# Goats and chickens?



## Gal5 (Feb 28, 2011)

I have a huge enclosed run with six chickens. Can Pygmy goats be kept with chickens?


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## kccjer (Jan 27, 2012)

Goats shouldn't have chicken feed and they WILL eat it regardless of what you have out. I wouldn't pen them together


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## Gal5 (Feb 28, 2011)

Ok thank you


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## MylieD (Sep 16, 2013)

I have my goats and chickens together in the front yard. It's near impossible to stop the goats from eating the chicken food. We tried many contraptions. I resorted to feeding the chickens once a day by scattering several cups of food in the grass. The goats don't bother with it and the chickens have fun scratching. The rest of the day they're hunting bugs and eating grass and weeds. But I do have an acre or so for them to forage on. I don't know if that'd work for you. The chickens and goats get along great. The hens hop on the goats back and go for a ride. It's pretty funny. Oh and chickens will steal nibbles of the goat food too. My goats would just push them away, but never hurt them.


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## Gal5 (Feb 28, 2011)

Thank you


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## NyGoatMom (Jan 26, 2013)

I don't have my birds in with my goats...not only the feed but chickens poop every 15 minutes....everywhere....in the feed, hay, water.....I just personally feel it's better health wise for the goats not to be with chickens.


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## janeen128 (Dec 31, 2012)

NyGoatMom said:


> I don't have my birds in with my goats...not only the feed but chickens poop every 15 minutes....everywhere....in the feed, hay, water.....I just personally feel it's better health wise for the goats not to be with chickens.


I agree! My chickens do find their way into the goats pen though when they get to roam free..


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## christinajh (Jan 24, 2013)

I used cow panels for my goat runs, and it keeps most of the chickens out. They still get in the runs though. When I let my goats out on the property, I just pick up the chicken feed pans first. They get along great, but I wouldn't keep them in the same pen all the time.


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## farnergirl (Nov 30, 2014)

Why is chicken feed bad for goats?


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## lottsagoats1 (Apr 12, 2014)

It contains a lot of corn and has a totally different mix of minerals made for birds, not mammals. Plus, any new feed can cause a problem in the digestive tract, bringing on bloat and polio.

I have chickens that get loose and fly in with the goats. They poop in the hay and water. They poop all over the goats back. The poop all over the pen and stall where the goats lie down. (ever go to milk a goat only to find her teat is covered with chicken poo? ) Chicken poo carries salmonella. Don't really want my goats eating chicken poo.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

It is mainly corn which is a hot feed and can cause acidosis.


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## harleybarley (Sep 15, 2014)

Meat goats - okay with chickens. Baby goats - hilarious with chickens, but you don't want them exposed to chicken germs. Fiber goats - good luck getting the chicken poo out of the fiber. Milk goats - kill all the chickens.

You probably don't want chicken poop in your milk. Chickens poop everywhere, and they love everything about goats. They love goat food, they love goat hay, they love goat poop, and they think goat fences are lovely perches for sitting over water/feeders and having a leisurely poop. And they poop in the food, water, hay, and goat pens, and then they walk in their own poo and walk in the goat's food, water, and hay buckets and pen, and you get to play egg hunt in the hay every day. Miss one? The goats will break it and foul the hay. Or the protein rich chicken poo and eggs will attract rats or weasels or other vermin.


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

Oh don't do it!! I free range my chickens and they roost on the feeders and crap in it, they make nests in the feeders or kidding stalls and beat the crap out of me or my goats. I now hate chickens and so over them. The only thing worse is ducks!!! Almost every day I consider killing the birds around here and feeding the homeless!!! 


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## harleybarley (Sep 15, 2014)

Jessica84 said:


> Oh don't do it!! I free range my chickens and they roost on the feeders and crap in it, they make nests in the feeders or kidding stalls and beat the crap out of me or my goats. I now hate chickens and so over them. The only thing worse is ducks!!! Almost every day I consider killing the birds around here and feeding the homeless!!!
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Goat Forum


Exactly!! LOL.:crazy:


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## MylieD (Sep 16, 2013)

Guess it depends how you do it. My chickens are sweet. They don't poop in the water, though I have found goat poop in the water. The feed is put up unless the goats are getting fed and they eat too fast for anyone to poop in it. They didn't poop in the alfalfa either. They do make nests in the goat house and scratch around in the straw. Goats poop everywhere too. There are goat turds all over my front yard. Way more than chicken turds, that I can see and I have more chickens. As for germs, well the worlds full of them. I just worm the chickens when I worm the goats.

I'll probably get boo's, but someone's got to stick up for the chicken. ;-)


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## Hannah21 (Jun 17, 2014)

MylieD said:


> Guess it depends how you do it. My chickens are sweet. They don't poop in the water, though I have found goat poop in the water. The feed is put up unless the goats are getting fed and they eat too fast for anyone to poop in it. They didn't poop in the alfalfa either. They do make nests in the goat house and scratch around in the straw. Goats poop everywhere too. There are goat turds all over my front yard. Way more than chicken turds, that I can see and I have more chickens. As for germs, well the worlds full of them. I just worm the chickens when I worm the goats.
> 
> I'll probably get boo's, but someone's got to stick up for the chicken. ;-)


AGREED!I see way more goat poop then I do of rabbit,horse and chickens! :laugh:


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## dreamacresfarm2 (May 10, 2014)

My chickens free range - that includes in the goat pasture- keep chickens well and the goats - I have not had any problems thus far. Chickens lay in the nest box I gave them. I have cool chickens - they follow me around just like the goats do.


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## janeen128 (Dec 31, 2012)

My chickens are pets too, and I love them, I just keep them separate is all... Every time I try to worm my chickens, one gets sick and dies;( So I stopped worming them.


