# hw much space do YOUR goats have?



## lil' farmer (Feb 16, 2011)

A newbie asks:  How much space do your dwarf or pygmy goats have?

We are thinking of getting a few of the dwarfs--but we live in town and our space is limited.  We would have maybe 300 sq. feet for them to hang out in most of the time and then once a day I would let them cruise around in the yard when we are out there.  

Thanks!


----------



## julieq (Feb 16, 2011)

They don't need very much room, as long as you keep the pens clean.  Our nine (soon to be ten) ND's are housed in our vintage dairy barn which I think is about 36 feet wide and about 60 feet long.  We have a feed room, cement milking area and small hay storage space in the same barn, plus empty stall space for upcoming kids.  They don't have outside runs.


----------



## ohiogoatgirl (Feb 16, 2011)

i have dairy goats -no nigis or pygmys sorry. they have about 5 acres of pasture. makes for lots of forage and less hay to put out. but it was a pain to fence. at the time we had very bad goats and had to rig 6 foot high fence... yes, for all 5 acres. and there is a second pasture and barn that is about 2.5 acres. 6 foot fence there too.


----------



## cmjust0 (Feb 16, 2011)

Mine have about an acre each.  

They need considerably less.  Or perhaps I just need more goats.


----------



## themrslove (Feb 16, 2011)

cmjust0 said:
			
		

> Mine have about an acre each.
> 
> They need considerably less.  Or perhaps I just need more goats.


I am SURE that is it!


----------



## BetterHensandGardens (Feb 16, 2011)

According to the research I did (and wrote about here: http://www.betterhensandgardens.com/2010/09/15/nigerian-dwarf-goats/) two Nigerian Dwarfs need about 20 sq. ft. if they can also spend time outside.

Sounds like a couple of them would be possible with the room you've got.   We are currently housing 3 in a 100 sq. ft. with occasional access to outside pasture - actually they've got a nice big pasture, but they won't go very far in the snow


----------



## lil' farmer (Feb 16, 2011)

thanks to everyone so much.  I'm happy to keep hearing from you.


----------



## Ariel301 (Feb 16, 2011)

I am keeping 5 adult full-size (120 pounds) dairy goats and 5 kids in a pen 30 feet  by 20 feet. They are comfortable and have plenty of room, the older ones basically just eat and lay around and the babies have plenty of space left to play in. I do take them walking on a trail once a week at least, and the kids get let out in the yard to play every afternoon (mostly to give the moms a break from them rather than for lack of space)


----------



## Our7Wonders (Feb 17, 2011)

My two big gals (140 pounds each if I measured right with the weigh tape) have an 8x8 shed  with a 75'x20' run.  I'm not currently set up to pasture - so we'll bring the pasture to them instead.  We have another 150' x 100' area we hope to fence this summer to increase the area they have to wander in.  I also hope to get them used to a halter so that I can take them for walks since they're limited in the smaller space.


----------



## scrambledmess (Feb 17, 2011)

Our 2 pygmy wethers were in a 16x16.  During the warmer months, they were let out often to roam.  We just put a pygmy buck in with them.  When the ground unfreezes, we will expand that area to 32x32 and build a bigger shelter for them.


----------



## msjuris (Feb 17, 2011)

I just started raising nigis and just added a very small myotonic doe yesterday, bringing the total to 3 does and 1 buck.  They have an 8'X10' shed with a 16' X 16' yard for the winter/rainy days and a separate 24' X 32'  play yard with 2 large igloos a couple spools and a childs playhouse/slide combo to play on.  They have plenty of room to run and play and they each get free time in the afternoons to roam the rest of the little one acre yard I have.

There is a family near me who has a very, very small yard in which they keep chickens and 3 goats (doe, buck and kid).  In an area that is no more than 15' X 20'.  They really utilized their space well.

I know this really isn't a concrete number or ratio of s.f. per goat, but it should give you an idea.  I did read somewhere thought that with nigerians you should estimate no more than 7 adult goats per 1 acre of pasture, but that is for pasture feeding.  Since I feed hay, grain and alfalfa I don't worry about pasture space. (I hope that makes sense)

I think that as long as the area is kept clean and they are kept healthy, you should be okay.


----------



## AlaskanShepherdess (Feb 17, 2011)

I have 4 Nigerian Dwarf does and one 8mo buckling. Currently they all live together in one 12x12 pen that I clean out monthly when there is no snow.  They have a 10x2 goat house outside of the pen. This is plenty of room for them. I let them loose for a couple hours a day in warm weather to nibble on wild roses and mow down the weeds in our garden.

Lord willing this summer they will have access to pretty much unlimited land since our land backs up to state land.


----------



## Kaitie09 (Feb 21, 2011)

We have 1 pygmy and 2 nubian/boers. Their indoor area is 6'x8' along with a 4x4' covered deck. They also have about a quarter acre of woods.


----------



## ThornyRidge (Feb 21, 2011)

at times I wonder if they only need the equivalent of a chalk outline of them laying down!   mine have a fenced in area that used up most of one of those 330 foot rolls of goat fence from TSC.. not sure what square footage is because well lets just say their are hills and not exact straight lines in the pen.. wishing I had more pasture to cut down on hay costs.. guess it depends on your feed plan and space.. mine have some grass and weeds in their pen.. they nibble here and there.. occasionally we go on a whole herd walk where they can browse in the fields and pine trees but since I don't have a pasture per sey my goats are given hay twice a day. Looking to expand a bit of pen area this spring where they can get in and eat some wild blackberry vines and multiflora rose.. guessing they will clean it out quickly but at least more space.. I currently have 14 nigerians and pygmies and 1 mini nubian.  The barn space I have is a 24X32 barn with the large pen for does/wethers around 24X10 and a sick/birthing pen around 8X8 and my 4 bucks are in another pen/separate outside pen 8X8 and 18X25 or so outside..they too are getting a little bit of an expansion in the spring..and they pretty much decimated their grass so my boys are on a dry lot so to speak.


----------

