Deer in goat house

[Melissa Brown]

I went to replace food and water in the goat house tonight and a full size deer came running out. What can I do to keep them out of there??

 

[Latestarter]

Better (stronger/higher) fencing would be my first recommendation, followed by hot wire.

 

[Bossroo]

That stronger/ higher fence should be at least 8 feet high as deer are known to jump 6+ foot fences . I know this as fact, as I have 6 foot Cyclone fence along the front of my ranch and I have seen deer jump it to eat the greener grass in my pastures. Otherwise, wait for hunting season.

 

[Melissa Brown]

That's a great idea however we live in the city of Pittsburgh... Would deer repellant effect the goats if I treated the outer perimeter of our fence?

 

[Bayleaf Meadows]

We deter deer with fencing made from 10' electrical conduit pounded into the ground around two feet and zip tie deer netting to it. It's not a permanent solution really, but it helps. You can see it in the background of this photo. We space them ten feet apart and strap conduit across the top to give it more stability and places to tie to.

 

[Latestarter]

As for hunting... not sure the "city" of Pittsburgh's finest (or the I'm pretty sure you must have; nosy neighbors) would like that idea too much... But then, there's always the very lethal (and relatively silent) crossbow you might consider. Just musing, not necessarily recommending But should you decide to give it a try, wait till the deer is inside the fence... The darts aren't immediately lethal and the wound will keep it from escaping back over the fence (most likely). Oh, and make sure there's no goat behind the deer when you let it fly. #justsayin

ETA: I've never heard of any deer repellent being actually successful.

 

[Southern by choice]

Livestock guardian dogs.

 

[Melissa Brown]

Livestock guardian dogs.

I'm all for this method, the only issue is we have a 1500 sq ft home, a 3800 sq ft lot for the goats, a 9 yr old house dog who runs for the porch and not the goat house when it rains and in turn the 2 goats run after him and they all end up huddled under the porch or even worse Max sleeps in the rain (makes no sense) and 3 cats. If I get one more animal my husband might head for the hills lol.

Does dear repellent work and if so, will it effect the goats?

 

[Melissa Brown]

As for hunting... not sure the "city" of Pittsburgh's finest (or the I'm pretty sure you must have; nosy neighbors) would like that idea too much... But then, there's always the very lethal (and relatively silent) crossbow you might consider. Just musing, not necessarily recommending But should you decide to give it a try, wait till the deer is inside the fence... The darts aren't immediately lethal and the wound will keep it from escaping back over the fence (most likely). Oh, and make sure there's no goat behind the deer when you let it fly. #justsayin

ETA: I've never heard of any deer repellent being actually successful.

lol, any other method imaginable would be better than this one. While I don't want them in my donkeys goat house, I love all animals too much to kill one. If it were a spider I could do it no problem but not Bambi ...

 

[Melissa Brown]

We deter deer with fencing made from 10' electrical conduit pounded into the ground around two feet and zip tie deer netting to it. It's not a permanent solution really, but it helps. You can see it in the background of this photo. We space them ten feet apart and strap conduit across the top to give it more stability and places to tie to. View attachment 36439

Time to tell my husband we need to move to a new house, with more land and a higher fence!