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## NyGoatMom (Jan 26, 2013)

lottsagoats1 said:


> They poop all over the goats back. The poop all over the pen and stall where the goats lie down. (ever go to milk a goat only to find her teat is covered with chicken poo? )


That is so nasty....never thought about if you went to milk and the udder is covered in crap 

I know they both poop a lot guys, but hey let's face it....goats poop is way less messy because it's dry! Bird crap dries on things like cement too, you have to scrape it off! :lol:


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## Alene16 (Dec 4, 2014)

My chickens and goats are always together. I did have to reinforce the coop to keep the goats out of the chicken feed but the chickens are in the goat shed all day in the winter. My chickens do a fantastic job keeping the floor of the shed clean and the bedding turned. Yes there is some poo but its much cleaner with the chickens scratching about. A quick toss of some fresh straw covers up any mess. It makes me happy to go out to the shed on a rainy NW day and find 11 chickens and 3 goats all inside staying warm together.


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## SalteyLove (Jun 18, 2011)

My farm vet actually recommends a few chickens in the goat dry lot areas to keep the parasite load down! (Not sure of it works or not...)

I had fewer issues with the chickens and goats co-habitating than others. They don't anymore because I have a handicap Roo who can't get out from under the goat feet. Definitely the most difficult part was creating a chicken creep feeder of sorts that excluded goats. You have to use one that the chickens stick their heads through wire fence to access a trough hung on the other side but not close enough for ambitious goat tongues.


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

Nope I'll take all that goat poop over chicken poop any day lol think of dragging a hose along then you go to pick it up and chicken crap all over your hands. Chickens and ducks do help with worms, well unless you have a creep feeder that you like to make sure has grain in it at all times, then they are lazy and just eat that. Honestly I wouldn't mind if I had like 3-4 chickens but I can't even tell you how many I have they just keep reproducing lol. Ducks though nope I don't even want 1 of them any more especially after I went to get on my quad yesterday and the seat was covered in crap!!!! My goats don't crap on things lol 


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## NyGoatMom (Jan 26, 2013)

Jessica84 said:


> Nope I'll take all that goat poop over chicken poop any day lol think of dragging a hose along then you go to pick it up and chicken crap all over your hands.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Goat Forum


I know! I hate that :GAAH:


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## J-TRanch (Jan 31, 2014)

I think it would be a huge mess  Chicken poo ruining goat hay, goats eating chicken feed, etc.


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## dreamacresfarm2 (May 10, 2014)

Nope don't have major problem with poop - I have roost in barn and they usually poop off it. - goats are not under it- clean one spot is easy to do. - During the day everyone is out on pasture. Not seeing poop out there either but they have 7 acres. There are 2 shelters and outside coup for the chickens if the weather is bad. Maybe different when it snows. my equipment is either covered or in shed.


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## milk and honey (Oct 31, 2010)

My own experience was that the chickens would sleep(poop) and lay in the goat hay. It was hard for me to get the eggs! :/


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## Capegoat (Feb 3, 2014)

Our goats and chickens have separate pens and quarters at night, but they run all day together in the main pasture. The chickens like to go in and clean up the goat pen and hang out there. We have never had any chicken poop in the goats' water or hay. If anything, the chickens clean up the goat pen and rotate the bedding around. We did find an egg or two that had been laid in the goats' bed once (and it wasn't crushed by the goats!) 

They seem to have fun playing together too. Our goat Wilbur loves to chase the chickens around. 

The chicken's feed is in their run, which is a place the goats are not allowed. We are working to design a small door that the chickens can use but the goats can't, so that they chickens can still access their nesting boxes. Right now we have a system of who is out when, etc. 

We only have 6 chickens, so maybe it's more of a problem if you have a lot of them. But we don't foresee changing anything that we are doing now.


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## AncientBlue (Dec 21, 2014)

We have 3 Nigerian Dwarf goats and 14 various breed chickens together. They do alright but we may separate them. Billy and Sabatina, our 1.5 month old kids has started playing "bowling for chickens" and I don't think the hens like their game. Momma goat, Rosie doesn't seem to mind the hens.

I keep the chicken feed in the coop, so Rosie can't get to it because she doesn't fit in the door. Billy and Sabatina occasionally go up there and eat some of their feed.


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## glndg (Feb 8, 2013)

NyGoatMom said:


> I don't have my birds in with my goats...not only the feed but chickens poop every 15 minutes....everywhere....in the feed, hay, water.....I just personally feel it's better health wise for the goats not to be with chickens.


And on your head. :-? I got pooped on by a neighbor's chicken roosting in the tree above my goats. Before work. I was a little late after all the shampooing to get the stinky stuff out!


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## NyGoatMom (Jan 26, 2013)

Disgusting.......lol.....I am pro fencing for chickens if you have more than 6 and a small property.


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## glndg (Feb 8, 2013)

NyGoatMom said:


> Disgusting.......lol.....I am pro fencing for chickens if you have more than 6 and a small property.


I'll say! :shocked: I'm wearing a hat out there until the neighbor gets them under control. He's working on it this weekend.  He needs to do it soon anyway because the mulberry tree they have been roosting in is rapidly loosing its leaves.


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## NyGoatMom (Jan 26, 2013)

Besides...I have not lost any to predation...and they have a big yard!


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## Niginewbie (Oct 28, 2013)

I have two nigi does and about 20 chickens together with no problems. We keep chicken food in the goat proof chicken coop. The goat's hay is in a feeder off the ground and has never had chicken poop in it. I've never seen chicken poop in the water either. I asked a vet if it was a problem to keep them together and her only concern was the goats getting into the chicken feed. Plus it's hilarious to watch baby goats sneak up on chickens and scare them.


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