Hauling Goats in a Minivan?

TexCountryWoman · #21 07/11/05, 10:14 AM

I hauled 9 goats and my 4 human kids to a goat show about an hour and a half a way in a Suburban. They all slept like babies. Especially on the way home when it rained...I just cranked up Pink Floyd, which was playing on the radio, and looked in my rear view mirror at them, a very surrealistic scene...my children all dressed in white, draped over shaved goats. Looked like a street scene from a third world country. No accidents though. The goats and human kids all waited til we got out of the vehicle. Once hauled a big heifer calf that way too, and come to think of it, several other little calves, and lots of poultry. The goats are the easiest.

mamajohnson · #22 07/11/05, 10:52 AM

I always haul chickens in my van,,, feed,,, hay,,, whatever. The truck usually has a water tank in it.
DH went and got two potbelly pig babies for me once. He had two kids (human variety) in seatbelts and the potbellies running around in the back.. Got pulled over by a state trooper - speeding - (I think he was in a hurry to get home) lol! Trooper let him go with a warning, and kept asking, "where are you going? what are you doing?" lol! DH kept saying, picking up pigs for the wife! the 3 yr old and 5 yr old just smiled....thankfully...
So, we haul anything in ours. plan on a goat pickup soon in the van...
Wanted to do it on the way home from vacation (rented van) DH put his foot down and said not in the rented van, how would he explain the goat smell when we take it back????
lol! I figure they wont notice....

Tracy in Idaho · #23 07/11/05, 12:46 PM

Not only does my friend haul her goats in her minivan, she also hauls her mini HORSE!

He jumps right in like loading in a trailer. She has the back seats pulled out, a cattle panel tied in right behind the front seats, and a tarp with shavings on the floor. Works like a champ!

heck this same friend hauled my sick goat to the vet clinic in the rear of her brand new Ford Focus! There was no way we could lift her as high as the rear of my pickup, but we could slide her right into the Focus off of a carry tarp

Tracy

susanne · #24 07/11/05, 04:06 PM

i transported up to 5 adult goats and a buck in my two year old pt cruiser. i still need to work on it to get it clean again though

susanne

Cygnet · #25 07/11/05, 04:23 PM

Re:funny looks -- well, I have an S10 pickup and a large wooden crate with wire sides on it, homemade, big enough to hold two 200 pound wethers.

Nobody looks twice at my rig in the country, except for the odd person who chases me down the highway wanting to buy the goats because the only reason they can think of for someone to transport goats is to take them to auction ... *L*

Taking them through Phoenix is fun, though. My favorite is through fast food drive throughs ... pretty funny reactions from the cashiers. (I loved the one from a cashier who saw the goats on ac closed circuit camera that apparently wasn't very clear..."What kind of ... is that a ... great danes?") I usually pull forward a few feet and have them give the boys a few fries just for fun. (My goats are weird, they love french fries!)

I've transported goats in a cherokee, though, so I don't see where a minivan would be a problem. You might want to tie them, though -- if a large goat spooked, they could go through a window.

Leva

PLPP · #26 07/11/05, 04:28 PM

That is how we are currently hauling our goats. Maybe you can buy a small trailer and build wooden boxes, or our van can haul a two horse trailer. Just to keep him happy

allenslabs · #27 07/11/05, 05:40 PM

I have a real nice minivan and can easily haul my goats in it. I just have a large plastic dog crate that is big enough for a labrador. It fit 1 Saanen doe and 2 month old kids in it. My van could hold 2 of those in it. I'm not sure if my nubians would fit in it but hey...... it's doable!!! HAHAHA!! And it doesn't leak out and I just tip it over whenever I stop to get her out and get the nasties out. I haul my daughters 4H doe in it!

Croenan · #28 07/12/05, 05:07 PM

I haul my babies around in my SUV whenever they need to go to the vet. I also use a tarp, but somehow they always manage to move the tarp (or the pee runs off of it) so I also put down some cheap-o wee wee pads. (note: the human ones are cheaper than doggie ones!) I also put a wee pad on the tarp to help absorb a little of the pee, but they always moosh that on up. At least they dont' eat it!

One other helpful note, I like to put a sign on my SUV, since the windows are tinted, that says "live animals on board". People are a little less likely to ride so close behind you or they will pass you.

I will admit that the last time I did that, my buck was very smelly and I can still smell him in my car.....eewww

TxCloverAngel · #29 07/13/05, 05:48 AM

Yesterday My Suburban was filled w/
6 kids , 2 in car seats!
2 bags hog feed
2 bags Chicken feed
2 bags chicken scratch
4 rolls chicken wire
2 11 week-old pygmys
countless Happy Meal remnants
toys, an odd shoe or two...
And when I got home I found out that 2 of my boys had Lizards w/ them! yuck!

It CAN be done! lol

leaping leon · #30 07/13/05, 09:52 AM

Carla Emery writes that you can tie a goat's legs together and lay it down (for short periods of time) and it won't relieve itself...of course, you would need to make sure not to tie it's legs too tight and not keep it that way for very long...I bet a creative person could design hobbles that would work nicely...

When I get my baby goats (Pygmies and Nigerian Dwarves are what we're looking for) I plan to put them in dog crates in the back of either our suv or van...crates keep them safer in case of a sudden stop or minor fender bender...tied is not good, and loose in the back could make them bounce around like a pinball (like when I put our truck's rear wheels into a ditch two days ago...oops!)