Tell Me about Goats

[Boondox]

Rich -- They sound like a LOT of fun! [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img] How do you winter them over? Got any pics of your shelter? Any suggestions for goat-proof (or at least resistant) pens?

Pete

[Boondox]

That's pretty much what we were thinking. A portable pen surrounded by portable electrified wire mesh fencing. Let em munch for a few days, then lock em in the pen, move the fencing, drag the pen to the new location, and unlock em. Not sure about the winter, tho.

Pete

[EJB]

Well a shelter is becoming a high priority for us (go thte goats about 3 weeks ago). Last night it was a full moon, and the goats who have all been very quite every night since we got them, we up all night nervously "screaming" (they really do sound like someone is killing them, its kind of funny)....around midnight I heard the pack of coyotes circling the field (and the dumb goats kept giving away there location [img]/forums/images/icons/shocked.gif[/img] ).

So far we just have had them in a smallish pen 100ft by 100ft which is a 4 foot high wire mesh fence (non-electric) and surrounding that a 5 foot high snow fence). They havn't gotten out yet, and nothing has gotten in, but need to get an electric fence setup soon (like today) and also give the a more permanaent structure for protection from the cold while I build an animal barn.

ANyone know how much (and where I can get) those plastic bubble shelters you sometimes see on farms? Thinking of something round, maybe 4-5 feet in diamter and about 3-4 feet tall as a temporary solution??

Don't need any more sleepless nights listening to coyotes calling the goats and the goats screaming in fear... [img]/forums/images/icons/tongue.gif[/img]

[RichZ]

Pete, yes the goats are a lot of fun! We keep ours in one of the horse stalls in the barn. Ours actually came with our farm, the people we bought the farm farm, asked if we'd like to keep them, because their kids weren't taking care of them. We jumped at the chance. So our goats are living in our largest horse stall!! They lived in it for over 6 years, so there's no way we could get them to move into a smaller stall.

But shelters for goats are very simple. Just a small three sided shelter will do. My goats have never been destructive, so I don't know of any special requirements to make it goat proof. You just have to make sure that you provide water, and food during the winter. In the winter it's especially important for them to have grain in addition to hay. I feed my goats dairy goat feed and hay all year long, and they forage whatever they like, but I'm not looking for mine to control any growth.

One important thing, though, make sure there are no cherry trees anywhere near where you keep the goats. They love cherry leaves, and they're very poisonous. Our friends lost a goat who ate cherry leaves, and it was a horrible death!

[EJB]

>>poisonous. Our friends lost a goat who ate cherry leaves, and it was a horrible death!

Based on my *extensive* 3 week ownership of goats, I'll second that. [img]/forums/images/icons/wink.gif[/img]

I'd recommend that anyone that is going to get goats, do some surfing on the interent to find out how many very common plants are deadly to goats (just a few I know of: cherry, rhododdendron, lilly of the valley, mountain laurel and dozens more).

Unfortunately, we didn't know about this and for the last 36 hours one of our new goats has been wretching and shaking for the last 36 hours in a pretty horrible way after being allowed to munch a few mountain laurel leaves in our yard.

The kids like to walk them around on leashes and the goats will pull them over to what ever looks tasty...

Here is a link with dozens of plants to be avoided: (wish I had knownb about it before I got the goats)

http://www.goatworld.com/health/plants/

Also, FYI, we tried this home antidote and it seemed to bring about quite a lot of relief to the affected goat, so it looks like he may not die after all:

¼ cup cooking oil
½ cup strong/strong cold tea (6 to 8 tea bags removed) ["English" tea]
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon baking soda
MIX ALL TOGETHER

We then used a syringe (with needle removed) to get it down the goats throat...he threw some of it back up, but the 2nd and third batches he seemed to keep down and within 1-2 hours he seemed much better.

Keeping my fingers crossed.
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[Boondox]

Darn! Black cherry is one of our most numerous trees! I'll have to study up some more. Thanks for the warning

Pete

[Old_Soldier]

Here is what I can add to what's already been said.

I think Boer goats are the best breed for your application. They are heavy bodied meat goats bread in South Africa to deal with harsh bush conditions. They are very calm and friendly and the billies do not have the strong odor of some other breeds. They have realitively short legs for their weight so they don't jump as much as other goats and are easier to keep in.

I keep my goats in easily moved electric mesh netting, available from Premier. The electric netting keeps the goats in and the predators out. Dogs and coyoyes love to harrass and kill goats. You have to confine the goats to an area you want cleaned up for them to do an effective job. First they eat their favorite new leaves, then the older, then the younger twigs, and finaly they chew the bark off the brush. One or two episodes of this treatment in rotation will kill most kinds of unwanted brush.

Goats eat mostly broad leafed plants and tend to avoid grass unless they are very hungry. When you put them in an area of mixed broad leaf and grass, they quickly get rid of the broad leaf stuff and leave the grass for the horses. They are great pasture improvers.

Like most herbivores, goats will not eat all poisonous plants available to them. Poisoning occurs most often when the poison plants are the only thing available to them. Goats eat poison ivy like candy, with no ill effects.

[jtcweb]

How much do Boer goats cost? I relize this is dependent on the area of the country you are in, I'm in SW Michigan

[EJB]

Just as an update, my poisoned goat seems to have made a full recovery...not sure if the homespun antidote did it or not, but within 1-2 hours of giving it he stopped throwing up and now 36 hours later he seems to have a healthy appetite back and is his usual cheerful self.

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[s1120]

Good, I'm glad to hear all is well [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]