Soooo, You're thinking about raising goats.

[boggybranch]

Good article on raising the Houdinis of the barnyard.

http://www.motherearthnews.com/sustainable-farming/keeping-goats-out-of-trouble.aspx

 

[lesa]

Great article! I didn't know they were such accomplished escape artists! An acre for 10 goats- that is an interesting fact...Now you've got me thinking!

 

[SweetMissDaisy]

We love having our two little goats around -- if nothing else, they are great for comic relief!

 

[Ariel301]

They ARE escape artists...we have two that work as a team. Gracee works the gate latches (she even unties ropes or chains with snaps that we use to deter gate opening!) while Flora stands on her back legs and pushes on it. And they jump...and climb...We use 7-foot high chain link dog kennels to house ours. Ours don't really go too far if they do get loose; they usually end up "telling on themselves" because they run to the back door of the house as soon as they are free!

As for 10 goats per acre, yes, if you live in an area with adequate browse. Out here in the desert, it's more like 10 acres per goat...(60 acres per cow/calf pair!) but they're fairly light eaters when on hay. Our milkers each eat about 6 pounds each of alfalfa per day and 2 pounds of grain to produce a gallon or so of milk per doe. They are definitely more economical to keep as a dairy animal than cows.

 

[Raindance]

I've heard of some people who keep goats with a 3 foot fence. They train their goats to the fence young, and don't have trouble with it. I guess it depends on the goat, however, 'cuz mine jump 4-footers just for kicks!