I know I'm asking for it.

[llcupit]

Goats! Any one run goats with their cows? Pros and Cons.

 

[Beefy]

i would if i had halfway decent fences.

 

[llcupit]

Would electric keep them in?

 

[Beefy]

Would electric keep them in?

in theory. (in otherwords probably not)

 

[cfpinz]

Goats! Any one run goats with their cows? Pros and Cons.

Neighbor used to have goats, ran with my cattle, frequented my hayfields, does that count? Note that neighbor no longer has goats, and the front of my farm truck has a few dents.

cfpinz

 

[backhoeboogie]

the front of my farm truck has a few dents.

cfpinz

:lol: :lol: :lol: A worthy price to pay.

 

[TnWI]

I have had goats and cattle at the same time - and the answer is no, they don't stay.

 

[peg4x4]

Saw a goat catch an electric fence wire with his hornes,rip it down,and calmly go graze over there---------

 

[Beefy]

we had an Hispanic family living in one of the farmhouses and they electric fenced off a section around the barns and kept two goats in there. oh wait, no they didnt.

 

[dun]

There is a local guy that runs any where from a couple of hundred to a thousand goats ro so depending on the goat market. All he has is electric and no problems. A properly installed electric fence designed for goats will hold them just as well as a properly installed electric fence for cows does. The key points are properly installed and designed.

dun

 

[TnWI]

The key points are properly installed and designed.

dun

Exactly

 

[*Cowgirl*]

We've got goats. They are extremely stupid critters. If there is one spot in your fence, They will find it. They also have a tendency to get their heads stuck in woven wire fences.

 

[EIEIO]

My neighbors run Kiko/Boer cross goats, least I think that is what they are. They have at least 600 goats and 2-300 head (??) of cattle on about 1K acres. They rotate a lot. Very much into rotational grazing. Never feed hay except to their horses. They got the markets down pat. Not many folks doing what they are doing. They also sell native grasses, wildflowers, and Mustangs. They must have at least 4 employees working for them full time. They follow Kit Pharo and his teachings and are also real big into Bud Williams and his livestock selling and handeling methods. They go sun up till sun down but love what they are doing.

Perimiter fencing for them is woven wire/field fence, you can get 2 kinds round here and they use the one with the largest opening to prevent the horns getting stuck. They run the field fence with 2 strands of barb on top and have good luck with that plus they always have some poly wire up to even make more rotational grazing. They have told me more than once the goat market is great and wish they could carry even more. They keep livestock guardian dogs and at least one llama with the goats.

We have gotten a few goats given to us from them in the past just for 4-H stuff and I don't like them but don't run them with the cattle and my children play with the things. Sure hate it when they get on the wifes car but they do one heck of a job controling weeds and such on their place. They don't even own a brush-hog!

J

 

[kjones]

Goats! Any one run goats with their cows? Pros and Cons.

Neighbor used to have goats, ran with my cattle, frequented my hayfields, does that count? Note that neighbor no longer has goats, and the front of my farm truck has a few dents.

cfpinz

Hmm... Sounds like those goats must have been suicidal, and killed themselves by ramming thier heads into your truck.

 

[cmjust0]

Got a neighborwho lost a bunch of goats after they got their horns stuck in the fence on one of his farms.. He took all his fence down, flipped it, then tacked it back up to where the big stays are at the bottom. Now they can free themselves.

The good thing about running goats with cattle, as I understand it, is that their choice of food doesn't really overlap but by a few percentage points.. For instance, if you could run a maximum of 100 cows or 600 goats, you can probably run about 80 cows and 500 goats together and have enough forage..

At least, that's what I've read and heard in many different places.. As they say, though, "actual results may vary."

 

[*Cowgirl*]

You're right the goats eat everything the cows won't eat, and if you decide do do this you can sell your bush hog.

 

[SaskHerf]

LOL, I think more of the posts should maybe carry that warning at the bottom...

"actual results may vary." VERY TRUE.

 

[Gale Seddon]

And people complain about the smell of cow manure? They haven't been around any bucks! My gawd, that is some potent stuff!

 

[dun]

And people complain about the smell of cow manure? They haven't been around any bucks! My gawd, that is some potent stuff!

I kind of like it. Gauranteed to clear the sinuses.

dun