Goat Yard Plan

[doubleatraining]

So I finally have my first goats! I have a doe and her 6 week old doeling. I'm also getting a first freshener on Wed. Right now I have Mom and baby stalled so she can get used to me. I have some of my fencing up/planned but I'll be finishing the rest this week.

My plans:
15x15 sacrifice lot/where the goat hut will be.
50x50 "pasture"

Towards summer I hope to have them either trained to a leash/tie out or have some temporary electric fencing I can move around the rest of the 3 acres for them to bushhog down.

I plan on keeping 2 does, I'm not sure which 2 right now though.

Ideas? Thoughts? Suggestions?

 

[SheepGirl]

The 50x50 'pasture' is only 1/20 of an acre. It won't be a pasture very long.

 

[Mamaboid]

Just one word of caution here. Never tie a goat out unless you are right where you can see it at all times. Predators love a sitting goat, and rope tangles are absolutely going to happen. It is amazing how quickly and tightly a goat can get witched up in what I swear can be a single blade of grass. Dry lots are fine so long as you have lots of hay available and lots of good clean water. They make for more cleaning, but you work with what you have. Our goat huts are in the lots, and that makes it real easy to put everybody to bed at night. They watch for us to bring their 'night time hay', even with full hay racks. When we go into the fence, they run to their huts, we throw the hay in and close the doors. Even the 6 week old babies have the routine down to a science. We have to lock everybody up at night here, because we have bears, mountain lions, bobcats, foxes, coyotes, and coy dogs. Oh and owls big enough to take a kid. Needless to say, we lock up our chickens, turkeys, guineas, and ducks at night also.

 

[doubleatraining]

The 50x50 is just the "starter pasture". I'm going to have 2 tiny ND and don't worry they won't be out eating without supervision. I'm working on a deal for one of those temporary electric net fences so I can move them around the rest of the woods/pasture so they can eat to their hearts desire.

I fully plan on offering supplemental feed/hay.