Re: Goat barn and pen info

Posted by JRSutton on March 25, 2012 at 17:12:19 from (75.130.109.233):

In Reply to: Goat barn and pen info posted by goat on March 25, 2012 at 13:43:50:

Fencing is very important with goats.

If you try to skimp and go with inexpensive weldwire stuff from home depot, you'll be real happy with it for about 6 months.

But the goats will rub against it - and rub and rub - a little every day - a little weld pops here, then there - next thing you know you're going to be wranlging goats every other day pulling your hair out trying to figure out how they're escaping.

Height of the fence depends on the breed.

Goats like to stay dry. They really hate mud. And they love to climb, especially the younger ones. Keep that in mind when deciding where the pen goes.

Before you go putting a solid fence up - now would be a good time to bring in some big climbing rocks if it's possible.

They'll need some shade and lots of clean water, especially in the summer.

Remember too that if you put them in an area with trees, there's a good chance many of those trees will die from the goats girdling them.

For housing, your biggest concern there quite honestly is to make it easy to clean out. They're relatively clean animals, but you'll want to clear out bedding once the ammonia builds up (preferably before that). If it's easy to shovel/rake out, it's more likely to get done more often.

They'll stay warm all on their own (at least here in new england) Much more important that they have good ventilation than lots of warmth. Just keep the wind out, and keep it DRY.

Two goats don't really need any more space than what you'd give a dog of the same size (each) they shouldn't need separate stalls.

Making it tall enough to walk into is a big plus.

We have a light in ours, helps a lot when putting them in at night (coyotes will kill a goat)

With two it probably isn't needed, but if you plan on getting any more - an "airlock" style double gate entrance to the pen is a big plus, especially with children going in and out.

While you're building - consider making a covered hay feeder too. Just a hay rack with a roof. They nibble on hay over the course of a day. And they're not big fans of eating hay off the ground. A roofed in hay rack with a platform for fallen hay keeps them and the hay dry and keeps the hay available to minimize waste on the ground. Could make it part of the shed, but do it outside - you want them coming out into the fresh air and not messing up the shed all day long.

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