# Wet pasture



## GoatMama123 (Sep 9, 2015)

I live in the PNW, my pasture between October and Aprilish is always wet.
Should my goats barn bound during this time to reduce worms?

We also just had major flooding... alot of the ground is very muddy. I want them to be healthy but I feel like people are frowning upon me for keeping them in the barn. 

I am new and I thought this is just what you do to control worms... no grazing on wet pasture.


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## AncientBlue (Dec 21, 2014)

Our wet season is June - November and it can get pretty wet. I don't keep them off of wet pasture. Our parasite count was 0 last time I sent in for a fecal. I do have good drainage, so it gets wet then drains. I wouldn't keep them in the barn the whole wet season. I could see limiting it just to make sure hooves dry out and stuff like that.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

How wet? If they are basically walking around in water, then I would keep them off. If it drains well, then you can let them out.


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## nicolemackenzie (Dec 27, 2014)

I have some drainage issues and the goats walking around turns the ground to mud in places. I'm planning on building them a walk way they can use next spring with a platform they can rest on. I'm going to continue to work on drainage but I'm hoping this will give the ground some recovery time and help their feet stay dry.


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## CritterCarnival (Sep 18, 2013)

I let them choose, our barn door is left open so they can come and go as they please. If it's really nasty, windy and rainy, they stay in and munch hay all day, but all other days they go out to browse and then come back inside to lay down, dry off and ruminate!


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## deerbunnyfarm (Dec 14, 2015)

So we had a section that turned into a mud pit, mainly because it's a completely shaded area so the grass is sparse there. I took some old hay that I'm not needing and spread it thickly around. It looks better than mud and maybe, just maybe, some grass will grow from it.


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## GoatMama123 (Sep 9, 2015)

It is no longer standing water.... but it was like a literal lake that has since receded. Ducks, geese, cranes, and I'm pretty sure a beaver or 2 were living there for 2 weeks. Is there a time I should keep them off to not catch any of these animals bugs or are they fine?


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## GoatMama123 (Sep 9, 2015)

This was our pasture. T post were submerged completely kind of standing water


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## nicolemackenzie (Dec 27, 2014)

Haha, I would keep them out of the lake. Any way to improve drainage there?


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## KW Farms (Jun 21, 2008)

If it becomes literally flooded like that, obviously keep them in, but just wet, let them do what they want. Happy goats are healthy goats and rarely are goats happy being cooped up indoors unable to roam and just do what they want. That's when you start seeing health problems. It's best to give them a choice.


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## GoatMama123 (Sep 9, 2015)

Its gone now, I was just wondering if because of all the wildlife that was playing in it if it posed a risk to them if they munch on the still wet grass. The fencing should be repaired by the end of the weekend


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## goathiker (Apr 14, 2011)

What is upstream from you? my area floods the same way. The only thing I have to do is worm for Liver Fluke, I do this every fall right before the rainy season and and again in the early spring. The only difference is that we have Musk Rats instead of Beaver :lol: 
Beaver do carry Giardia. This is only a problem if the animals are drinking from their dam pond normally. As long as the water is moving, Liver Fluke should be the only concern and this is a problem whether you flood or not anyway, the spotted slugs carry them. 

Now, you are actually up the coast range from me but, at about the same area as far as inland distance goes. I could literally walk through the mountains to Green Mountain Nigerians and then on to your house. It would only take about 3 days :lol:


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## GoatMama123 (Sep 9, 2015)

I'm not exactly sure what upstream would be... The Tualatin River runs through the very back of my property... there are also a few creeks that went over. The water came from everywhere, but I think the main flow when it developed its own little rapids system in the middle was the Tualatin.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

I agree.

If it was my goats, they wouldn't go in it like that though. They must know it isn't good for them. That field like that would be hard to graze anyway. Wait for it to drain off before letting them out.


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## goathiker (Apr 14, 2011)

Yeah, it's pretty much the same set up then. The Yamhill river floods into our yard from the front and Eads creek from the back. It sure helps make nice pasture growth in the spring.


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## wndngrvr (Dec 10, 2011)

We seeded a whole section of a field from old hay quite a few years back. You will get something growing there this spring. I agree - goats like to roam on their own but with our NW weather mine stay inside a lot. But they make the choice. One raindrop in they are housebound.


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