Affordable goat fencing options?

[mandi224]

We have just over 3.5 acres on our new little homestead and ultimately we're hoping to keep 2 or 3 Nigerian Dwarf does. The breeder we've been talking to just let us know she has a doe due Jan. 8 that she *may* be willing to sell WITH her kids. So now I'm scrambling to get everything ready just in case we like her.

Right now, none of our acreage is fenced at all, so we're starting from scratch. We're working with open pasture with very few trees, mostly flat.

What would be the minimum area we should fence initially? (Ultimately we want to fence the whole area, but with our budget we need to do it in a few stages.)

What type of fencing is good for dwarf goats, but also most affordable? We live on a busy road, so I have fears of the goats getting out and causing a traffic accident, so I want to make sure it's secure. I'm a complete newbie to fencing (I didn't grow up on a farm or anything, and haven't found a local mentor yet), so links to specific product examples are helpful.

The goat breeder we're working with recommends cattle panels, but the price! In contrast, our son's 4-H leader just has a 3-wire electric fence to keep in her goats (a mix of pygmies and alpines) and ponies. It seems to work for HER but from everything I've read, that doesn't seem like nearly enough!

Thanks in advance for the help, and please forgive my newbie questions. Doing my best to learn!

 

[Hens and Roos]

Welcome , glad you joined us! Goats are additive , we planned to just get 2 and now a year later we are up to 9!

We have fence called 2x4 no climb horse fence- we got ours from Farm and Fleet but TSC sells it as well. It is on the pricey side but it has worked well for us so far and we do have a buck who will work the fence over a bit. We have an area about 45' x 55' for pasture with a shelter for the goats and another sheltered area 10' x 14' that we use.

@Southern by choice @OneFineAcre @Goat Whisperer @Samantha drawz @babsbag can also provide some good information as well.

 

[Mike CHS]

I learned a long time ago that matter how much thought I put into some things, it isn't going to be that way for the long term. We had cattle in the past but are only going to have sheep and probably a couple of dairy goats so we are fencing in two holding areas adjacent to our shop/barn. We then plan on adding paddocks to both of those as we get our livestock. If I don't read any posts on BYH too often I won't wind up with more critters than I can comfortably provide fenced pasture for.

Seriously though, I have always fenced in at least one main area sufficient in size to keep whatever you get comfortable and then added from there. We bought the "no climb" horse fence for most of it since we share a property line (and expenses) with our neighbor who is moving his horses to our line.

Fencing for goats and sheep are all new topics to me but there is a ton of info on this site.

 

[Southern by choice]

We have used everything. For wire we do 5 strand closer at bottom and space further apart as we go up... ours is only about 36" or so tall. Keeps our LGD's, kids goats and all others in. We live on a highway (country). You do have to train goats to wire.

The 2x4 is the best fencing IMO- pricey though.
The 4x4 goat sheep fence is a great compromise- newborn Nigies can fit through but not for long.

With Nigies I'd stay away from field fencing.

Many will hard fence a section and put wire up for larger areas so the goats can be out and supervised with you in the day etc til the whole property or areas are fenced.

For a few goats in more of a dry lot a 20x30 is fine.
1/4 acre fenced will give you plenty of time to expand.

Welcome to BYH! And congratulation on becoming the next goat addict.

 

[Latestarter]

Greetings @mandi224 from the front range in Colorado! ! What the others already said in response to your Q... Congrats on starting your addiction out with a (at least one) pregnant doe! It guarantees (even more) herd growth in no more than 5 months time! The sooner the better! One other thing is the little darlings will need a place to get in out of the rain/wet... It doesn't need to be fancy... a 3 sided shelter with a roof, deep enough that they don't get blown moisture on them. If you can make a raised "bench" area inside, they'll love to climb up on it to rest/lie down on. In case you hadn't heard... goats (think they'll) melt if they get wet. At the mere suggestion of rain, some have been known to run for cover screaming at the top of their lungs!

Also, if you intend to milk the doe(s) you'll want a covered/protected spot to place the stanchion (milk stand) so you aren't sitting out in the wind/snow/rain/cold/wet trying to milk.

Best of luck and success moving forward! Please share some pics with us when you get the little lovelies! We all here on BYH thrive on pics! Thanks!

 

[samssimonsays]

In my area you can find fencing rolls on craigslist sometimes from people who bought too much or bought it a while ago and never used it. T-posts too. We got our fencing that way and used 2x4 welded wire fencing. We have just a small 20x30 ft pen at the moment for 3 large breed goats. We have just under 6 acres and while we are home they get to roam the yard with us. All three were bought as babies and were very social and dog like right off the batt.

 

[mandi224]

Thanks everyone for the advice! I am super appreciative!

As far as the rest of our setup -- we have a barn with 3 horse stalls. One stall has rabbit cages right now, and the other 2 stalls are empty -- we were going to use these for the goats. Will that be OK? Here's a picture. The first stall on the far left (where the yard cart is) now has rabbit cages. The other 2 stalls are finished and empty, though the one furthest to the right still needs a door. The doorway on the far-right of the photo leads to the work-room...

This is the work room attached to the barn. (Kids like to play in there, haha.) The open door in the pic goes out to the barn, and the closed door goes to the upstairs over the barn. I have my chicken brooder in this room now and a spare fridge. Was thinking of putting the milking stanchion in here because it's pretty clean and well-lighted. (Also has a sink and a gas space-heater, though it's not hooked up currently.)

Our barn has a garage door for whatever reason (the previous owner built it that way). Should we think about replacing that? (I figured we'd just leave it open 3/4 of the way so the goats can go in and out during the day. Good/bad idea?) Should I ALSO provide a 3-sided shelter in the pasture in addition to access to the barn?

I'm so glad to have found such a helpful forum. I appreciate it so much!

 

[samssimonsays]

I made a small little "hut" that comes off of the side of my barn that the rabbits are in, the pen actually attaches to the side of the barn so that I could make a bigger pen for them with the fencing I had, And it is seriously only the barn side, a back wall, side wall, roof and then I put a half wall in the front to give them shelter from all 4 sides just in case. It is maybe 4x8 in foot print and about 4.5 ft high and they all curl up in there just fine. All can stand in it side by side as well.

 

[mandi224]

@Samantha drawz That's a great idea! if/when we expand that would be a great solution. Thanks for the idea!

 

[Southern by choice]

Just a suggestion- make sure you can WALK in and under your shelter easily with headroom to spare. You will not want to be bending and squatting trying to shovel out under something you can't get under.

Also plan for 7-10 goats.

Trust me. Everyone on here started with 2.
I have 30+