keeping goats with horses

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pony&cow

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I have a nightmare keeping my grass down and thought 3 or so goats could help me.
always fancied a few anyway.

has anyone got any experience with them?
-are they easier to keep in than sheep?
-do they carry any diseases, infections or parasites that could pass to horses?
-do they need registering and can they use the same holding number as cattle?
-would they need hard feed or licks?
 
We have goats, they're quite sweet but terrible for escaping! They can jump quite high and clamber over anything and everything. Ours are also big wimps and dont like staying out in the rain/cold
 
Hiya, I have a small flock of pedigree Zwartbles (big black sheep) and one small pygmy goat. The goat 'free ranges' but I shut him in at night as we have foxes about. He is pretty low maintenance but tends to eat scrub (and plants / trees in the garden rather than grass). The sheep are a doodle and have done my grass the power of good. You could probably get 6 Zwartble ram lambs (castrated) at an auction for about £75 each, there are incredibly tame (mine follow a feed bucket when being moved & come to call in the field) and very easy to keep. Goats need to be registered on your CPH no and mine just gets a handful of low copper mix at night to get him in. Nothing that can be transferred directly but fluke is a possibility given the right conditions (although very unlikely).
Just to add I don't have sheep wire, just proper mains fed electric fence (with an extra strand of wire along the bottom for the sheep/goat/dogs).
 
Goats are browsers, they pick at hedges and trees. They are difficult to contain as the are very adapt at climbing..........everything! Their feet are good and other than Angoras, they don't need clipping. Yes they do need hard feed. No danger to horses. I personally think sheep are much easier.
 
TheMule said:
We have goats, they're quite sweet but terrible for escaping! They can jump quite high and clamber over anything and everything. Ours are also big wimps and dont like staying out in the rain/cold
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Goats aren't waterproof that's why! Mine would have you believe he will actually die from being rained on, it's hilarious watching him scuttle about the yard on a rainy day trying to find a suitable bolt hole!
 
Love goats and we have really tame ones at work but they'll be useless for keeping your grass down. They're not grazers an will eat grass is forced but they won't keep help with too much grass. Our goat pens need cut to keep short!
 
As others have said they are browsers so will do little for your grazing, but will keep the hedges tidy! They are experts at escape so brilliant fencing is a must - ours were pretty dumb when it came to electric and would still get over/under/through the stuff so I wouldn't bother with it! They are total wuss bags when it comes to rain/mud/wind so really need to be kept indoors over winter with hard feed as well as hay add lib, ours had a molassed lick in winter too as well as a salt lick year round, or we used to put rain coats on them to keep them out that bit longer at the end of summer, although they still had access to shelter!
They are also very good at dying just like sheep and are not fast enough to get out of a horses way so not something I would put in the same field as horses really or sheep for that matter as we've had a few killed by the gg's in the past after them being used as fluffy footballs! Your best bet is some sheep in the paddocks after the horses have been in them just to hoover it off and eat the bits the horses won't, or even some cows/calves if the grass is long and stalky as even sheep won't eat it then, sheep are pretty faffy to keep i.e. they need dosing for worms/fluke, feet trimming, shearing, spraying for flies in summer, dagged etc but they are quite good fun if you tame them, they don't have anything horses can catch and having mixed grazing helps lower worm numbers for each species on your land. We had suffolks which I would not recommend as they are so darn ditsy and thick!, our oldest suffolk was 15 when we had her pts so not bad for a fatty meat breed!:)
You have the same holding number as you would for cattle, but you'd need to notify defra you have sheep and fill in movement papers as you would with any livestock, you can even print them off online now. Maybe ask around for a local farmer who has a few sheep spare that you could borrow for a few weeks every so often - then you don't have the hassle of looking after them?
 
Well having read Alexart's routine for keeping goats -rugs, mucking out etc, I think a small topper would be far less hassle. All it needs is a bit of grease.
 
Goats are good fun, but they aren't much help, lol. They are also pretty much impossible to contain, they climb or jump out over stock wire, barge through 12 000 Volt electric fencing (whilst screaming madly), open every single box/trunk/bag they can find, steel food from every container and are always, and I mean always under your feet.
 
martlin said:
Goats are good fun, but they aren't much help, lol. They are also pretty much impossible to contain, they climb or jump out over stock wire, barge through 12 000 Volt electric fencing (whilst screaming madly), open every single box/trunk/bag they can find, steel food from every container and are always, and I mean always under your feet.
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Fun ? I would have them on the bbq. Have a look on ebay, plenty of small toppers for sale that don't do any of the above.
 
