Feeding time chaos

[Melissa'sDreamFarm]

Okay, I know I'm not the only goat owner out there who gets mobbed at feeding time. I have done a lot of rearranging over the past few months on feeding areas and nothing works. My current situation is I have moved the grain trough to the fence and cut a hole big enough for a bucket and "planned" to dump the grain in eliminating me having to actually enter the pen (which was a disaster with escaped goats and cracked corn for the chickens and a subsequent "bloat" issue).

So now they stand in the trough waiting for me to dump the bucket. Well I can't, either the goats head or body is in the way (sometimes more than one is standing in the trough). So I'm back at square one, opening the door and entering the pen with the water hose and trying to hose down goats (one actually likes getting wet) and get the grain in the trough. Then my milker (who isn't milking anymore) won't eat with every one else. She wants to eat on the milk stand, lol. I haven't been letting her in the morning and it just makes me sad. I usually let her the PM feeding when I have more time.

What do ya'll suggest? I do work Mon-Fri from 8 AM to 5 PM so the mornings are really tight for me, but I have a little more time during the summer and now is the time for construction projects if I need to make something. I need a force field. :/

 

[terrilhb]

Take a spray bottle with you. I have to use mine for my boys. They think they are always starving to death. After a few times they should be good for awhile but than they forget and time to spray again. Good luck

 

[ThreeBoysChicks]

Great idea, I have been having this issue also...

 

[AlaskanShepherdess]

Using a spray bottle has been working really well on my boys here. Not so well on my herd queen and "I'm a Princess" daughter.

 

[Melissa'sDreamFarm]

Spray bottle, well the water hose is not working. So I don't know if a spray bottle will be any better. Only a few of my goats respect the water hose. Everyone else just stands there and gets soaked.

 

[julieq]

That's why we switched from Nubians to ND's, i.e. there's less chance of being trampled during 'morning rush hour'!

 

[elevan]

My goats go into their feeding pen and get "locked" in. I put the food bucket on a strategically placed high shelf and go in. I take the feeder off their shelf (they are not left down) and hang them in their spots. I tap the feeder closest to the bucket with my hand and then grab the bucket and quickly fill the feeder farthest from me and circle back.

The extra steps seem to cause confusion amongst my herd and allows me to not get mobbed during feeding.

 

[SDGsoap&dairy]

I have a set of feed pans outside the pen so that if I don't want to go in with the bucks to feed before work I can just fill the pans without going it. The bucks just stick their heads through the cattle panel to chow down. If they're blocking the pans with their heads I can just scoot the pan away, fill it, then scoot it back.

 

[Melissa'sDreamFarm]

Ahhh Nicki, brilliant. I need a cattle panel section in my fence. This would allow for me to feed outside and hang removable feeders. This way I could collect the feeders, fill and place on the panel.

I do have one boer goat with horns, this would be tricky for her. I was considering having them banded, but then I Googled it, yuck.

I am smarter than my goats and I will eventually outsmart them ALL!! Maybe, lol.

 

[SDGsoap&dairy]

I don't know how you'd manage with the horned goat... but the cattle panels have worked nicely for us because the holes are plenty big and they're rigid enough not to be damaged.