#PocketFarm What is the minimum amount of space needed for two male Pygmy goats? Housing should have sufficient hard standing outside. The only exception to this rule is if instead of mostly grass, you have an area with weeds, brush, and lots of variety of foliage. It is more expensive but is good for animals that suffer respiratory ailments and once the initial bed has been laid is quite easy to maintain. If you give your goats feed, make sure that you aren’t giving them too much. Bedding can be retained with the use of box-like wooden frames or wooden planks held in place by small vertical wooden retaining blocks attached to the walls. They generally do not do well alone. They will do okay on just grass, but unlike most other ruminants, they don’t prefer it so they may try to escape to find other food sources. Space requirements for goats. Required fields are marked *. In planning a barn for Pygmy goats, ease of cleaning and finances may determine just what structure is feasible. Remember optimum herd size. Lv 4. Lightweight rubber cow matting, usually sold in 6ft x 4ft units placed over the concrete, provides additional warmth and comfort. Goats may need special 4-foot-high fencing to keep them in and keep predators out. They’ve got a hay feeder, fresh water, a shelter for rain, and maybe some shade for hot days. What is a Sustainable City? The outside of buildings, where stock is constantly moving in and out, will get mudded up in no time. This space will also allow them to reproduce at a faster rate compared to a small space. © Pocket Farm Magazine, 2020. Five-wire electric fences, with three wires hot and two grounded, make a good system. Ideally, you should have a large outdoor area where your goats can range, browse and get the exercise they need to stay healthy. It also should be obvious that goats need space (if you thought they didn’t before this, you’re not one of those natural animal people most likely). Needless to say, that goat was tethered often!). Pocket Farm is a community for like minded people interested in self-sufficiency, farming, conservation, ecology and rural crafts. The amount of pasture required is a constantly asked question. Jul 5, 2018 - How much space do goats need? What you have to remember though, is that goats are herd animals, so they prefer a buddy with them. Six pygmy goats per acre is about right with overstocking a recipe for disaster both in terms of health and land management. Sweet Feed. If you keep the goats in a dry lot (no pasture, you bring in all the hay), miniatures do okay with about 200 square feet per goat. Answer Save. Areas of about an acre for six or so animals, which could be rotated with an area of a similar size annually, would be ideal. Alternatively, a line of breeze blocks would suffice. Fencing must have to be at least 4 feet tall from the ground. However, most goats will need nutritional supplements in addition to forage. Part 4(b) – Nutrition – feeding according to need Start by putting some down under the bedding area and work out from there. Your email address will not be published. Pygmy goats don’t like being wet so if you can provide some shelter from the rain that would be ideal. All rights reserved. Many a kid has been known to jump up into the rack and to break a leg on jumping out, so do not take the risk. Always keep their shelter secure and playful. « Reply #6 on: July 01, 2012, 11:01:26 am » Our goats live in , they all have their own goat pens. Also I heard goats eat a lot of brush/grass/weeds. If you do have to use a concrete floor, make sure to put down 3 to 4 inches of wood shavings or straw to insulate the goats. Neath area. Smaller goat’s means less food requirement which can really save you a lot with food supply expenses. They can be kept together with sheep, llamas, alpacas, horses, & cows. Jan 7, 2017 - How much space do goats need? Ideal scenarios are unfortunately few and far between and worming issues will be considered in a later article. 1. Pygmy goats should not be kept as house pets and do not need to wear coats. Goats cannot tolerate wet conditions and will always try to seek out a … Article by The Free Range Life | Vegetable Gardening, Homesteading, & Goats. One of my goats will eat anything green. Learn all about the space requirements for goats to give them the best shelter and pasture for healthy and happy lives! Too much grain is not good for any livestock, including goats. They are also good for moving around if hurdles are used for separation of stock. Whether you are raising goats as part of a sustainable lifestyle or because you like to keep them as pets, they need a consistent supply of fresh, clean water to grow properly, stay healthy, and do their best in milk production. Life is good. Many favour earthen floors that allow for natural drainage, but concrete flooring is more hygienic as it can be washed down and disinfected. With this in mind, it may be better to have a larger building that can be adapted to accommodate a sizeable herd than to end up having to add piece meal to a smaller construction in the future. While gaining at breeding time, young does should weigh at least 55 pounds (sheared weight) and mature does at least 75 pounds. Some goat keepers construct the most imaginative arrangements. Learn all about the space requirements for goats to give them the best shelter and pasture for healthy and happy lives! Two goats require at least 500 sq. Not in the sense that they’ll mow it down, but more in the sense that it’s nice to get out and explore a bit, you know? Goats don’t have a lot of health needs, but chances are you will need to do most of their care yourself, as there are not as many vets available that have experience with goats. Even older goats love to have play areas on which to lie down, jump about and run along. When building, think about how easy it will be to muck out old bedding. If you don’t own goats yet, I hope that this calculator helps you get an idea of what you will need to plan for in hay to be ready for your goat feed. The goats will also need an indoor space for rest and shelter. How much space do Nigerian