How big of pen for two goats?

[rainnotebook]

I probably will be getting two goats this spring and I'm trying to figure out how big to build our pen. And what about a "house"? Our neighbors have two goats and don't have any kind of covered area... is it necessary?

What is the minimum necessary for a outdoor pen and an indoor house?

I just want to be prepared before they get here.

Thanks!

 

[cmjust0]

Build the pen as big as you can, and yes, they will need a shelter. Someone else here posted a thread with pictures of a 12x12 barn with what looked to be a storage loft over it...I think that would be quite nice for two goats.

 

[rainnotebook]

I was thinking of a 20x10 or 20x15 feet enclosure and have some of it covered. I want there to be enough but at the same time I don't know if I have much more to give. If this isn't enough then maybe I need to reconsider a few things.

Thanks for you help!

 

[lupinfarm]

I have 2 Pygmy x does living in a 6x6ft house and they still have quite a bit of space to be apart in there (they sleep pretty much on top of each other, Hermione thinks Cissy is her mommy lol). I'm building a 30ftx30ft pen for them, for when I'm not home to supervise them being in the field, and then they'll also have just over an acre of their own brush/browse field and the horse pasture when it's goat proofed lol. plus because we have old farm fencing and rocky borders on our fields, we make "channels" between the fencelines for them to munch on, theres lots of browse in there and its all lovely and rocky and theres lots to jump on.

use all the space you can, every piece of space that doesn't have fencing is wasted space. we can't put the horse between the fence lines, but we sure as hell put the goats between them! do you have ditches? a sheep farmer around the "block' from me put t posts and electric on the outside of his ditch so his sheep could munch down his ditches.

 

[rainnotebook]

every piece of space that doesn't have fencing is wasted space.

Very good point. Hmmmm... I can take a look at my design and revise it to include a lot more space for them

 

[freemotion]

If one goat is a bit aggressive, the other needs to be able to get away from her. I had peace here for several years with two goats, but when I added a third, well, I leave the door open a bit so one can dash outside if needed. When I added the fourth...Ms Bossy has a thing for her, so I had to use a separate stall at night and in bad weather. Months later, it is getting better, but the door still needs to be open for her safety.

So if space is tight, be sure you have two that get along very well.