# Pen sizing for various animals



## ourflockof4 (Dec 22, 2010)

Alright, I would like a little guidence on about what size I should make some pens for several different animals. Our plan is that within the next couple of years we are going to start raising goats, pigs and cows. We would start out with a couple goats and then add from there, but I would like to start out with pen sizes that I don't have to change in the future.

Currently I would like to use a 30'x30' area in the existing barn for housing all 3 if possible. This would just be for the pens themself and I have other areas in the same barn for feed/supply storage, ect. The goats and cow would be on pasture with this being a night/bad weather area. I'm still on the fence as to wether the pigs would be on pasture or not. 

I have read a couple books, and have several more on order, but I have found that a lot of books are geared more towards just pen raising and not the combination of pen & pasture.

So I was thinking a 9'x30' pen on the end, with two 9-10'x25' pens beside it and a 5' aisle connecting the 3. The the aisle would lead to the pasture. With this idea, how many animals could I fit in each space? The pigs & cow would be for meat, and the goats would probably be for meat/milk/pets. 

We also have a 16'x100' building on the other side of the pasture that we can use when the animals are in the paddock farthest away from the barn.

I'm pretty sure that my plan will work for your min. 2 pigs, 2 goats, and one cow that we would like to have, but will it work for more? Also as long as I put solid dividers in will they all be ok in the same area?

Thanks for your input. We are still in our planning stage now, so it would be easy to modify.


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## ksalvagno (Dec 22, 2010)

Are these areas going to be their sole area to be during the winter? I'm not sure about pigs and cows but you can have quite a few goats depending on size goat you want. Also if you are going to have a male goat, he would need to be kept in separate quarters. In that 9x30 area you could probably keep about 10 full size goats. But you might have to adjust the area when they kid and you have a bunch of kids running around. So I would have room for making adjustments that you can easily remove once kids are sold.

The one thing that will become a pain is having to lead out animals down the aisleway to go out to pasture. It is much easier to have a doorway leading directly out of their stall area.


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## freemotion (Dec 22, 2010)

That is a small space for paddocks.  You have to consider bonking with goats and with a cow, one step sideways and you're smooshed against the fence if it is too narrow.

I have my pigs in their own pasture with a small hut at the far end, away from the house.  That is working out well.  I wouldn't run pigs with any other animals.

The beef cow could also live in the pasture with minimal shelter once weaned.

The goats...well, they need a bit of room to expand.  You'll be breeding them, and will have kids.  You will need that 30'x30' divided up to keep a buck separate from the does, and to wean kids, and to keep bucklings separate from doelings until the boys are all castrated.

Leading everyone to and from pasture each day is a LOT of work.  I prefer setting things up, if possible, that they can come and go as they please, within certain limitations.


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## elevan (Dec 22, 2010)

freemotion said:
			
		

> I have my pigs in their own pasture with a small hut at the far end, away from the house.  That is working out well.  I wouldn't run pigs with any other animals.


I completely agree with this statement!  We made that rookie mistake with disastrous results (and that was with full grown potbellies not standard pigs!  A large vet bill and an untimely butchered pig later and we've learned a lot.  

I would make a permanent situation for your pigs.  Do not put yourself in a situation that you have to guide them from one place to another (except for slaughter) and try to get it right the first time.


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## ourflockof4 (Dec 22, 2010)

Thanks for the quick response.

Maybe a little more info, or clarification. The pigs we would buy as feeders in the spring, and send to butcher before winter. The pig pen could also be used for winter housing for either the cow or goats. We would also be buying feeder cattle and raising them out, but we may have some over winter.

We aren't quite sure if we will have a mle goat yet or not, but probably eventually. I'm sure that between the 3-4 paddock and differnet areas I could keep his seperated but still have him close.

Yeah the aisle may be a pain, but if it leads to the pasture, and that door is open then maybe not as much? I also may be able to cut in a new door for them.


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## ourflockof4 (Dec 22, 2010)

I would keep the pigs seperate from everything else, if I pasture them.  And I would not try to breed, or winter them over.

I would plan on the cows & goats being outside the majority of the time, but always having some kind of shelter wherever they are at.

We should be able to run the goats and cows together shouldn't we? Or should we plan on keeping all 3 of then in different paddocks?


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## ksalvagno (Dec 22, 2010)

I would probably keep them in different pastures. The cows could so easily hurt another animal. Especially if you are getting feeder calves and they aren't neutered.

You could figure a way to rotate pastures with the animals. But the pigs would probably just need their own space all the time.

Pigs destroy stuff, so if you have them in the barn, be prepared for them to destroy the pen that they are in. An old neighbor of mine made that mistake and the pigs totally destroyed a corner of their barn and they had some major repair work.


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## ourflockof4 (Dec 22, 2010)

Yeah I'm not sure on how I want to go about the whole pig thing yet. It's either going to be building them a bomb proof stall in the barn, or having their own little part of the pasture. My buddy says ring them and they wont tear the pasture up too bad, and my dad says don't let them out of the barn......

With the other building it should be really easy to rotate the goats and cattle through the different pastures, and that is what I had planned on.


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