Goat Toy Ideas

[Sweet Cheeks]

Looking to get my first two goats on Friday. I'm so excited and can't wait. I've wanted goats since we had one when I was growing up. It's taken me 45 yrs to make the dream a reality.

What toys or things to climb on do you all provide for your goaties?

We had a wooden spool.

 

[ksalvagno]

That wooden spool would would great. Also Little Tikes or Step 2 climbers or picnic tables. Anything that is sturdy that can't easily be knocked over by the goats. Just make sure they are large enough so the goats couldn't get caught somewhere.

Here are some pictures of what I have.

Good luck with your new goats.

 

[kimmyh]

I have a lot of the Little Tykes toys as well, but I had to remove them until I have a pen for just babies. There is nothing worse than a full sized doe running full speed with part of a Little Tykes structure stuck to her belly. The best toy I have is a platform I had built it is 18" off the ground, and 4'x4'. The goats love to jump on it, play king of the hill, and scratch on the legs. If you build one, be sure to use plywood covers over your support boards, having a head stuck in the structure was very frightening.

 

[Sweet Cheeks]

I have a lot of the Little Tykes toys as well, but I had to remove them until I have a pen for just babies. There is nothing worse than a full sized doe running full speed with part of a Little Tykes structure stuck to her belly. The best toy I have is a platform I had built it is 18" off the ground, and 4'x4'. The goats love to jump on it, play king of the hill, and scratch on the legs. If you build one, be sure to use plywood covers over your support boards, having a head stuck in the structure was very frightening.

I have a bunch of old fence boards (2 x 6's) that I had taken down when I had no climb field fencing put in.

I could make a 18" deck area for them out of those. They have layers of old white paint peeling off. Would they try to eat the old paint? Should I sand them?

Love the Little Tykes - however, my kids are standard nubians. Would they out grow the little tykes?

Another question - What kind of collar do you all use? Would 1" wide nylon dog collars from Petsmart work? Thank you

 

[kimmyh]

The paint will wear off, I wouldn't worry about it. I do not leave collars on my goats, it is just way too dangerous-IMO.

 

[Sweet Cheeks]

I won't be leaving the collars on after reading about someone losing their goat to strangulation.

I need to get collars and lead ropes to use when I need to move them from pasture to pasture to stall at night. I'm on 4 acres with three different grazing areas to choose from.

Dog collars OK?

 

[lupinfarm]

I have collars on my girls for easy catching. IMO my collars would pop off pretty quickly if they got caught up, especially with their power/weight. Then again, I leave a halter on my horse and many won't.

I have a horse rubber ball toy (the kind you hang up) for them to kick about and jump on. My goats prefer to play with each other though, and I'll be installing platforms with them in their field (I have a large hydro pole that is stable but leaning that is no longer in use, I was going to build my platforms off that kind of like a tree house).

One thing I saw at a hobby farm on the way to Tweed was that they had their hay mounted high up on a platform, and then had ramps and stairs up to the platform. The goats seemed to LOVE it.

 

[kimmyh]

I like the plastic chains with a double ended snap for leading goats at home. You can get the plastic chain at Home Depot/Lowes or your local hardware store, along with the snap. Once size fits all of the goats, and you can snap the chain in the goat fence for when you need it. Dog collars can work, along with a strong lead/rope, but I find they are just too heavy for easy leading, and I hate having to adjust the collar for each goat.

 

[kimmyh]

lupinfarm you might try hanging (hang it over a rafter and you hold both ends) from one of the collars you are using, everyone I have talked too has said even the plastic collar with the "break away" links don't break with human weight. Apparently they will break with cows, just not goats.

 

[ThornyRidge]

I agree .. collars are a danger.. those plastic ones that could break easily if hung up may be ok.. but would not work good if you were looking to catch them as it may break on you.. I only do a collar if I for some reason have to get a stubborn one in the stanchion and or take to vet.. and then I chase arouond a cordoned off area in barn and or trick them with cookies and slip a nylon choker type dog collar over their neck with a leash attached.. that way noone is getting away.. as far as toys.. the best toy is each other.. they will definately chase/headbutt and frolic with each other but I would also recommend some type of large sandstone rocks/barnstones and even a platform with shingles on it to aid in hoof maintenance.. works like a charm! and the goats use it as an emory board even! I have used in the past an old tire buried in the ground or flipped on its side and filled with sand or woodchips.. heck an old log (carefully placed so it would not roll around and hurt them) would be a great play toy too.