Lazy Goat Fencing- is it possible?!

[KaliMoran]

This might be FAR too idealistic for goats so all input appreciated...
I have two NDGs and they're very dog-like, hanging out and 'hiking' with us off leash in the afternoons. They currently have a nice, secure wire pen but I'd love to fence in chunks of our brushy woods to use throughout the summer as daytime destinations. I know as soon as the garden is in action, their loose yard time will come to an end. My thought is to use woven wire at 48" to make large, temporary pens using trees (the worst! I know) as posts. I would plan to move this a few times over the course of the summer which -i think- dodges the downside of tree posts. Am I crazy? Any different suggestions for temporary, low maintenance goat fencing? I'm not ready to dive into electric quite yet.
Thanks!

 

[Pamela]

I haven't raised ndgs, we have primarily Nubians. That said, I will share what we have learned.
1- 'free ranging' your goats, while cute and often fun, teaches them some very naughty habits. We free ranged four does and a buck one winter. when it was time for a garden we had a terrible fight on our hands. They would not be contained.
2- we have used a system involving cattle panels to make moveable pens. They are relatively easy to move with another person's help, and you can move the goat's to new feed every day or so. This is not a perfect method though. The pen must be moved often so your goats aren't stuck grazing on top of their feces. Also, if your goats push the fence line hard, they can collapse the whole thing on top of themselves, potentially causing injury or death. This latter issue has not happened to us, but a local goat farmer has cautioned us strongly, because it happened to him. I do like the panels because our goats don't get out of them, and we've had Nubians that could jump just about anything.
Anyhow, that's my two cents.
If your trees are not mature with tough unappetizing bark, your goats will strip them of their bark, thus killing them.
Good luck! Happy fencing!

 

[samssimonsays]

I used the flimsy garden tposts to make my first goat pen for 2 Alpines and a Saanan/Nubian mix. they easily could be flattened to the ground if my goats tried to climb them but they are sturdy enough that if they stand their front feet on them for love they do not bend. They basically wiggle out of the ground and we plan to place them around our garden to keep the rascals out of it. That way we don't have to deny them their yard time with us. We are also reinforcing the pen and doing it properly when we go to expand it.