# Space requirements - pens



## realfarmgirl (Feb 26, 2011)

I am currently in the process of building some new pens for the goats. My old pens have a leaky roof above them...still waiting on that to be fixed.

I am looking for some information on space requirements for adult, standard sized goats. The current information I have (printed in a goat book) states somewhere between 12 and 25 sq ft per goat. The three pens I have just built are 4'X6'-7'. One pen is housing surprise summer twins, another two yearlings, and the last is currently housing one dry doe (but in about a week will need to squish in my breeding buck).

I do have the goats out for exercise just about everyday. I need to build at least three more pens to give myself room for separating my buck, babies, and a herd queen (who is much too superior to mingle with the commoners lol). 

The space currently available - a 4' x 20-25' section. Dividing that into three pens, will there be enough room??? Each pen has to hold two goats...not all of the time, but due to space, some of the time.

Thanks for your help!


----------



## FarmerJen (Oct 18, 2012)

Others may not agree with me... but personally, I find the space suggestions that most sources suggest to be laughable. 4x6' is less than a sheet of plywood. I can't imagine two of my minis living on a sheet of plywood. Much less two full size goats. Then again, I'm blown away by the tiny cages that people expect birds and rabbits to live in too... so maybe it's just me. 

All these sources fail to take into consideration what your climate is like. In the PNW, we have significant rain for 9mo of the year. My goats do not venture out in the rain (they CAN, but they wont). I have a 10x12' shed, of which almost all the space is available to the goats (minus a 3x8ft area for the chickens). They have room to move around and seem reasonably content - but they are almost never locked up. They can always go into their yard if they want to. For their main yard, they have 2400sq ft. which is mostly grass. With three goats, the grass gets nearly destroyed each winter - heavily travelled areas turn to mud. I usually reseed each spring, and I take them on "walks" to get spring grass outside their fence. I recently fenced in an additional area that is even larger than their existing area, so I imagine I wont have this problem this year. I dont let them out there full time as the fencing is "iffy" - I know it will keep them in, but not sure it will keep things OUT. So it's only open during daylight hours when I'm home (which will become only weekends in the winter as our days get really short). Still, letting them out there even occasionally should help maintain the main yard a bit better.

Anyway, long story short... if I tried to put my goats in anything smaller than what they have, they'd be miserable. And I'd be miserable. Keeping a small area clean would be a nightmare. And my neighbors would be miserable - miserable goats = noisy goats. If it's just a night-time sleeping area, that's completely different. But if they LIVE there and are there most of the time, I feel they need a lot more space than what most sources suggest. Again, just my opinion.


----------



## RPC (Nov 6, 2009)

I am just wondering why so many pens. I understand a kidding stall or 2 and a pen for the buck. But why split all the does into multiple pens? I am just asking not being judgmental.


----------



## realfarmgirl (Feb 26, 2011)

Well, the splitting is due to some does that don't like to share...

The herd queen has a set of horns and an attitude, so she usually can't be penned with any other goats except the buck - he can handle her temper, but she still is greatly distressed when sharing anything with other goats, so much so that she will refuse to eat or drink. (That's what "only goats" turn into later in life.) She's my best doe, so she gets her own pen because it makes her happy, and keeps my milk pail full. And with her heavy artillery, the other goats (which are all without horns) are much safer penned separately. 

My Togg doe also has an attitude. She can be penned with the buck, but her nastiness can't be put in a pen with smaller goats - she literally KO-ed a smaller doe once. Usually I pen her with the buck, and they are quite happy together (he is out on a breeding assignment right now, so that's why she is chilling by herself right now.)

I know an obvious suggestion might be that the attitudes are space related, but even in a very large area, these "angry" goats cause problems. Last winter when the roof started dripping, and the goats moved out, I put some of the goats in a 10'X12' horse stall. Only to come into the barn and see "flying goats" being tossed out of the space by a Togg, or squashed up against the corners. I even let the goats run in the hay mow as a temp solution - lots and lots of space in a 90'X50' barn - still the second an opportunity to smoosh a little goat presented itself, there was the Togg or the herd queen letting them have it.

The little ones are just separated right now due to their age - I have been mixing them a bit more as the kids are just about weaned - they seem to be getting along fine and hopefully I will have a more cohesive herd once they are mingling!

These should be temporary pens for the big goats- as soon as my roof gets repaired I will have most of the goats back into their 15'X15' pens. Then I can use the smaller pens for does with kids, kids, the buck, and of course, Miss Holier that Thou.

As far as weather and climate - My goats do spend a great deal of time indoors. Pasture is not an option for the most part as I have yet to get some good fencing up...milking does are outside, everyone else is inside. But I do give the goats lots of exercise time - (although the big girls and boys tend to just search for snacks during this time). And during the winter, the smaller space tends to be a blessing because it keeps them warmer.


----------



## realfarmgirl (Feb 26, 2011)

Oh, and about the cleaning...not bad actually! In the winter I let a pack build a bit, and in the summer, I clean the kid pens out once a week, and the big goats seem to be doing well at once every two weeks...everyone is dry and happy. My goats tend to "go" in the same spot all the time, so usually a little spot cleaning here and there and a little more bedding now and again makes it simple to keep.


----------

