# Goats on less than an acre?



## Isaiah 11 goats (3 mo ago)

I’m getting closer to buying my own house and wondering if any of you raise goats on less than an acre. Pros and cons? Anything to keep in mind? 
I currently live on 5 acres with my parents. The goats have a small permanent fence, basically just a loafing yard. In the summer I use electric netting to rotationally graze approximately May-September/October. I used to have up to 8 goats on this system. I only plan to have 2-4 from now on. I also have 2 LGD, one of which is also in training as a therapy dog (extra socialization/training). 
There is a house in .84 acres that I’m thinking about looking at. But it might be a dumb idea.


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## Boadicea (9 mo ago)

We live on about 2 acres (not all land-some of that is house) and when we had an LGD it was awful for her. It wasn’t enough to roam/patrol and she was very unhappy. We eventually gave her to a friend who has 100 acres and she’s so happy there.


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## Jubillee (Dec 22, 2017)

You can have some, but you will most likely have to supply everything they need and you're going to max out on animals a bit. If you have 4, I think it would be fine, it just depends on the land and how much is available to the goats. THe LGDs though ehhh, that all depends on the dog itself.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

2-4 should be ok. You'd want to give them a minimum of a quarter of an acre.


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## Rysktal (Jan 11, 2020)

I keep 5 goats and 1 LGD on one acre. I feel comfortable bringing in a few more goats full time. My Great Pyranese does well, though she sometimes wanders the forest behind our house, which isn't ours. (No one lives there so no one minds!)


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## goats-n-oats (11 mo ago)

One issue is buying hay from local farmers, if you're not going to harvest it on your own land. It gets expensive, especially in my Midwest area because it was dry this summer so very little second cutting was produced. Overall, more land is better. You might want to dig a pond, plant crops, hunt or trap small game, or just distance from neighbors. Not sure which state you are in, but in Ohio, homeowners on 5 acres or more have extensive liberties and rights with regards to agriculture, building and zoning, etc.


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## jlLeslie (12 mo ago)

I have 4 on an 1acre and the goats are technically on 1/4 acre. It is enough room for them in terms of space, but I do buy hay year round which can be a bit pricey. Luckily my neighbor sells hay off his field and delivers it which is nice.

My biggest concern is worm and parasite loads being in a smaller space. I’m looking at temporary fencing so I can open them up to the rest of the yard when needed. I’m not sure it’s enough but it should help a bit. 
If it’s a good set up I would consider that house. There are plenty of “city farmers” that have goats and gardens on less then an acre


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## jlLeslie (12 mo ago)

Also, before you buy anything I would ask the neighbors how they feel about living next to goats, neighbors can make things hard if they want to…


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## goats-n-oats (11 mo ago)

jlLeslie said:


> Also, before you buy anything I would ask the neighbors how they feel about living next to goats, neighbors can make things hard if they want to…


On that note, a rural township with cattle ranchers as neighbors would be ideal. But I've seen suburban homes with goats too.


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## goats-n-oats (11 mo ago)

jlLeslie said:


> I have 4 on an 1acre and the goats are technically on 1/4 acre. It is enough room for them in terms of space, but I do buy hay year round which can be a bit pricey. Luckily my neighbor sells hay off his field and delivers it which is nice.
> 
> My biggest concern is worm and parasite loads being in a smaller space. I’m looking at temporary fencing so I can open them up to the rest of the yard when needed. I’m not sure it’s enough but it should help a bit.
> If it’s a good set up I would consider that house. There are plenty of “city farmers” that have goats and gardens on less then an acre


What is the weather like on this property? Is it dry, or rainy and muddy?


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## jlLeslie (12 mo ago)

Well, it can get a bit muddy, I’m in ne ohio but the barn is on a small sloping hill so that helps keep them dry during the muddy months.


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## Isaiah 11 goats (3 mo ago)

I’m in Wisconsin so no cattle ranchers. This particular house is on a short road with 3 maybe 4 houses. Behind the back yard looks like a giant corn field. This is going off a map, haven’t looked at it in person yet. I’ll have to think about it. I already feed some hay year round. I’m not sure if my dogs would feel cramped. They mostly stay on our 5 acres but we have about 120 empty acres surrounding that no one cares if they wander a bit. Just alfalfa fields and a lot of deer.


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