FACILITIES FOR GOATS

Frank Craddock
Extension Sheep and Goat Specialist, San Angelo, TX

Behavioral Characteristics

There are some distinctive behavioral characteristics of goats that must be considered
when planning and developing facilities for goats. Goats are very intelligent animals and
will learn to move through a set of pens quite rapidly, however, they become very wary
and difficult to handle in areas where they have been stressed. They are very inquisitive
and will usually move through new places if given time and not forced. Goats are very
agile and can climb, crawl, and jump just about anything. On the other hand, they are also
very flighty. They can pack together very easily in small pens and working chutes and
very easily smother. Goats are alert and very sensitive. They balk readily at distractions
such as shadows and human arms crossing the cutting chute. When goats are retained in
holding pens for long periods they can become aggressive toward each other. It should be
remembered that goats will move toward freedom, follow one another or move toward
another goat. When goats become frightened they tend to move away from buildings and
resist dark barns, alleys and chutes. Goats prefer lighted areas, flow better around slight
corners or curves and prefer to move uphill, toward a horizon. When gathering goats in
large pastures it is a tremendous benefit to know that goats naturally travel into the
prevailing wind.

Site

When selecting a site for working facilities there are several requirements that must be
kept in mind. The site should have close and easy access to all parts of the property which
especially includes water and feed resources. The slope of the land should ensure
satisfactory drainage (3 to 5 percent slope) and ease of building the facilities in terms of
materials, natural slope and soil texture should be considered. The facilities should be
built so that loading and receiving can be done in a convenient manner. Shade and
protection from the elements, whether natural or man-made, should be considered.
Existing facilities should be used if possible and always allow for future expansion.

Fences

Because goats are a curious and active animal, adequate fencing is a must if animals are
to be contained and managed effectively. The type of fence used will depend on many
factors, such as the kind of goats, the size of the operation, the topography and type of
range, predator pressure and whether the fence is temporary or permanent.

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The three basic types of fence are woven or net wire, barbed wire and electric. A
combination of net wire and barbed wire is the most common type of fence used.
Perimeter fences should be a minimum of four feet tall with one strand of barbed wire on
the bottom next to the ground, at least three or more feet of net wire, and one to three
strands of barbed wire above the net wire. Net wire fences with the vertical wires spaced
12” apart rather than 6” apart should be used to keep goats from getting their heads hung.
Although it is not recommended, barbed wire fencing can be used with a minimum of six
strands, however the more strands used, the greater the possibility the fence will be goat
proof. Wooden staves can be added between permanent posts to help tighten wire and
make fences more got proof. Electric fencing shows promising results especially when
three to five strands are used to cross fence or temporarily divide pastures. If goats have
never been controlled with electric fencing it is often necessary that they be kept in a pen
and trained to respect an electric fence before turning them out to pasture. For electric
fencing to be used for perimeter fences, however, electric fencing in combination with
net wire and/or barbed wire has been used very effectively.

Working Pens

All stock pens have two distinct areas, the holding area and the handling area. The
holding area is where the animals are assembled prior to working. You need only
conventional fencing materials such as net wire fencing strengthened by using a closer
spacing of post than in a normal fence. It is suggested that the perimeter fence around the
working pens by 5’ to 5 ½’ tall. Holding pens should have access to clean water and good
shade if possible.

Due to greater animal density, the handling are is constructed of more substantial fencing
materials, such as pipe or 4” by 4” galvanized welded mesh panels. Fences around the
handling area only need to be 3’ to 3 ½’ tall. The handling area usually consists of a
crowding pen leading into a working chute and a cutting chute. The cutting chute leads
into smaller pens while the working chute is used for husbandry operations such as
drenching, vaccinating, etc. It is suggested that the working and cutting chutes be the
single wide V-shaped concept that is 1 ½’ to 2’ wide at the top and ½’ to1’ wide at the
bottom. The working chute can be made wider if one chooses. The working chute can be
25’ to 40’ long but should be divided by gates into sections less than 10’ long. The
cutting chute should be only 10’ long and open into a three-way, see-through cutting gate.
If the cutting chute is any shorter, the operator does not have enough time to make a
decision for cutting. Chutes longer than 10’ tend to promote baulking and turning,
interrupting the flow of goats. The sides of the working and cutting chutes must be
smooth and often are solid where goats cannot see through. Often times the far side of the
working and cutting chutes are built about 6” taller to help prevent jumping. The
direction of the cutting chute should minimize the effects of sun and shadows on the
operator and the goats. A south-to-north direction with a flat or slightly uphill grade is
best. Chutes running east or west should be avoided because of the effect of shadows.

