So it's been raining off & on here...so the Girls have been locked in their kennel cause goats aren't supposed to get wet right???? Apparently they turn into grimlens or shrink , so I could have goats the size of my Chihuahuas,LOL ???
QUESTION #1 Sooo how bad is it really for them to be out in the rain? They don't seem to mind it lightly raining on them.
Otherwise they are gonna be locked up all week and they really hate that,even though they have alfalfa pellets and goats chow and treats and playtoys...they just want out!
QUESTION #2 So I found the goat worming pellets at the Tractor Supply store and now I'm not sure I understand how this is supposed to work...how do you make sure each one only gets the right amount if they all weigh some thing different & eat a different amount??? Can they over dose on this stuff??? Or not get the treatement they needed?
QUESTION #3 So Can you have a female goat spayed like a dog????
Ok...thanks to anybody who wants to help educate me & maybe get a laugh at me,too.
MsC
Replies
I happen to have 2 mustang car hoods, and have decided that I can take a few pallets into my woods and nail 3 together with just a few nails each and then fasten a hood on top so it doesn't fall off and WALAA, I will have a small shelter for a buck or a couple of the herd to hide under when they are in the woods during a rain outburst and if wet ground is an issue the 3 sided wall could always be placed atop a 4th pallet with a plywood floor thrown on for a raised floor. Have I mentioned lately, that I LOVE PALLETS!
Thanks to both of you for the suggestions. I'll be thinking about a make shift cover.
Other things to consider for the pasture are a large dog house or a child's playhouse. Often you can pick one up at a yard sale for far less than the cost of building materials. I have a dog house in the alternate pen, more for a toy than shelter; I saw it in the alley one day with the people out there in their yard and asked if they were getting rid of it - they were delighted I was willing to take it. A good pressure-washing to get anything off of it that might be of harm (bacteria, etc.) and it was as good as new as far as the goats were concerned. Think outside the box and you'll come up with some great ideas. Before I built their a-frame structure (out of two wood fence panels which took about 15 minutes total) I had a fiberglass shower stall (on its side, door side down) in their alternate pen for a week or two - they absolutely loved it, especially for jumping on since all three of them could get up there at once with shelter as a bonus. I did cover the plumbing hole (two little pieces of wood screwed together one on each side) so little legs wouldn't go down into it and get broken. (I didn't keep it in there because I was concerned about stability and the possibility of them chewing on the fiberglass after they finished the brush.)
Somewhere I read that someone had a trampoline with a tarp over it for a moveable shelter in their field - a great idea for a long-ago used trampoline. A pickup canopy would work as well. Neighbor gave me an old folding conference table tonight for their expanded space in their main pen; she loves watching them out her kitchen window and knows they like to climb; I will put something under the ends to help stabilize it so it won't tip over and a stump so they can easily get up on it as well as under it. If you have access to pallets, two stacks of four or five pallets with a 4x8 sheet of plywood fastened to the top ones with enough space under for them to all three get under it serves double duty; just be certain if you leave part of the pallet top exposed you cover it so they don't step between the slats. They are very easy-to-please critters, care most about us loving them, not aesthetics. Even a simple frame with plywood will make them happy.
They only need enough to get out of the rain; just think outside the box. Save the dollars for other things for them. :-)
At the moment we have 3 does. Maybe next year I'll breed all of them or maybe none??? I'm kinda undecided about that part.I like just having 3 because they get a lot of attention, but if I don't breed anyone then Iwon't get to milk or play with babies which I kinda am toying with the idea of. Hubby will build what ever we need but in the meantime I looked for a calf hut, they are kind of expensive & I think I could build something a lot cheaper.
I love the idea of a hut & playtoy like you suggest. The girls are so small it shouldn't take much! I've been looking at the pics here too to get good ideas. I'm really crazy about them , more than I thought I'd about a GOAT! :>)
How many do you have? If you have the 50-gallon barrels, you can lay them on their sides and they can get in them to get out of the rain for a short time but need more for the long term. Mine get in them all the time to play but I also have an a-frame "structure" for them to get under if they are in the alternate pen when it rains.
Even a sheet of plywood secured on a frame so the wood won't slip will be better than nothing for now. Make it low enough (or put a step-something beside it) so they can jump up on it and they also have a toy. You can even fasten a 2x4 or 2x6 to it with one end on the ground for a ramp which they will love.
As for the rain, they will get out of it when they want to. Mine head for shelter even before I have felt the first drop of rain!
Their tolerance for heat, cold, and rain isn't anything exceptional on either end. If it's 80 degrees out, and it rains a little, it won't kill them, although they'll scream like it is! If it's 40 degrees out, and it rains on them, they could get hypothermia. You don't have to have anything super fancy for a daytime shelter. We have 3-sided shelters in all our pastures, which we built the first year because we got tired of running out there to let them in the barn every time it rained. I think they're 5' wide and 10' deep and cost about $35 for supplies for each one.
Yep, I agree the 10x10 is too small for them to spend all day in. The property is divided up in to several fenced off sections. The front 3 acres is very usable, good fence, water, shade clear sight from the house etc.. but the back does not have all those things yet .
So....No. If they are out in the pasture they can't get to the covered pole barn unless I go out & let them back in because it's not out in the pasture, it is up closer to the house for security reasons.We have coyotes & stray dogs in the area which is pretty typical for out in the country. We plan to add a barn area for them but don't have it yet.The area where the poll barn/kennel is happens to be unusable for them. I've just been taking them back & forth from kennel to pasture several times a day. I don't mind that because it has served as a way to get me up & moving as well as to let us get to know each other.
My main concern was more of health concerns as far as heat, cold & rain because I just don't know about the tolerances of goats. Ya know that's the part I hate about being a newbie...you don't know ~what you don't know...and none of the books I've read seem to answer all of my questions...
If they are in the pasture, can they just run under the pole barn if it starts raining? A 10 X 10 space is pretty small for them to spend all their time.
Thanks Dawne. I think I maybe feeding them too much,too. I will think it through and figure a way to seperate them out to feed each one. Right now everybody goes into the kennel & there are 3 feeding stations.They play roveing goats bumping each other from one pan to another until they seem to settle down & just eat. I guess I'm might with draw feeding them overnight and then feed them the wormer. Now I just gotta get hubby to weight them.
I am really enjoying each ones personality. The little doe is so happy I should have named her ballarina cause she's always hopping and bouncing & twisting & turning as if to say"Watch me , see what I can do...Aren't I just fabulous!" She's a hoot!
The kennel is 10x10x6 ft tall it is under a poll barn for over head cover . It was intended for sleeping at night & is up closer to the house. We intend to build a barn for them out in the larger pasture but we just haven't had them that long
(couple of weeeks) to get it lined out. So during the day I let them out for a couple of hours in the morning & bring them back in during the heat of the day and them turn them back out for a few hours in the evening. There are a couple of big Oak trees in the pasture for shade but they seem to prefer laying in the sun or lighter filtered shade of some of the smaller trees. Does heat or cold play much of a factor for them?
Thanks for the info on the dewormer pellets..I feel really silly now...
As far as the spaying of a female it was just a curious thought.
MsC
-
1
-
2
of 2 Next