Need advice for goat housing and fence

[hcammack]

I wish I had room for two does

can't wait till I am out of school and have my own place and I will have so many animals and plants and it will be awsome I want to try and grow most of my own food.

 

[vicki2x2]

This is what I have found for our goats, which were almost all Nigerian Dwarves until last year. We added a fainting goat, a pygmy and a mini nubian. The cattle panels are good, but little ones go right through them, which also means small dogs and other animals can also go through them. Hog panels are good for little ones, but they can jump them when they get older and dogs can also jump them. Combo panels are a good compromise. We use the 5' welded wire fencing with the 2" X 4" squares for a pasture and the combo panels inside the barn to make pens, etc. This keeps our guys contained fairly well.

HOWEVER, there are exceptions to every rule. We once had a full sized Nubian wether, he would walk the fence down to get the weeds on the other side, eventually climbing over. Not unusual for full sized goats. We also had a Nigerian wether that we got at 2 years old and he was an escape artist. He jumped the five foot fence and gates whenever he felt like it. It wasn't too bad until he started visiting the neighbors or following us out into the road when we tried to leave. We finally found him a new home that had higher fencing than us! We have one other wether that started following the trouble maker, but now that he is gone, he usually stays in pretty well. Remember the fencing must keep the goats in and also the predators out. Dogs are probably the most common threat and they will often kill the whole herd if given the time. This happen to friends of ours, two shepherds jumped their 5 foot fence and killed all 14 of their goats.

Flooring, definitely dirt or cement. If you use cement, you will want to put down shavings or straw to cover it. Wood will rot, stink and hold bacteria. Our original barn is 12 x 14 with the gambel roof and cement floor. When we added on when did not put a floor in. Goats are famous for picking through their hay for the good stuff and by the end of winter are laying on top of 2 feet of wasted hay. Ok, so they are fat and spoiled, what can I say!

 

[Run-A-Muck Ranch]

Quote:
Nope as long as the sheep are out in the pasture the goats are right there with them. Walking, eatting, pooping

, even playing with the baby lambs.
When the sheep decide it's time to come in the barn for the night the goats follow. Then jump out of the sheep area into there own lambing jug(s) that is all set up with there food and water.
They know where there area is. It's just when they are out of there pen they stay right with the sheep.
Not wanting to jinks myself. But so far the one strand of electric is holding the goats in. (all the sheep have figured out the fence is not nice and they don't like the zap.) The big ones found out on there own about the electric. We showed the babies after they were out to pasture for a while where the fence was and each one got a little zap on the nose and have not went by it since.
Knock on wood!!!!!

Now after saying this I might be running down the road chasing 27 sheep and 3 goats.

 

[gumpsgirl]

We just inherited two goats a week ago. We put up some galvanized goat panels that we bought at Tractor Supply and are supposed to be very sturdy. So far, they seem to be! They are 4' high and 16' in length. The squares are 2" x 4" so they can't get their heads stuck in the fencing. The hog panels were less expensive, but to short being only 3' high. If coyotes are an issue though, you might want to go with 8' high livestock panels and line the outside of the fence with chicken wire to keep those goat heads from getting stuck. 4' high fence isn't tall enough to keep the coyotes out, even with hot wire. The coyotes will just hop right over. As for the wood floor, our goats are staying in a large dog house that is lined with straw and is cleaned out weekly. Whether the wood will last or not, only time will tell! Good luck with your goats! You will love them! We sure do love ours!