GOAT SHEDS & BARNS: Small groups of goats can be managed with a minimum of shelter from the rain, snow, drafts and wind. A sturdy shed closed on 3 sides can work well. The open side should face toward the south to take advatage of maximum sunlight and the prevailing winds in many areas. Greenhouse barns, calf hutches and even large dog boxes can provide sufficient shelter for goats. Straw, shredded paper, wood shavings, and corn cobs can all be used as bedding. Make sure there is adequate, dry floor space for the goats to lie down during long bouts of bad weather. The shed should provide a minimum of 5 square feet (ideally 8 to 15) of floor space per goat. Goats like to sleep with their heads uphill and enjoy sleeping on raised areas such as shelves or bunks. The nature of the goat should be considered when designing facilities and working with goats.
EXISTING BARMS OR BUILDINGS can work well with goats also. Even portable sheds may work for a few goats. Goats are herd animals and should have an open area to gather. You may also want to include an area for kidding, secure storage of feed and hay, and a space for supplies and special equipment. Avoid excess water in or near the barn. Buck housing can be simple, but must be strong. Taller (6 feet), sturdier fences are needed to keep bucks away from does in heat and out of trouble.
VENTILATION: Water condensation on the ceiling or walls of the barn after the goats have spent a night in the barn may indicate there is insufficient ventilation in the building. These conditions can contribute to poor respiratory health in goats. Ventilation can be natural (cold housing) or mechanical (warm housing). Natural ventilation systems move air through adjustable and fixed openings, such as vents, windows and doors. Mechanical ventilation systems incorporate fans, controls, and air inlets and/or outlets. You will need to protect your goats from DRAFTS also. Cold, damp drafts will decimate a group of young goats more quickly than any other single factor. Do not confuse drafts with fresh air. Goats need fresh air, but fresh air needs to come from above the animal where it can mix with warmer air before it contacts the goats. Drafts blowing under doors and across floors can reduce healthy kids to at risk goats with pneumonia and scours over night.
MANURE HANDLING. Goat housing should be designed with manure handling in mind. Removing manure with a front end or skid loader will save labor. Goat manure is produced in pelleted form and makes a good addition to a home compost plie or garden. Composting animal waste reduces odors and fly problems. Composted manure is an excellent soil amendment. A manure spreader is desirable for distributing animal wastes over large pastures and crop fields. Water and feed should not be contaminated by accumulated manure. Keeping animals outside in their natural environment will greatly reduce manure handling requirements.
(3) GOAT WORKING YARDS, HANDLING & TRANSPORT
(5) FEEDING, NUTRITION & BRUSH GOATS
(7) BUCK MANAGEMENT & ARTIFICIAL INSEMINATION
(8) GOAT GENETICS, WILD GOATS & PYGMY GOATS
FENCING: The second factor involved in housing goats is the fencing system. It is generally agreed that fences for mature goats must be at least 48 inches tall. Goats are agile jumpers so shorter fences may not contain them. Goats also like to lean on, push against, and stand on fencing, particularly if someone is on the other side to pet them of offer treats. The main fencing types include, chain link, livestock panels, WOVEN WIRE and electric. Goat fencing can be a variety of types or a combination of several systems. Goats often require a two fence system consisting of an exterior fence (perimeter) and an interior fence (cross fence). The perimeter fence will keep your goats and a donkey/burro in and predators (mostly dogs?) out. You may also need a fence to protect your garden from the goats.
Topography, economics and predation pressure determine what type of fencing is most suitable. Besides keeping the goats in, fences are important for keeping out predators such as bobcats, coyotes and dogs. Woven wire and chain link are the most effective. Other methods of pedator control include night penning, kidding in protected pastures and the use of guard animals. Trapping, hunting and other lethal methods of predator control can also be use with care. A Donkey/burro and Llamas are used as guard animals, but the most common animals used are big dogs.
Of all domestic animals, the farm goat and the house cat could more easily return to the wild than any of the others. Hogs, dogs, donkeys/burros, horses, camels, and cattle are known to have reverted to a feral state as well, but usually under a fairly specialized set of circumstances. But feral house cats abound everywhere, and many a tropical island lies denuded, subject to the ravages of uncontrolled populations of escaped or abandoned goats. This would imply that the common briar, brush, or swamp goat can be husbanded profitably without an abundance of fencing, sheds, or working facilities. Two simple factors eradicate this notion: 1) the goat requires a dry bed on a wet night and 2) the presence of predators, both domestic and wild.
A goat's curiosity urges him to seek their nitch and stake out their home range, which can be a rather small habitat for a herd of goats. An area with a one mile radius, a good variety of plants, a constant water supply and a hill or climbing rocks will satisfy the habitat requirements for any goats you would want to keep. Some owners have little trouble keeping goats on the farm with seemingly simple fences, and adequate resources while others couldn't keep a goat on Alcatraz.
A word or two about goat behavior. Goats are herd animals motivated by instinct, tempered with a very sharp memory. Domesticated goats rarely jump fences, unless pressured, but they do like to climb. Therefore, fence lines should be clear of rocks, stumps, and fallen timber. When gathering goats, they tend to drift to the tops of hills, and will move further and faster than cattle or sheep, but if hurried, tend to balk, or become agitated. Excessive noise and rough handling may cause goats to go over, under, or through whatever stands in the way. They frequently come into pens in family groups, with the older females first. They are creatures of habit, and once familiar with a set of pens or handling procedures, will expect to be treated the same way each time.
STRESS: Rough handling is never acceptable. Adding several goats to an established group is generally less stessful and more successful than the addition of an individual animal. Whenever possible, goats should be habituated slowly to new routines or changes in feeding paterns. Avoid stress and both you and your goats will live healthier and longer lives.
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