Dwarf goats need? This will leave room for the erection of a bench or two and a sufficient area for them to move around should the weather be bad. Goats will more often than not reject poor quality hay but their rejection or otherwise is not always a true indicator of its feed value. The ‘breaded kid syndrome’ still applies! A basic diet of hay and clean drinking water should be supplemented with 2-8 oz of goat mix and/or a roughage based feed such as alfalfa or chaff each day. 2.7k. They apparently don’t need loads of space (we have a small paddock of about 0.35acres), are efficient converters of feed to milk (we have limited finances available to buy in lots of feed), their milk is rich in butterfat (so ideal for cheese making! Beautiful little goat needs to go to a good home can deliver if not to far for extra cost £130 ono. Shavings are certainly more absorbent than straw but need to be topped up fairly frequently as they bed down quite quickly. Be sure that whatever is available can be satisfactorily adapted to fulfill certain criteria: whether thinking of buying just a few pets or foundation breeding stock, the area and buildings have to be suitable for their needs. A mentor can help a lot while you learn to do basic health maintenance for your herd. If goats are fed quality hay they have no need to graze. Egg shells can be problematic, but most other basic kitchen and garden compost is fine for goats as long as they're used to it. "An only goat is a lonely goat" A lonely goat will let you know it, and no one will be happy. For this reason we keep our chickens out of the main goat area, but allow them to cohabitate when it’s time for the goats to visit in the large pasture. Keep something to climb on to, they love to climb and jump. How many goats do you need to start a goat farm? Have you any other pen designs available. By It has its own registration and pedigree system aimed at improvement by selective breeding. A third rotatory area would be a luxury indeed but if you have the space you should use it as paddock rotation is the only way of keeping down the worm burden. Rubber mats are quite good to use over wooden shed floors which, if not covered, tend to smell and rot away. (And goats are great escape artists! Goats don’t have a lot of health needs, but chances are you will need to do most of their care yourself, as there are not as many vets available that have experience with goats. They tend to develop the tendency to escape only if they are bored, if they are constantly bullied or if fencing is inadequate. Shelters for Nigerian Dwarf goats can be as basic as a large dog house, but to keep the goats happy they need space to play. #1 Reason Why You DON’T Want Nigerian Dwarf Goats: Space. Basically the adult Pygmy has a maximum … If you have a building with a lot of separate pens, keep the doors open so they are accessible to all of your goats. If you only intend to keep two or three pet goats at a time then a main shelter of about 8ft x 10ft (such as a sturdy garden shed) will be perfectly adequate. So, you will need to train your goats to tolerate being milked. - Companionship -Goats are herd animals. Strong, weld mesh fencing together with post and rail is probably the best option overall. In order to post comments, please make sure JavaScript and Cookies are enabled, and reload the page. 6 Ways Cities Can Reduce Their Carbon Footprints, Homemade Whole-Grain Chicken Feed Recipe (Corn-Free), [Podcast] Big Oil’s Great Plastic Recycling Scam, Stay Healthy This Winter with Homemade Salves & Tinctures, Taking a Holistic Perspective on Climate Change & the Environment, prefer alfalfa hay as their main dietary source, The Best Ways to Preserve Food for Storage, 5 Off-Grid Ways to Keep Your Chickens Warm This Winter, What It’s Like to Live An Off-Grid Cabin Lifestyle, A Few Helpful Tips for Incubating Your Own Chicken Eggs. They have shelter under a tree. If used during kidding, a layer of straw over them is required, otherwise ‘breaded kids’ will be the order of the day. Udderly Comfortable. m. of floor space. Pygmy goats don't generally need much space. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Goats of this breed usually have a butcher weight of approximately 25 to 40 pounds (11 to 18 kilograms). Raising goats can be a lucrative and enjoyable farming experience, as long as you are well prepared. Your email address will not be published. Goats make good pets because of a number of qualities, although they are traditionally thought of as a farm animal. Pigs are omnivores and can attack goats to eat them. Although Nigerian Dwarf Goats are one of the smallest breeds, (standing at just 22″ shoulder height) they still require ample space. Bedding can be retained behind wooden planks. The Pygmy Goat Club has set breed standards regarding size and type, and organises show classes for Pygmy goats. They do require around 30′ x 30′ fencing area for a couple of the pygmy goats to play around. Bearing in mind that pygmy goats will give birth to twins at least 60% of the time, small herds can very soon become large herds and have to be appropriately accommodated. A pygmy goat can live quite happily in a 10 foot by 20 foot space. I’m about to go away for 2 nights, there at be rain showers. Could you theoretically force your goats to eat grass? – Small goats (Nigerians, Pygmys) need minimum 10 sq ft of INSIDE space per goat, and 130 sq ft of outdoor space per goat. I’ve done this before. Keeping single pygmies should be avoided of approximately 25 to 40 pounds ( to. Used bedding, probably because it is also important not to site buildings so that they did become... About and run along the bedding area and work out from there let you know it, and a! As house pets and do not have sufficient hard standing surrounding it a recommended,... Enable JavaScript in your browser stock during transport ; separate females with suckling offspring from males. Each goat should have ample floor space for running, climbing, organises... Shelter and pasture for healthy and happy lives Gardening, Homesteading, &.! 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