# Nigerian Goat Enclosure



## Danica (Dec 30, 2014)

Hello everyone I am looking into perhaps getting two Nigerian goats for milking but also as pets. I am curious as to how large of an enclosure should be for two nigerian goats as well as a den for them to get out of the weather. These goats would live in Elverson, PA incase that helps any. I have been reading about these goats and someone suggested using wood pallets for the den since they are sturdy would that work? Also for the enclosure I was curious if mesh chain link would work, I was thinking of having the chain link cover the top as well so no wild animals could get in at all. Please let me know what you think and what the dimensions should be. Also I would like to have the den to be inside of the enclosure as well as a milking stand.


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## Hens and Roos (Dec 30, 2014)

Welcome , we are in the process of adding Nigerian goats too!  This spring we are looking at fencing an area of 40' x 50' with no climb 2" x 4" horse fencing to start.  There are a lot of wonderful people on here that will provide good advice!


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## Devonviolet (Dec 30, 2014)

Hi Danica. Welcome to Backyard Herds!

We are also getting ready to put in fencing for goats. Goats seem to be very hard on fencing.from what I keep hearing a good rule of thumb: "if it will hold water, it will hold goats"!

I am by no means an expert, but thought I would put my 1-1/2 cents in, for what it's worth. I haven't fenced for goats before, but from what I have seen and read, chain link fencing isn't all that sturdy for goats.  I have seen where Boer goats have pushed chain link fencing all out of shape by leaning on it and pushing.

We are planning to put 2X4" woven wire, with off-set electric wire 12" off the ground. We will be putting three treated posts on each corner - one in the corner and one on each side. I can't remember the exact distances, but if I remember correctly you put a treated wood post every 8-10 feet and several steel "T" posts in between.  A good resource is Premier Fencing: 

http://www.premier1supplies.com/fencing.php?species_id=2&

we have bought a couple LGD (Livestock Guardian Dogs), and will be training them to know that the electric current is not good to mess with.  And hopefully our goats - we will be getting some wethers, to clear our woods - will quickly learn to avoid the electrical wires. We have thought about putting electrical wire along the top of the fence, but might just put barbed wire, to discourage the dogs and predators from climbing the fence.

I'm not sure what you are thinking of doing with the pallets, for a shelter for your goats.  We have a "loafing shed" also called a "run In shed", which is basically a three sided structure, with a roof, to block the wind and rain.  The back of our shed is to the North, so it blocks the cold North winds of winter. We will be putting straw on the floor, for warmth and cushioning. 

Here is a shot of our loafing shed:




 
The loafing shed was there when we bought the property, and we plan to fence around it, to help protect the livestock from predators.  Our LGD will also be in the fence 24/7, to guard our chickens and goats.


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## Southern by choice (Dec 30, 2014)

Nigies are easy to house. Some simply use igloo's some build out of pallets. 2 Nigies take up little space. Keep in mind simple 3 sided shelters are best, you need air flow but shelter. Keeping them completely closed in can be very bad for their health. Urine and fecal will build up. Urine build up will cause respiratory issues, so straw bedding and cleaning in out  needs to be relatively easy.

Goats need room to move in. Keeping them in a small kennel environment will not be adequate for long term. 

Fencing- chain link works fine for Nigies. Goats and fencing... uhhh... everyone has their stories and there are some that are real nightmares on fences. We, personally, have never had issues with our goats ripping, tearing down fencing. Actually we had one incident with a new buck and it was all about him fighting with another buck... but we have had up to 35 goats at one time and no issues. We have large Kiko meat goats that have been behind 3 strand hot wire and 4 ft field fencing. Our Dairy goats include Standard breeds, mini's and dwarfs... all are behind field fencing and our one front field is tape hotwire only. I do not recommend field fencing though. Our bucks do not destroy climb or jump fences either. But that is our herd.

Here are some photos of different shelters we have used...
1st up the sheep shack... now housing dwarf and mini bucks.
Built with reclaimed wood.


 
Has a bench inside... they like to lay up on things. Bench is removable.


 
One of the sheep 


 
This is a temporary shelter... it needed to be moved every 3-5 weeks over 30 acres for the kiko does... hotwire moved with them. These goats have a full time Livestock guardian that moves with them.


 The density of the woods and their aabilityto forage meant we needed lightweight easy to move shelter.


 
Another temporary shelter... also moved but also semi permanent. Tacky-yes but this did the job for the guardian dogs and the goats.


 

Our dairy girls have a large building that is 400sq ft with an additional 200 sq ft loafing shed attached. Our new barn will be 
about 780sq ft for 11-14 does.

You will need to consider if you keep them in a small area they will need to be dry lotted and have to be cleaned out often as to not allow parasite issues. They need enough room to hop, skip, jump up on spools or something fun and be able to move around.


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## Danica (Dec 31, 2014)

Hi Southern By Choice 

I loved the shed made out of reclaimed wood what are the dimensions?


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## Southern by choice (Jan 1, 2015)

Danica said:


> Hi Southern By Choice
> 
> I loved the shed made out of reclaimed wood what are the dimensions?



It is 5 ft x 7 ft.


