# can i tie my goats?



## Bedste (Sep 16, 2012)

All my shrubs have been destroyed but I still have plenty of grass and weeds for the goats.  Is it possible to tie goats while they graze?  Are they difficult to keep in one place?  Do I need to get halters or special ropes?


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## Pearce Pastures (Sep 17, 2012)

In my opinion, it could be dangerous and I wouldn't.  They could get tangled, choked, and would make an easy prey.  If it is an option, a portable elctric fence would be better.


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## Shayanna (Sep 17, 2012)

I would only tie them as a temporary thing ( if you need that tree trimmed in that front yard), and make sure that you are there to keep an eye on them. Not only are they great escape artists, but they do get tangled in and around everything. And please bring them in at night.


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## chubbydog811 (Sep 17, 2012)

If you tie them, make sure you are around. Also, tie the rope above their heads so they don't get tangled. 
I had to tie one that kept getting loose and destroying everything. I tied her to a tree in the middle of one of the fields and she was fine.


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## verkagj (Sep 17, 2012)

We tether our 4 sometimes, but only if we are home to watch over them. We use tires with rims and goats have collars that are loose. They have horns so the collars don't come off. Biggest problem is that they do get tangled around everything, clumps of grass, rocks, twigs, you name it. They can make very creative designs with the tethers in a short time. Water is a problem also as they dump it over no matter where it gets put.
Right now we tether in the mornings and move them into one of the 1/4 acre lots around noon because the sun is so harsh. We've tried tethering them where there were trees but they hated that spot. I think it was because they couldn't see us. It was a constant battle of untangling and complaining.


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## Bedste (Sep 17, 2012)

thanks everyone....  I would like to give my crepe myrtles a chance to recoop and also let the goats continue to graze ..... just trying to figure it out


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## sawfish99 (Sep 18, 2012)

I sold a doeling earlier this year to a woman who tried tying her goats.  One got the tie around it's neck and died.  She needed a new goat as a replacement companion for the other.  It was traumatic enough for her and the family that they vowed to never do it again.


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## ladyh (Oct 24, 2012)

I've never had a problem to tie my wether.  He never got hurt and he just steps over the dog chain.  He has a dog collar as all mine do.  I move him around where I want him to browse.  I don't do this all the time but it is handy when he wants to bully and I can still keep him in the herd but he can't get to anyone.


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## Fullhousefarm (Oct 26, 2012)

We've had to tie on a temporary basis before. When our neighbor's buck was in an adjacent field and our doe was in heat we tied her when we left and weren't keeping an eye on her. She went in the horse stall at night. (Horse is in during the day.) She can jump the 48" fence, so it wasn't *just* that we were worried about the buck breaking through. She is quite the flirt and we didn't want a Boer/LaMancha cross for sure!

We have our wether tied atm because he has mastered the art of knocking out the electric fence and climbing to the neighbors. Interestingly, it just started now that the buck is next door with several does, including his mom. We have to put up 48" horse fence in the one stretch that we haven't yet. Thankfully, since he's a wether isn't not a huge deal and the neighbor understands. Still, I don't think she wants her goat back on a permanent basis.  

Goats and fences- the headaches never end!


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## PendergrassRanch (Oct 26, 2012)

Just make sure you use leather collars so they break if they get hung up.  I have heard too many stories of goats hanging because their nylon collars do not break.


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## SkyWarrior (Oct 26, 2012)

PendergrassRanch said:
			
		

> Just make sure you use leather collars so they break if they get hung up.  I have heard too many stories of goats hanging because their nylon collars do not break.


Good leather collars won't break either.  Better to get actual break-away collars (yes, they are available for dogs and goats).


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## sunshine43 (Nov 1, 2012)

I tie my goat out he wears a dog collar and I use a lead hooked on a spike in the ground. But I am always outside when he is tied out as he does tend to get himself tangled around something.


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## Sinaman&Sugar (Dec 5, 2012)

I think it would really depend on if you were going to supervise them & the goat's personality. Some are fine (with supervision) and some just go nuts! Our goats do fine on tethers but we do not leave them unattended. We are working on fencing in our property so this is our only means of having them graze at this time. So far, it's worked just fine - but they are checked on frequently.


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## Sinaman&Sugar (Dec 5, 2012)

Also, they are placed back in large pens at night - not left overnight on tethers. There's no way I could do that - far too dangerous.


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## pdpo222 (Dec 9, 2012)

This year we tied our goats out.  We tied on a stake in the ground.  We have a big metal loop on the end so it revolves when they walk.  I check on them constantly, but I would do that if they were fenced in too.   I use halters on mine always have.  I worried about choking with a collar.  This year we will fence in the side pasture for them and I will check constantly to see if any got out.   I just worry alot I guess.  They are never left out if we are gone.  I put everyone in the barn, that way I know no stray dogs or coyotes can bother them.  It's really the only time I DON'T  worry about them.


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## treeclimber233 (Dec 10, 2012)

I tie my goats out too sometimes.  I have one that has no respect for any fence (over, under, thru she doesn't care) so when I let them out into a small field I fenced with electric fence I tie her to a cinder block.  She is a dwarf breed and has a hard time dragging the cinder block.  As long as she stays in the others that get out with her stay in too. I have a fairly heavy link chain that is the length of their bodies tied to a rope that is tied to whatever is available.  The chain is heavy enough to lay on the ground but light enough they have no trouble moving it.  That way they do not get tangled in what they are tied with. I used rope at first and they constantly got tangled around their back legs.  And the silly things never learned to turn the other way to get the rope off.


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