# Poop Can Be a Big Problem



## packhillboers (Feb 2, 2011)

I know a lot of us are concerned about foreign bacteria and viruses infiltrating our goat herds. I am quite concerned about the high rodent population we have had at our home this year. This is the worse rat year we have ever had. If you have ever had rats, you will know how destructive they can be. I have moved all of our goat feed into our side garage laundry room area and have it all stored into clean tight food tubs. 

I want to help remind many of you that bat poop, cat poop and rodent poop and even bird poop can bring in unwanted problems to your goat herd. We also have a bat problem this year, that I am having to address as they are sleeping in our shed where our hay is stored. 

I know a lot of you have chickens and pigs and have them all mixed in with your goat herd. In a high concentration of poops from other animals, this can not be healthy for goats. Something will come from it eventually. But my biggest concern here for us, is the bats and rats and cats. We only have one cat and have trained her at least to go poo inside her liter box. She runs as fast as she can toward the cat door in a flurry to do her job. But not always will she do this. I found a big pile right on the hay in the barn! It may not have been her but I am very concerned about the potential for problems on some of the farms that do not see a problem with Poop. Birds also carry a lot of diseases, and we try to clean out the water troughs often as I find a lot of bird poop inside. 

Its been a dry year for most of us and we are about to head into a hopefully more wet year. I encourage you all to be careful of rats and bats invading your goat's food sources. At this time, I am working to keep the hay in our shed as clean as possible. It's been a very bad rat and rodent year here for us.


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## PippasCubby (May 13, 2015)

Great reminder!

I have a huge dislike for rats, cats, mice, starlings, sparrow, flies...to name a few. (I love bats, but I've never had them living in my barn!)

Poop from those animals grosses me out way more than any of the barnyard animals! 

We rented a place that just had piles of junk laying around everywhere (we were renting, the piles were left from the previous people). We trapped rats and got rid of the piles by filling a 30 cubic yard dumpster with garbage.:shock: :-o (on top of several trips we made the landlord take to the dump using their truck and trailer) Without the piles for refuge, we were able to stay on top of them. The house was also not 'mouse tight.' We were constantly catching mice. It was disgusting. And somehow flies always got in too. I am not talking a few here and there, like, a hundred at a time..was very gross...all I can say, is, I am so glad we don't live there anymore!!!!

Anyways, I feel for ya! And if you have any tips for keeping birds out....:sigh:


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## Greybird (May 14, 2014)

I don't worry about it quite that much, although I will re-arrange things if necessary to prevent birds from roosting above my hay. All other feeds are kept in metal garbage cans. My goats won't even eat anything that has touched the ground, and if poop has touched it they turns up their noses and give me a dirty look, like . . . Seriously, Mom??

The one, most dangerous avenue of infection from poop is contaminated water, and that's where I have absolutely zero tolerance. No poop, no hay strands, no leaves, no nothing! Their water has to be pristine and perfect.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

It can be unnerving I know. Good reminder.


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## packhillboers (Feb 2, 2011)

We havent' had rats like this here in about 15 years. Our dog has been killing them. They are in our attic chewing nightly. We have several traps set and that helps. The cat has killed a few but these are large rats and she is not sure she wants to continue that. We were trapping at least one a day in our attic. They will chew through plastic feed containers. For us years ago, they chewed through the kitchen wall, got into my bleach under the sink, chewed through the bleach and also chewed through the windex bottle so that they two chemicals were mixed together and toxic. Then they chewed through our drainage pipes and through several wires causing a near fire in our wall. They can be so destructive. 

But as far as the poop goes... My biggest concern is having rats poop in food sources. They will lift a metal lid off if it is not a tight fit. I have had to throw out feed before when I found live rodents inside the feed bens due to a less than tight fit on a lid. A field mouse was found dead in the water trough from apparent drowning a few weeks back. It's just a bad rodent year all around and they can bring with them a fair amount of issues to the food sources.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

They are nasty, sorry you are having issues.


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## Trickyroo (Sep 26, 2012)

PippasCubby said:


> Great reminder!
> 
> I have a huge dislike for rats, cats, mice, starlings, sparrow, flies...to name a few. (I love bats, but I've never had them living in my barn!)
> 
> ...


You might want to start liking cats......just saying. A lot of your rodent problems can be maintained or eliminated with having a few cats


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## PippasCubby (May 13, 2015)

Haha! :ROFL: Nope. I will never like cats. ::

The problem was a sub-par rental...it was truly not a nice place. It had potential though...people constantly commented how well we cleaned it up...and then we moved out and it turned back into a trashy place.

Now that we are in a "real" place, we have few problems except for the starlings as they migrate through. I should also clarify, the only real problem I have with sparrow are the non-native species


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## Goats Rock (Jun 20, 2011)

There is a plastic light weight mesh roll that is for berry bushes- keeps birds and deer off. I use it to keep birds out of my barn. I hung it over the the opening at the top, about where birds fly in. They can't see it, hit it and freak out. They don't know what it is, or where it is, so they all quit coming in my barn! 

Rats, yuk- good luck with them! The bad thing about rat poison is if the dog gets a hold of a rat that has eaten it, he may get poisoned, too.


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## lottsagoats1 (Apr 12, 2014)

I have a major issue with rats. I would have cats except I have finally rid my property of fleas and I don't want to bring them back onto the property.

I use poison, and am going to get some live traps to catch as many as I can. I'll release then far away. My dogs will not eat a dead or dying rat. In fact, even if they kill a healthy rat (when I have not put out poison) the dogs will not eat them.


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