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## SillyChicken (Jan 2, 2015)

took photo off, seems it's not working now ..
Here is the one we made for our goats, right now it's split in half for the sheep at night.   You can see our fence too.   The buck has made a mess of the fence between him and the girls so we've used hog panel there.  Make sure you pull your fence tight because they will push and make the fence sag other wise.   I hope to put up a scratching post for the two pastures this summer.
This was meant to eventually house 4-5 Nigerians does.  There is a loft up above for hay.  The entry on this side of the fence allows us to be under shelter to feed them, and it is also where the milk stand is located.    It's 12 x 16


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## Hens and Roos (Jan 2, 2015)

thanks for sharing the pictures, it's great to see what others use for shelter....now if we had just another acre or so


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## OneFineAcre (Jan 2, 2015)

This is what I always built for mine.



Pretty simple.  With new material from Builders discount only cost about $150, and it's bascially 8x8 square, plenty of room for a couple of Nigerians.  Plus, I can do basically the entire job by myself, just need some help holding the siding to attach.
I always faced the open end facing S-SW, because when it is cold here the wind is usually blowing from the N-NE.


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## Danica (Jan 3, 2015)

all of these ideas have been very helpful but no has really told me what kind of dimensions I should have for two nigerian dwarf goats on the den and enclosure? Also on a side note do they have to have grass and such to nibble on or can it just be dirt for the enclosure?


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## SA Farm (Jan 3, 2015)

Danica said:


> all of these ideas have been very helpful but no has really told me what kind of dimensions I should have for two nigerian dwarf goats on the den and enclosure? Also on a side note do they have to have grass and such to nibble on or can it just be dirt for the enclosure?



Mostly because the answers vary greatly  
I have a 5x6 shed that I've used for up to 3 goats, but you can go bigger or smaller.
I use 10x10 kennels for turn out for, again, up to 3 goats, but I also have larger enclosures so I can rotate. The 10x10s can be moved.
Having browse is always a plus, but some people do use dry lots with success. The biggest concern there is worm loads, but as long as you're feeding off the ground, it shouldn't be too bad depending on your area.

Hope that helps...


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## Danica (Jan 3, 2015)

Yes that is very helpful!! I really appreciate it and impressed at how quickly you responded.


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## Southern by choice (Jan 3, 2015)

That is because there is no set dimension.
Many factors are involved.
Our goats spend all their time outside and generally just go in at night. However our winters are all rain.... Rain means they may spend days at a time inside which means they need more space.
In the other non rainy months our goats rarely go anywhere for shelter.
Keep in mind the smaller the area the more likely you will have to dry lot. Even in dry lot situations goats can and will get parasites.
We use 10x10's as kidding stalls. 
Some say it should be 25 square feet of space per goat.


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## SheepGirl (Jan 3, 2015)

http://www.backyardherds.com/threads/housing-and-space-guidelines-for-livestock.14898/


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## Danica (Jan 3, 2015)

another thing for fencing could I just do hot-wire and put them out during the day then put them in their den at night if so how high would that hot-wire have to be


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## treeclimber233 (Jan 26, 2015)

There is no set answer for hot wire fencing either. I use hotwire for my goats.  I ran 3 strands from my knee to the ground and I still had one goat that would go thru it. She would scream when the current hit her but she would still go thru it.  There was a 4th strand higher up for height and one goat learned to jump thru the fence. The rest of the herd does not go near the hotwire.


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## Lynn O (Feb 4, 2016)

SA Farm said:


> Mostly because the answers vary greatly
> I have a 5x6 shed that I've used for up to 3 goats, but you can go bigger or smaller.
> I use 10x10 kennels for turn out for, again, up to 3 goats, but I also have larger enclosures so I can rotate. The 10x10s can be moved.
> Having browse is always a plus, but some people do use dry lots with success. The biggest concern there is worm loads, but as long as you're feeding off the ground, it shouldn't be too bad depending on your area.
> ...



SA FARM - I have a question regarding feeding off the ground - I have the bermuda in a bucket hung on the wall but I give their pellets in a dog food bowl (mine are still littles) - is that not okay?  TIA...


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## kccjer (Feb 4, 2016)

We have IBC totes for housing and they work great.  We get them free from the dairy just down the road.  We also have pallets used for fencing....free is always good!


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## Baymule (Feb 4, 2016)

Love it! Pallets are a construction wonder!! And totes for a goat house, how brilliant!


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## Latestarter (Feb 6, 2016)

Lynn O said:


> SA FARM - I have a question regarding feeding off the ground - I have the bermuda in a bucket hung on the wall but I give their pellets in a dog food bowl (mine are still littles) - is that not okay?  TIA...



I think that's just fine... Is it working for you? There may be some waste and maybe more as they get a little older by stepping in the bowl or defecating in/near it or peeing in it... As they get a little bigger, you can always lift the bowl up off the ground and place it on some sort of platform like cinder blocks or something. Maybe build a wood frame around it to hold it in and down from being knocked over.  May come a time when one becomes more possessive and won't let the other have any... so you may have to make a second or feed them separately...


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## Lynn O (Feb 10, 2016)

Thank you!  I keep their play yard and sleeping quarters immaculate - despite them!  I was just hoping that the usual foul was all I needed to worry about...


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