I vote for sheep. .:) We have 3ewes who were orphan lambs they do wonders for the land. These are the second trio, the last lot were in their teens when they died. We do have to shear them, and I spin the wool
 
AdorableAlice said:
Fun ? I would have them on the bbq. Have a look on ebay, plenty of small toppers for sale that don't do any of the above.
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Well, mine are pets, really, and have the added benefit of giving milk :) I have only 2, purely for their entertainment value. They are very intelligent and you can teach them pretty anything, they like fuss, ''talk'' back at me and follow me everywhere. The horses are absolutely goat proof, too. They do trim weeds around the yard, which I suppose helps, although a strimmer is much more precise and quicker.
 
martlin said:
Well, mine are pets, really, and have the added benefit of giving milk :) I have only 2, purely for their entertainment value. They are very intelligent and you can teach them pretty anything, they like fuss, ''talk'' back at me and follow me everywhere. The horses are absolutely goat proof, too. They do trim weeds around the yard, which I suppose helps, although a strimmer is much more precise and quicker.
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I was pulling your leg, they sound like a lot of fun. I knew someone who had a couple of alpaca's with their horses. They were always ill and spat at her on a regular basis, but she loved them dearly.

I think the escaping of goats would be the only thing that put me off. I would not be pleased to be halfway up the motorway on the way to work to get a call about my goat gone awol.
 
martlin said:
Goats are good fun, but they aren't much help, lol. They are also pretty much impossible to contain, they climb or jump out over stock wire, barge through 12 000 Volt electric fencing (whilst screaming madly), open every single box/trunk/bag they can find, steel food from every container and are always, and I mean always under your feet.
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:D Someone who knows goats well. They're brilliant animals*and sooooo much morr fun than sheep or cows but they are well and truly a royal pain in the ass.
But so cute as goatlets

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This was my baby, I loved him :)

Prem baby vests were too big, this his him
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2 years on he was over 30 stone !!!

Love you Harry , but playing Harry but but with horses was not fun, nor was mounting me and sucking my ear :)

All I am saying is, if you want to keep them as a pet, get them castrated, I did his tail and will forever regret docking his peanuts :(

He left his legacy though :)
 
Cute, but appears to be a baa lamb?!

If you've ever had anything to do with males goats then you'll know the smell means castration is essential! Pet ram lambs don't smell but they're a pain to work with. A smacked nose doesn't do the trick!
 
I have had both over the years and there as good, or as bad as eachother! Goats are a nightmare for eating EVERYTHING, and escaping. Sheep are idiots and are always on a mission to try and commit suicide, and they need shearing every year. Mind you saying that we've sheared the goat before now! I do think goats are more hardier in cold weather though. But i supose it depends on what type you get.
 
Well we had two goats one male (castrated) one female. Unfortunately the girl broke her leg in a freak accident so we decided to rehome William. He came back tonight after a week as he was very naughty in his new home! I missed him so much yes he's rude, Bargy and smelly but great company and a real character and bar ear tagging has never been sick or sorry. We give him hay and course mix as well as grazing and he's great for the nettles and thistles. Get some goats they rock!
 
Goats eat everything that they shouldnt, I have 3 horses with no tails that prove the point, including an arab mare whos tail ended just below the dock , she looked seriously stupid, luckily shes retired, id have BBQ'd the goat if it had been the show horses
 
I must have the oddest goats then, everyone says that they don't eat grass, mine do.
They browse too, but then so do the horses given the choice.

Some horses do NOT like goats and can, and will, do them serious damage.

Some goats can, and will, cause serious damage to horses if so inclined.

If you have goats get de-horned or polled ones. Goat horns are just the right height to gore horses.

If you get bucklings band them as soon as you can, male goats stink - which is why I don't keep adult males.

If I wanted to keep the grass down, much as I love goats, I'd get sheep, well lambs, they could eat through the summer and go in the freezer come Fall.

Research the size you want. Dairy breeds get tall, I have a Saanan Guard Goat that is 34" high and he probably weighs more than I do.
 
