Okay goat people, help me (LOOK AT THIS!!!)

[lorihadams]

I found a guy on craigslist that makes these and we are thinking of doing something similar since we are looking at getting Nigis and have limited space. What do you think? I think we can do it cheaper than what he's charging but the concept is good. Opinions please!!!

http://richmond.craigslist.org/grd/1431164952.html

 

[Wolf-Kim]

2"X4" wire is great, too small for goats to get their heads stuck in the fence. To keep the goats from climbing on the wire, a couple of strands of hotwire along the inside of the fence. A couple of strands of electric wire are cheap and it will help make you physical wire fence from getting torn down.

If you really wanted to really beef up the fence, run two strands of hotwire on the inside and two on the outside. This will keep animals, such as dogs or predators, from digging or climbing into your goat pen.

 

[lorihadams]

Okay,for those of you that don't have a "barn" what do you house your goats in?

 

[freemotion]

Those are cute! It might be too cold in a cold winter climate unless you insulate the floor. The goats will love it. Don't make them too high, or someone could get hurt with the inevitable butting that goes on. You could enclose the bottom and make it into a townhouse apartement complex!

I stacked some pallets today in the paddock and Ginger was having a great time, all by herself, hopping up and then leaping off and twisting in mid-air, over and over. So cute!

 

[lorihadams]

Um, where are the pics?

 

[freemotion]

Busy weekend! The batteries are finally charged and back in the camera, so tomorrow!!! New dog, new goat, etc, and it should be a gorgeous day for taking pictures. Promise!

Oh, and the buck is living in the first coop I built, which became the brooder, and now is a buck house. Then it will be a turkey house, maybe. Or I may need it in the spring if I am overrun with kids! I will take a picture of it, too, for you. It is made of plywood sheets, mostly, and cost about $100 to put together, with nothing salvaged going into it, unfortunately.

 

[lorihadams]

Would this really work??? http://goatdairylibrary.org/Pages/Milk Production.htm

If you ever need to hand milk your goats during a power outage, you will find out just how painful that can be. You can put together a homemade "Hand Milker" unit made from the top of a plant sprayer from Wal-marts plant department, 18" (or more) of aquarium tubing from Wal-Mart's pet department, and a syringe casing from your local farm supply store.



Put the syringe casing on the teat, start squeezing the trigger and aim at the milk bucket. That's it. Saves a lot of wear and tear on hands. Hughleen Dunn e-mail August 5, 2007

 

[unclejoe]

Okay,for those of you that don't have a "barn" what do you house your goats in?

They share this with the horses. It's a 3 sided run-in shed. It measures 20'x12' The open end with no log siding, where the white goat is standing, is not part of the animal housing. That's part of my workshop. Because the whole thing is built on a slope, The goats are able to crawl under the shop portion when they want to stay cool on those really hot days.

This is something I threw together one day from wood I pulled from a dumpster at a construction site. It's 4'x8' and 4.5' high. I've seen 4 of the goats in there at one time. We used to put straw in it for bedding, but they just kept eating it so we gave up.

 

[Farmfresh]

I don't have goats and have never had goats, but here is a little spot that I sometimes frequent that may be of help. (They do sell cheese making supplies! )

Hoegger Goat Supply

 

[Wolf-Kim]

Most people just build a small runin shelter, like for horses, but miniaturized. I prefer ground shelters myself, an elevated shelter like the ones on CL, allow wind to blow underneath them, so they tend to be colder. This is the same reason people who live in trailers, buy the skirting to go around the bottom.

A friend of mine, only had a pair of small goats, she actually just used a large dog house and the goats squeezed on in there. If you're wanting 3 or more, I would go with a larger building. Something that they all can get in together and keep warm.