msjuris
Chillin' with the herd
I just started raising nigis and just added a very small myotonic doe yesterday, bringing the total to 3 does and 1 buck. They have an 8'X10' shed with a 16' X 16' yard for the winter/rainy days and a separate 24' X 32' play yard with 2 large igloos a couple spools and a childs playhouse/slide combo to play on. They have plenty of room to run and play and they each get free time in the afternoons to roam the rest of the little one acre yard I have.
There is a family near me who has a very, very small yard in which they keep chickens and 3 goats (doe, buck and kid). In an area that is no more than 15' X 20'. They really utilized their space well.
I know this really isn't a concrete number or ratio of s.f. per goat, but it should give you an idea. I did read somewhere thought that with nigerians you should estimate no more than 7 adult goats per 1 acre of pasture, but that is for pasture feeding. Since I feed hay, grain and alfalfa I don't worry about pasture space. (I hope that makes sense)
I think that as long as the area is kept clean and they are kept healthy, you should be okay.
There is a family near me who has a very, very small yard in which they keep chickens and 3 goats (doe, buck and kid). In an area that is no more than 15' X 20'. They really utilized their space well.
I know this really isn't a concrete number or ratio of s.f. per goat, but it should give you an idea. I did read somewhere thought that with nigerians you should estimate no more than 7 adult goats per 1 acre of pasture, but that is for pasture feeding. Since I feed hay, grain and alfalfa I don't worry about pasture space. (I hope that makes sense)
I think that as long as the area is kept clean and they are kept healthy, you should be okay.
They have a 10x2 goat house outside of the pen. This is plenty of room for them. I let them loose for a couple hours a day in warm weather to nibble on wild roses and mow down the weeds in our garden.
mine have a fenced in area that used up most of one of those 330 foot rolls of goat fence from TSC.. not sure what square footage is because well lets just say their are hills and not exact straight lines in the pen.. wishing I had more pasture to cut down on hay costs.. guess it depends on your feed plan and space.. mine have some grass and weeds in their pen.. they nibble here and there.. occasionally we go on a whole herd walk where they can browse in the fields and pine trees but since I don't have a pasture per sey my goats are given hay twice a day. Looking to expand a bit of pen area this spring where they can get in and eat some wild blackberry vines and multiflora rose.. guessing they will clean it out quickly but at least more space.. I currently have 14 nigerians and pygmies and 1 mini nubian. The barn space I have is a 24X32 barn with the large pen for does/wethers around 24X10 and a sick/birthing pen around 8X8 and my 4 bucks are in another pen/separate outside pen 8X8 and 18X25 or so outside..they too are getting a little bit of an expansion in the spring..and they pretty much decimated their grass so my boys are on a dry lot so to speak.