I have 3 castrated males. (Which arent smelly btw, entire males are the stinkers) Toggenburg x sannan and toggenburg x Anglo Nubian. I got them free from a dairy farm as very young kids. I love them dearly they are very much members of the family, but they are a bloody nightmare. I have to get one PTS next week and I'm devastated but I won't be replacing them ever.

I had to get stock fencing as they can squeeze through 4 rail post and rail, I built them a fabulous goat house which they get great joy in destroying (no proper shelter and they will get sick) their horns constantly get caught in the fence so I have to check them a few times a day. They do eat weeds which is great but they are incredibly agile and I have one (which is massive) that can jump into stables to steal horse food and give horse a jolly big fright.

They need their feet trimmed very very regularily which can be a bit tricky unless you have someone to hold them for you. They get on with most horses but sometimes horses decide they want to kill the goat. They poo everywhere indoors which is hard to clean up because the tiny balls just fall off the shavings fork. They ate my show jumps and bridles. Oh yes and goats think rugs and horse tails are yummy...

Don't do it
 
I have to say i love my two pygmy goats dearly which is a good job as they are the biggest pain in the @rse!

The female lives out in a weathers, she is literally bulletproof and fab but can get through the holes in stock fencing so is inclined to go for a wander

The male is a great character, lots and lots of fun, he is less feral and will use the shelter but his desire to be undercover and eating results in him raiding the haystore, jumping through windows and over stable door etc, where he cant go over he goes under or straight through which is always fun....

Both do respect electric fences though

I love them both and have adapted to their quirks, they are easy in every day maintenance and hoof trimming is easy.

I also have sheep and as lawnmowers these are second to none, they are characterful and the ones that havent been handraised are near perfect - the ones that have are thugs, mindlessly running in to doors looking for food and under my feet constantly, these are always the first to go! Native breeds are a bit more self sufficient and sensible - most of mine are Shetlands which are hardy and pretty intelligent. Maybe go for one of the more 'goaty' looking breeds of sheep?

I separate the ponies for feeding as both sheep and goats act like they are constantly starving and will raid the ponies feed which was resulting in the ponies bolting their feed and stressing

There is hoof trimming, medication requirements and the obligatory red tape with both. If i were you i would be inclined towards the sheep. In saying that my goats give me daily giggles!
 
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The castrated male goat at our place would lead perfectly well at home but whenever he managed to escape, which he did all too often, he would run off into the village to eat peoples' flowers. When we caught up with him and put a halter on him he would lie down in the road screaming at the top of his voice like we were murdering him and it was a two person job to drag him home again. His sister was very well behaved, however.
 
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Baggybreeches said:
Hiya, I have a small flock of pedigree Zwartbles (big black sheep) and one small pygmy goat. The goat 'free ranges' but I shut him in at night as we have foxes about. He is pretty low maintenance but tends to eat scrub

Curious.. Clicking Reply to Thread and getting the above post ?

Anyhow. Have found this really amusing and helpful. I'm in the process of buying a property which has a lot of scrubby woodland and was wondering if goats would help clearing it or whether to borrow some sheep. I like the idea of goats, especially the ickle pigmy ones but in light of some of your experiences I'm no so sure now.:confused:
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TrasaM. Scrubby woodland, the goats will clear the brambles etc somewhat, they will also strip the trees and bark them if they feel like it,
but then so will horses, at the end of a winter my horses have barked every willow and aspen they can get hold of, and it isn't for want of food etc. .

The best thing for clearing woodland right down to the roots are pigs. Pigs are quite easily contained with electric fencing.

A friend of mine systematically cleared 10 acres of bush using sheep hurdles and electric fencing to contain the pigs, section by section. It looks like parkland now.

Goats are fun, intelligent and have really strong characters.
I would have goats for the sheer entertainment value if nothing else.
 
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Thanks Enfys. I'd thought of using pigs. I was a bit concerned about their eventual destiny though! Suppose it'll take 2 some time to clear a few acres and they would make useful waste disposal system too ;) and now I think of it, easy to house :)
 
Get Pot Bellies or Kunekunes.

They still do the job but are good 'pets' too if you feel disinclined to pop them in the freezer after their labours. :)

Pigs are very easy to house, they just need an arc, or a shed, as long as it is full of straw they will be warm in the worst weathers.
 
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