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Barns – Sheds

Housing is the greatest facility cost; therefore, existing buildings should be used only if
their size, location, physical conditions and inside arrangements fit into your over-all
plan. The amount of time goats spend inside the barn/shed depends upon the climate in
which you live. In northern climates the goats will spend considerable time in the barn,
therefore, plans and design must include feeding, manure removal, warmth, ventilation,
etc. In the southern climates where the majority of the goats are raised, housing is not as
critical and consists mainly of sheds. Sheds are needed to provide protection from the
inclement weather, especially during kidding. Sheds should provide a minimum of five
square feet of floor space per goat, should face away from the prevailing winds and be
closed on two or three sides. Sheds can either be permanent or portable. Portable sheds
are usually built on skids and are set low to the ground (3 ½’ to 4 ½’ tall) so the body
heat from the animals will collect and help keep them warm.

Many producers kid their does through barns to increase their percent of kid crop. Other
advantages are that the weather conditions and predators can be controlled. Contrarily,
kidding through the barn increases labor, increases feed costs, requires more barn space
and requires kidding pens. Kidding pens are usually made out of wood panels, plywood,
or 4” x 4” mesh panels. These kidding pens are usually 3’ x 4’ x 4’. The number of
kidding pens needed is equal to 20 percent of the number of does you have. The does and
kids are kept in the kidding pens for 2 to 3 days, at which time they are moved to
mothering up pens, in which 8 to 10 does and their kids are put together for several more
days. When put in mothering up pens, does with singles should be kept separate from
does with twins.

Feeders

Goats like to climb and goats are finicky eaters. The challenge is trying to find or build a
trough that goats cannot stand in and contaminate their feed. Goats can either be hand-fed
in troughs every day or can be fed with self-feeders. Feeding in troughs requires more
labor but intake can be controlled and any kind of feed can be fed. Using a self-feeder is
less labor intensive, but intake cannot be controlled and only dry feeds that will flow
through the feeder can be used. Whether using troughs or self-feeders, they should be at
least 6 inches off of the ground. Length of trough (trough space) should be calibrated
using the theory that does require approximately 12”, bucks approximately 18” and kids
approximately 6” of trough space if hand feeding, so that they can all eat at one time. If
using self-feeders, these requirements are approximately 4” to 6” for does, 6” to 9” for
bucks, and 2” to 3” for kids.

Many producers choose to creep feed their kids. Most creep feeders are constructed by
placing a gravity flow, self-feeder in a pen or by building a pen around a feeder in the
pasture. Either way, the challenge is to design a gate or entrance through which kids can

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pass, yet will deny entry by older goats. Spacing between vertical bars on a creep gate
needs to be 5”, no more or no less. The horizontal bar is adjustable soothe height of the
opening through which kids pas can be raised as kids get older. Total height of the gate
should be at least 48” or the same height as the creep feeding pen, whichever is taller.
The most durable and long lasting creep gates are constructed out of metal, preferably 1”
or 1 ¼” square tubing, or ½” or ¾” round rod or reinforcement steel. Gates constructed
with lumber with suffice, but have a shorter life expectancy. Heavy welded wire
galvanized panels (4 ga., 4” x 4” openings, 48” tall; usually sold in pieces 20’ long) can
also be used. Simply clip out the second, third and fourth (from the bottom) horizontal
pieces between two adjacent vertical rods on the panel. The fence or pen in which the
creep feeder is located must be more durable than a typical pasture or field fence. Older
goats will exert significant effort to gain access to creep feed. Polled or disbudded mature
goats are more difficult to occlude than horned goats. Mature goats with horns are forever
getting their head stuck during a failed attempt to enter a creep feeder. Creep feeders
should be located near water, shade, or other places where goats loaf during the day. Kid
goats enjoy climbing. Placing stumps, cable spools or large rocks in larger creep pens or
near the creep feeder may provide an additional attraction.

Water Troughs

The secret for water troughs is that there should be enough water for the needs of the
flock at all times. In large pastures with large numbers of goats, water troughs have to be
quite large so that all of the goats can water in a relatively short period of time. If a goat
will consume approximately 1 gallon of water a day, then you can figure how much water
your trough needs to hold. In small pastures with small numbers of goats, it is better to
have a small troughs with small numbers of goats leads to stale water, reduced
consumption and reduced performance. Water troughs should be cleaned often. In hot
climates it is desirable to try and keep the water as cool as possible in the summer. In
extremely cold climates, it is essential that heated water troughs be used or that the ice on
the troughs is broken at least once a day so that the goats can drink.

References

Pen Designs for Goats by Ted Scarlett and Trevor May

Spanish Goat Management by Joe Paschal, Frank Craddock, Wayne Hanselka and Dale
Robbins

Creep Feeding Kid Goats by Rick Machen

New Concepts in Equipment and Facilities for Handling Sheep by Lyle McNeal

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