Need some people to review my setup.

[Augie]

Hello
I live in Santa Barbara, CA and I'm planning on getting some 6 goats. I work part time with a goat brush clearing company. They run 100 head of Boer/Kiko cross goats what they use for fencing is Premier one netting and a LGD with no housing. The space I have a available is a 1 acre parcel on a hill in the foothills it is fenced 100% by a 6 foot tall chain-link fence. They are giving me 3 does and 3 kids that are 2-4 months old. My current setup is dividing my 1 acre into 2 paddocks using electric netting and having a 3 sided shelter. Since I have neighbors on both sides and creek at the bottom. I can not make the chainlink hot but the city owns the creek side so I plan to make that section hot. I'm worried about the predators'. I'm able to see my neighbors and there is quite a bit of foot traffic. I have seen a couple of coyotes using the creek as a guide but not that many. My friend who operates the bush clearing business says not to worry. I did have a whole flock of 6 chickens disappear overnight. I just don't know if coyotes around here are bold enough.

 

[Baymule]

Do you mean making the whole fence hot, because you can't do that. But you can run a hot wire close to the bottom of the fence on the inside of your fence. If a predator was digging in and hit the hot wire, it would be a deterrent.

 

[thistlebloom]

I would plan as though the coyotes are that bold. They will have no problem scaling a 6' foot fence.

 

[Ridgetop]

I did have a whole flock of 6 chickens disappear overnight. I just don't know if coyotes around here are bold enough.

We live in the foothills of Los Angeles. We have the same brush cover as Santa Barbara. We have 6 acres with 30 sheep. We raised the height of our perimeter fencing to 8'. We have 3 excellent working Anatolians.

WE HAVE FOUND 2 DEAD COYOTES INSIDE OUR PERIMETER FENCING IN THE LAST 5 MONTHS. (Those are just the bodies we found.)

YES, THE COYOTES ARE BOLD ENOUGH. They are clever and hunt during the day as well as at night. They will scope out the property and goat pen with the skill of robbers casing a bank. They learn when the easiest times to make a kill will be. You will never see them but they will be there.

Your property runs along a creek bed or arroyo frequented by coyotes now, you have a lot of brush on your property, your neighbors on all sides have brush on their properties. Do your neighbors clear their brush? The coyotes probably are hunting through there now. Are there lost cat and small dog notices up in your neighborhood?

Your friend with the LGD doesn't have to worry, she has a guardian dog. You don't have a guardian dog, so yes, you have to worry. Can you bring the goats up into a small enclosed shed close to the house at night? The coyotes will eventually come in during the day for the goats, but at least at night they might be safer. The kids are the ones at greatest risk.

The hot wire might work. Just know that coyotes will dig under a fence to get at prey as well as jump over the fence. They can jump 6' from a standstill.

Try the hot wire on top and bottom of the fence.

 

[Ridgetop]

It occurred to me that you can buy dog kennels at Lowes that are made of pipe and heavy welded wire. These are welded pipe panels with heavy welded wire attached to them. They clamp together in sections easily. If you get one or two of these (depending on the size you need) and put them closer to your house, you can put the goats in them at night. If you train them to eat a night feed of grain in the kennel they will eventually want to come in by themselves when you let them out of the lower pen. Make sure you put a top on the kennel to keep the coyotes from jumping in. If you put barbed wire or hot wire around the bottom of the kennel you can keep the coyotes from digging under the kennel. In bad weather you can put a tarp over the top of the kennel for shelter. Putting collars with bells on the goats will also signal you if something comes after them (and give you something t grab them with). When the goats run to escape, the bells will jangle and alert you so you can run out and chase off the predator.

Let us know what you decide to do.

 

[Grizzlyhackle]

Dog kennels can work as a pen. Easy to set up. You will have to put wire across the top or they can climb in. I saw the dog 6' feet in the air just as he got to the top. Beat him with a stick and never came back. I look pretty scary when I'm mad and armed. That day I bought more wire and covered the top. Downside of store bought panels: animal urine is strong stuff. Chesapeake peed on 2 spots everyday took about 2 years. Pee then push. Finally one day he broke through. Pipe was rotten at bottom of the door and along the side section. I patched it ,held until he died 10/11 yrs later. I bought 2 gate sections that day. Second one had survived several dogs and 30 years of east coast weather. You'll want to add extra tie downs where the wire attaches to the pipe.
The best advantages to buy them are they can be moved easy, you don't bang a thumb driving a nail. Disadvantage unless it's secured it can be moved by wind and animals. Determined animals WILL get in or out.

 

[Cotton*wood]

Wow. I'm obviously not worrying enough about the safety of my sheep..... We hear coyotes every night, in all four directions around our farm. We see foxes daily. We use movable electric net fences, and we have a supposed LGD (who came with the farm) who doesn't really guard the livestock, but does seem to keep wildlife off the farm. In the snow, we've seen fox tracks go up to the electric fence around the chickens, a scuffle in the snow, another approach, another scuffle, a third approach, a third scuffle, and then tracks off in another direction. But yikes! Did you get it figured out?

 

[Ridgetop]

Although you say the LGD doesn't protect the sheep, just protects the property, s long as you have not lost any animals your LGD is probably working just fine. You may never see or hear your LGD chase off a serious predator. The real proof is "have you lost any animals?". Depending on the breed some LGDs don't bark when they are chasing down a predator. Ours bark to announce they are on the job, that this is their perimeter and property, but if a predator is stupid enough to think it can sneak in they don't bother barking. They figure they have given enough warnings and now they just go kill whatever came inside the fence. We have found several dead coyotes inside the fences without hearing a sound. When the dogs are quiet and there are predators, they don't waste their breath on barking!.