How do you keep your goats?

[lupinfarm]

I see around here a lot of goats kept outside or that have access to a run-in or shed 24/7 plus a small field. In the spring we're looking at getting a Reg. Nubian Doeling from a farm in Madoc and while I could extend the house right away, I could also give them free access to their 30x30' pen and access to a calf house (I have one I got for them as a run-in shed).

The goat house is right infront of our house and I could put up a solar flood light for them. Thoughts?

 

[cmjust0]

Our primary herd have an old stock barn and quite a few acres of fescue and weeds.. They go in the barn when they please, but most of the time they're out hoovering up the greenery. If it's warm out at night, they'll often sleep outside on a little rock outcropping or up on top of a HUGE dead white oak that's laid over on its side. Thing's about 8' off the ground toward the root end...sleeps 8-10 adult goats comfortably.

Speaking of, our previous herdsire got excited and sailed off the end of the big tree one day as I walked to the barn to dole out grain. The root end kinda makes a bell shape, which he used as a ramp after getting a good 10' running start. He looked so graceful as he came off, flying way up off the ground...which, by the way, was dropping away as he sailed along on account of it being downhill from where he jumped.. I'd say at his highest point, he had to have been 12' off the ground if he was an inch..

Such a beautiful thing to see...I couldn't help but stop and go WOW! as I watched in amazement.





Big dummy folded like a cheap suit when he hit the ground. Pretty sure it knocked the wind out of him, as he was a bit slow to rise.. I was worried for a minute, but then he got his wits about him again and resumed the mad dash for grain.

 

[lupinfarm]

Hahahahaha... I bet that was quite the sight to see! The girls currently get locked up at night, but I don't see why they wouldn't be safe if I left them unlocked and they had access to the 30x30 space, 4 rail of wood buck fence with another 4 lines of hot wire LOL.

 

[ksalvagno]

I think you have to decide what is best for you. I have all my animals locked up around the barn. They can go into their stalls or hang out under the overhang. I just feel safer with them in/around the barn and not out in the field.

 

[lupinfarm]

Well its not really a field thats the thing... Its at the top of the field attached to their house, a 30'x30' pen, about 10 feet off the driveway. I have no problem leaving them out in the 10x10 chainlink pen at night with access to their house.

 

[ksalvagno]

I would say do what keeps them predator safe and make you feel better. My animals have free choice to go out to pasture during the day and they are locked up by the barn at night because I worry about predators. I'm sure if a predator really wanted to get one of my animals in the barn, they will. But at least they have to jump over or dig under fences, come through my pastures and either dig or jump high or a tall fence to get to the barn.

 

[cmjust0]

Good points about predation.. We used to lock them up at night before we got the LGD, but predators rarely cross my mind anymore. The goats still usually go in the barn at night but it's always left open so the LGD can sleep in there or at least get to them if something goes down.

The big dog's also why we don't really mind if they decide to sleep under the stars, too..

 

[Roll farms]

We have a 1.5 acre main pen where "general population" lives, fenced in w/ access to a 8 x 20" loafing / feeding stall.

There's a .33 acre buck pen w/ higher fencing and a 6 x 10 shed.

Then we have 4 holding pens (used for breeding or raising kids), that have a barn in the center split into 4 - 8 x 10 sheds. Each yard for those pens is roughly 30' x 50'. No more than 2-3 does and one buck are in them at a time, and just long enough to be bred.

Ours USED to always sleep in the main barn, LGD's included.
Then we put up a bug zapper light this summer. Now also known as the "goat deterrant light".

You should see 30 fat goats and 2 dogs trying to run from the 'big, scary sounding, purple-lighted-thingie'...every time it got a really big bug and made a big ZZZZZZap sound, they'd freak out and head for the hills.

(After tripping over eachother and running into eachother and basically scaring themselves even more than the zaps did....silly goats.)

Eventually they all started sleeping outside unless it was raining (which also kept the bugs from flying and making the ZZZZap sound).

I have to admit we've only had to clean the barn out once this summer instead of 1-2 x a month, since they were only in there long enough to eat most days.

Now that it's cooled off, they're back to dog-piling in the main stall, all tangled up and content.

We don't shut the barn door unless it's going to get really, REALLY cold / snowy at night.

 

[norcal]

We're new to this. But, we have ours locked in a shelter at night (not a barn, but about 7'x15'). Then we have a small pen outside the shelter, about 700 sq ft? Then most of the time the gate is open to their pasture, about an acre maybe 1.5 acres.

Sometimes if a neighbor is shooting off his gun or I see coyotes or strays, I leave the goats in their pen, if I'm leaving the property and I see these things, I may also put them in their shelter. Depending. I'm around the property most of the time. I'd like a LGD, but don't trust myself to train it properly - so really SHOULDN'T get one.

 

[cmjust0]

If you get the right dog, it shouldn't need any training.. Indeed, a good LGD should be somewhat resistant to training, as it should be bred with a strong will and a propensity to make decisions independently of its master.

An LGD that requires training is actually quite useless, IMO, as the very time when it needs to be able to do its job is when I'm NOT around to direct it. If I were always around to sick him on coyotes, I'd simply kill the coyotes myself and save a pretty penny on dogfood.

Ours, a Sarplaninac, required no training whatsoever. He's gigantic, confident and willful, has no prey drive whatsoever, is extremely wary and alert to anything out of the ordinary, and is fear-aggressive. That's what makes a good LGD.

The reality is that you could go find a mutt dog from the pound with those characteristics and it would make an excellent LGD....it's just that if you go to a known LGD breed, it's simply more likely to carry those traits.