How much room do minature goats require

[2mnypets]

KK, I have the fever now. My biggest question is how much room do the lil goats need or require? I have a lot of reading to do but my main concern is the area they would need. No sense in getting them only to find out my accomodations are insuffcient. I have almost an acre. Was wanting one for milk and I know that I would need to get a couple of females for companionship. I don't want babies hence the need for 2 females. Any info would be greatly appreciated!

 

[2mnypets]

I just read my post and realized the ending was confusing. I wouldn't mind getting them as babies, I just don't want a male and a female. I know I wouldn't be able to accomodate more than two, if I have enough room even for the two.

 

[Blondie]

We recently got two pygmy mixes. They are about 4 months old. We have 5 acres fenced off with 3 different pastures. The goats (and chickens and ducks and deer and etc, etc) stay in the pasture thats about 2 acres with a creek running through it.

At night I tuck them away in small stable. They are really cute! BTW, one "was" a boy. The man I got him from banded off his "boy things" and then they fell off (I know, kinda wierd). Now his is considered a wether.

The goats house is to the left, the chicken house is to the right.

 

[madanesor]

Just to let you know, you can not get milk without getting babies. Maybe if you find a local farmer who would let youy "borrow" him male goat and in return give him the wheened babies?

 

[4H kids and mom]

2manypets....are you still coming out this way for my chicks and some goats?

I am getting a pair of gal goats tomorrow too! I live about 2 miles away from a lovely farm where they breed and raise angora goats, and meat and dairy goats. They've really educated me in the past 24 hours! Here's what I know so far about little goats:

Goats (especially small ones) really dont need THAT much room. If you let 2 of them roam the acre, or even HALF of it, that would be sufficient. They will need a little dog house, or a stall/pen that they can get in to get out of the rain and at night. They eat mainly hay, and you need to avoid getting hay with too much alphalpha in it, because it can lead to something called "Scoures" (I may have that spelled wrong...) which is an inflamitory bowel disorder that causes runny, burning poo that leads to open sores and hair loss. Anyway, they also need grains (corn, wheat, etc) and must feed supply places sell a basic mix made for all livestock called Sweet 16 or something similar. If you ask at your feed store for their "sweet mix" they'll know what you mean. Oh, and they like things to jump on and climb. They are good at getting out of fences, but if they are well cared for and get plenty of attention, they will be less likely to try to run off.

Anywho, if you havent already found a breeder or farmer near you, please let me know. The family I am getting my goats from are AWESOME! They have litterally HUNDREDS to choose from! It was soooo hard for me to pick just TWO! But, I let them pick ME.

I'm getting one pygmy angora boer cross and one pygmy boer cross. I cant wait until tomorrow! EEEEEEE! I'm GIDDY! lol I wish you good luck too!

Long story short, to answer your question in a short and to the point answer: YES you have enough room to keep a pair of small goats quite happy.

 

[Cheri]

We found a goat in our yard. Seriously! And we tried everything to find her owners. I took her to our local feed barn and he told us she was a pygmy goat. Beautiful eyes and the sweetest personality. The fun was that she actually thought she was a dog! She would run with our dogs. We also had a potbellied pig. We couldn't take care of them like we should so we gave them to our feed barn and a lady took both of them home because Pebbles and Petunia were crying and trying to get to each other. Pebbles (so named because that is what she left behind) died a year later in childbirth. My husband misses his goat to this day. Petunia is alive and well and is HUGE!!

 

[Sugar Sand Farm]

Goats are alot of fun but beware Male goats are stinkers Get a wether or a female. Most farmers keep a male for breeding but you will find they are kept apart from the other goats especially the milking females as the smell will get in the milk. We have three goats two small goats and a boar mix They especially need somewhere to get out of the rain Its funny to see ours run for cover when the first drops start. They can take cold weather well too but do need a draft free house. When we were looking for ours we got on line and searched raising baby goats you would be suprised at the number of farms that came up. Goats like chickens you will hear many different things.

 

[Frozen Feathers]

I think most breeders will wether the boy for you. I know the women we bought our Nigerian babies from does. I also think it has a lot to do with she is just establishing her line and isn't sure of the quality babies the bucks may throw yet. So she keeps any potential bucks for herself and anything less then perfect gets wethered and sold as a pet. Wethers make great pets and companions. They are also cheap in comparison to does. Nigerians are also great milkers, if that's what you're interested in. If you buy a doe in milk you can probably milk her for about 6months before she'll dry up and then need to be re-bred to start producing milk again.
Check out Fias Co Farm. They have tons of great goat info. http://fiascofarm.com/