine eat it all the time! they WILL NOT leave it alone! They are fine, healthy, goats....I had to screw a feeder into the very top of my coop so that only the chickens can get up there to eat it! it works, but the goats still try! persistent little buggers!!! But I love them anyway!!
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I know if goats overeat, they will get bloat, and that can kill them, but they can get that from their own food. Chicken food is just smooshed grains and corn, the same as goat food...how can that be toxic?? but anyway, good luck keeping the goats from the chicken food!!!!!!
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