HOUSING AND PLAYTIME
When it comes to housing, there are also many different options for goats. Those who are fortunate enough to already have a barn of some sort can give the goats a stall to sleep in or build a lean-to off one side of the barn for them. The main goal, though, is to provide some type of shelter. Goats don’t usually stand out in the rain – they’d rather snuggle up next to each other on those drizzly days.
The first thing we did when we decided to get goats was make a pen. We used field fencing and enclosed about an acre of woodland with a stream going through the pen (the stream is very helpful as it eliminates the need to supply water – assuming the stream isn’t dried up!). We had a 10x10 dog kennel that wasn’t in use, so that went into the goat pen and we covered it in heavy duty tarps. That’s how our first three goats lived for their first winter with us! When the snow finally thawed, we built an 8x12 building for them, complete with “skylights” and a shelf. The “tarp house” was nice, but it was nothing compared to their sturdy living accommodation now. We built an awning on the front of the goat barn (check it out here). It helps in keeping the rain/snow out of the inside of the barn and provides extra room for feeding and hanging out.
The size of the goat shelter depends on the breed, how many you have, how many you expect to have (can’t have just 1 after all!) and what you plan to do with your goats. If you get a doe either in milk or breed her and plan to milk her you’ll need a separate area for milking. For a while we milked in the 8x12 goat barn, but now that we have so many goats the milk stand has come out and we purchased a small shed for milking (see it here).
We found out very quickly that field fencing by itself was not the best option to keep the goats inside their pen. Eloise, our oldest doe, could jump right over the 4 ft fence and Junior found any and every place there was to sneak under the fence. So we invested in an electric fence and put three strands inside the entire length of the pen. One strand is 4 – 6” off the ground, another about 12" high and the last is 4 ft high. The goats have learned very quickly they shouldn’t stand near the fence – and, as we know from experience, no one should for that matter!
We built a wooden hay bale holder that has been the best part of feeding time. See these instructions on Goat World.com. At first, the feeder was free standing in the “tarp house” but once their goat barn was built, we cut the feeder in half and screwed each half to the inside of the barn. We attached plywood to the feeder so the goats can play and sleep on the feeders, but not mess in it!
It is also very important to give your goats things to do in their pens. Bored goats are destructive goats! We have several toys for them; a few were free Little Tykes play cubes, slides and other toys were just big stumps we had lying around. We put the stumps in order by height and the goats love playing “King of the Mountain” on it, and also built them a balance beam (which can be seen in the picture above with Junior jumping off it!). Gregg was able to get huge cable spools from a job site, which has provided even more entertainment, as well as a sun-bathing spot in the summer!
Again, what you provide for housing depends on what is available to you – the key point is to make sure they have something to keep dry and that it is not too crowded in the goat house.
The first thing we did when we decided to get goats was make a pen. We used field fencing and enclosed about an acre of woodland with a stream going through the pen (the stream is very helpful as it eliminates the need to supply water – assuming the stream isn’t dried up!). We had a 10x10 dog kennel that wasn’t in use, so that went into the goat pen and we covered it in heavy duty tarps. That’s how our first three goats lived for their first winter with us! When the snow finally thawed, we built an 8x12 building for them, complete with “skylights” and a shelf. The “tarp house” was nice, but it was nothing compared to their sturdy living accommodation now. We built an awning on the front of the goat barn (check it out here). It helps in keeping the rain/snow out of the inside of the barn and provides extra room for feeding and hanging out.
The size of the goat shelter depends on the breed, how many you have, how many you expect to have (can’t have just 1 after all!) and what you plan to do with your goats. If you get a doe either in milk or breed her and plan to milk her you’ll need a separate area for milking. For a while we milked in the 8x12 goat barn, but now that we have so many goats the milk stand has come out and we purchased a small shed for milking (see it here).
We found out very quickly that field fencing by itself was not the best option to keep the goats inside their pen. Eloise, our oldest doe, could jump right over the 4 ft fence and Junior found any and every place there was to sneak under the fence. So we invested in an electric fence and put three strands inside the entire length of the pen. One strand is 4 – 6” off the ground, another about 12" high and the last is 4 ft high. The goats have learned very quickly they shouldn’t stand near the fence – and, as we know from experience, no one should for that matter!
We built a wooden hay bale holder that has been the best part of feeding time. See these instructions on Goat World.com. At first, the feeder was free standing in the “tarp house” but once their goat barn was built, we cut the feeder in half and screwed each half to the inside of the barn. We attached plywood to the feeder so the goats can play and sleep on the feeders, but not mess in it!
It is also very important to give your goats things to do in their pens. Bored goats are destructive goats! We have several toys for them; a few were free Little Tykes play cubes, slides and other toys were just big stumps we had lying around. We put the stumps in order by height and the goats love playing “King of the Mountain” on it, and also built them a balance beam (which can be seen in the picture above with Junior jumping off it!). Gregg was able to get huge cable spools from a job site, which has provided even more entertainment, as well as a sun-bathing spot in the summer!
Again, what you provide for housing depends on what is available to you – the key point is to make sure they have something to keep dry and that it is not too crowded in the goat house.