# Goats in the Dog Kennel



## Texas.girl

I have four goats. Sport was born on June 29, so he is about 2 weeks old. For his protection I purchased a dog kennel so he can be kept outside but away from the other goats who are likely to beat him up. This morning I put Sport in my garden to nibble on some weeds and rest in the sun. I let the other goats out of their enclosure to graze on the abundant supply of weeds available around the house. I occasionally look out the windows to check on them and had to laugh when I found 2 of the goats in Sport’s kennel grazing on a few dead weeds.

By the way, in front of the house growing around the septic system is a smorgasbord of plants for them to munch on, including a bunch of sunflowers.


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## nubians2

I have almost the same set up. I use it to introduce new ones, for goats to graze without being tied, for seperating babies from Moms at night, then of course other animals if needed, last year it was my kidding stall. My kennel fits in my barn when I need it and then I can roll it out when I don't. Mine is only 6X6 but boy has it come in handy and I have the shade cover just like you.


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## toth boer goats

Great idea... :thumb:


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## Texas.girl

All of my goats are orphans. The first wandered into the yard last Nov. Talk about a surprise when I looked outside my kitchen window. Unable to find the owner I decided to keep her. I then started praying for another free goat to keep her company and put the word out. I guess I prayed too much. I was happy with a Boer doe and a Black Spanish Buck. Then I was given what turned out to be a Nubian/Alpine/??? doe. I now had a complete family. Then 2 weeks ago today the friend who gave me the other two goats called and asked if I wanted another kid. This friend is elderly and does not raise goats but people seem to call him when they have a goat to get rid of. The kid had just been born that morning and promptly rejected. He never even got the Colostrum. I gave him his first meal. Concerned about the Texas heat and the problem we had feeding him that first day, I put him in my kitchen, in a large dog crate. By day 3 I knew we had to find a better solution and since we were going to town for supplies we looked into dog kennels and felt this was the best buy. He has been introduced to the other goats with a fence between them. My Boer Doe who is now over a year old (and older then everyone else) shows clear dominance towards him. She chases my milk goat all over the place. So for now my little guy needs to be kept apart from the other goats tell he is big enough to defend himself. I haven’t decided what to do with the kennel when that day arrives. But for now it is very useful. Who knows, I just may get another call from my friend.


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## KW Farms

Looks good. :thumb: The only thing I might add is to get a dog igloo or something so he can get in a draft free area if wanted...but looks good!


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## Texas.girl

I doubt he would use a dog house. He seems to like being in the sun. The entire area can be in shade except for 6 inches and he will squeeze his little body into those 6 inches. In the morning when I am out working I leave him in the vegetable garden which has 8 foot fences and plenty of weeds for him to munch on (seems to ignore the vegetables growing). There is also a dog house in there as that is where my other goats lived until their enclosure was fenced off. He never goes into that dog house, instead preferring to be in the sun. I do bring him inside if it starts raining and at night. I have a large dog crate in my kitchen. Illegal’s pass by here at night to avoid the summer heat and Border Patrol on their trek north. Mexican’s love Cabrito (cooked milk fed kid) and I do not want to provide temptation to a hungry illegal. So he spends most of the day outside, but sleeps in a dog crate at night.


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## Texas.girl

Update: This kennel was purchased at Lowe's hardware store. This afternoon I had a severe weather event. Winds clocked at 35mph. I got well over an inch (about 4 cm) of rain in less than half an hour. It is a good thing I brought Sport inside because if I hadn’t the poor little guy would have been standing in a swamp (over 2 inches of standing water). Most of the water soaked into the ground by the time I took this picture. When I first discovered the tarps had collapsed, the entire area was totally under water. We are going to move his kennel to higher ground and fix the tarp before putting him back in it. I had to drive to town (hour each way) this morning and had only been home about 45 minutes when it started raining.


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