# Goats and ponds



## TheMixedBag (Oct 16, 2010)

I'm moving the goats out to the country next weekend. They'll have free reign of 4 acres, a barn and I *think* a small pond. I'm checking it out this week (and will be taking pictures). They will have to be roomies with an older gelding, but he's pretty laid-back and friendly, so I don't anticipate any problems.

However, if it does turn out that the water source is a pond, how well do goats tend to do? I've heard they can't swim well, but mine are big pansies about water anyway, so I'm not sure how much of a risk it'll be.


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## goathiker (Apr 14, 2011)

Goats actually swim very well. My old team could swim rivers with packs on. My back pasture is a flood plain and the goats graze in the winter knee deep in water. They are very adaptable and not normally dumb enough to drown themselves.


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## TheMixedBag (Oct 16, 2010)

Yeah, that probably wasn't too smart a question...I just remember a thread a long while back about goats being relatively poor swimmers...


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## goathiker (Apr 14, 2011)

Yeah, but it gives me an excuse to show you this picture


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## Texas.girl (Dec 20, 2011)

This past summer a woman called Car Talk radio show (covers car issues). If I remember right she needed a new car that she could transport her swimming goats in. She went around putting on a show that featured her goats and her swimming together and people loved it. She claimed her goats love to swim. I doubt mine would as it doesn't take much water to convince them to leave me alone. Since my goats are all raised on the bottle and refuse to leave me alone, if I was in your shoes I would just take them for a walk down to the pond and see how they react to it. That would give me peace of mind.


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## Arkie (Sep 25, 2012)

As a kid my parents had a small cattle farm with a beautiful, spring fed creek that us cousins would drink out of on every opportunity. The cattle would walk across the creek to get to a dingy pond to drink from. I doubt that any ruminant will have trouble with pond water as a source for drinking. It is a real PAIN to have to chop holes in the ice for them to have access a couple times per day when the weather is at its coldest though!

Bob


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## milkmaid (Sep 15, 2010)

I remember someone a while back mentioning that they taught their goats to swim, so they wouldn't have to worry about them drowning!
I would also check the pond for liver fluke snails.


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