Housing your goats

Housing

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It is essential that some type of shelter is provided for any goat, this may be a proper shed or a smaller “A” frame in a paddock. Goats do not take kindly to rain and wind and are susceptible to respiratory diseases, this particularly applies to the dairy goat who does not have the protective coat of the fleece animal. The floor of the shed needs to be easily cleaned and well drained. Goats dislike cement floors as they become very cold.

Straw makes a good bedding for sheds, barley straw is preferable to oaten straw as it doesn’t stain as easily. Sheds need to be well ventilated with good supply of fresh air but not draughts. It is not suitable to keep goats in an open paddock without some kind of shelter or tethered at the side of the road.

Tethering is not a good idea for goats as they often strangle themselves.

Mesh fence in background.

FENCING

Goats are very clever they will quickly learn to escape through the smallest gap in the fence. They are much more intelligent than sheep and will keep going back to the same spot. If you teach kids to respect fences you never have any trouble. A good fence can be made using the smaller pig mesh (8,80,15 hinge joint) and two plain wires on top. If you have ordinary farm fencing an electric fence works well providing you leave it turned on. You need good latches on your gates as clever goats soon learn to open them.

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