Cows & goats

[Wendy]

Is there any reason I can't keep cows & goats together?

[jerzeygurl]

as long as they get along its fine

an onery cow can hurt a goat

or vice versa

[mamahen]

when it was just our goats (4) and heifer, they loved each other. Their own little herd. When we introduced the mule, she made herself high than them.

So first is the heifer, then the mule, then the goats. However, the heifer defends the goats, when she deems it necessary!

But the only two that wrassle, are the mule & heifer!

[ChickenMom]

My goats and sheep get out of the way of the cows. The goats were here first, then the sheep, then the cows. 2 of them were calves when they came here and then we added a 2 year old heifer, we've never had any problems.

[Jim S.]

Goats and cows will do fine together. The primary reason most farmers who have cattle don't have goats in the same pastures is fencing. It takes a lot better fence for goats than cows.

The only animals I would never put in with goats is miniature horses. They will worry those goats to death and nip them endlessly, pulling hair out, and even drawing blood.

[topside1]

Wendy, I run my steers with the goats 24/7 and 99% of the time all is well. Every once in a while the steers will act like they are on loco weed and start chasing the goats, just in short bursts. The goats just kind of expect a few minutes of wildness from time to time....I think it is more playing than anything else.

[lyceum]

Our feeder calf pen has 2 full time goat residents. As new groups of feeder calves come in, the goats are there. They get used to each other and we have not had any problems. The goats climb on and play on the 900+ pound feeder calves. They rub on them and the calves lick them. Once in awhile, they will hop around together. One of the goats is a Nigerian Dwarf and he is even fine. The only problems we have had has been water. The ND can't reach water unless the water tanks are full. We have a bucket out for him now since their is like a swamp in front of the water tanks.

Carisa

[Wendy]

Great! I am getting a couple of Dexters & want to run them witht he goats. Fence is good. I am slowly replacing the board fence with cattle panels.

[ozark_jewels]

It works. Just remember to have the barn where the goats can get in and the cows cannot. Having a barn with adult cows laying down with goats in a small area is just a recipe for accidents.

[Shirley]

The only animals I would never put in with goats is miniature horses. They will worry those goats to death and nip them endlessly, pulling hair out, and even drawing blood.

Mine don't.

[genebo]

There's a very good reason for running goats with the cows: They have different worm parasites. The worms spend part of their life in the soil and crawl up on grass blades to be eaten, and thus infect the cow or goat. When a goat eats cow worms, it kills the worms. The same thing when the cow eats goat worms. So running them together is a way to reduce the worm load on each of them.

Add Muscovy ducks to the mix and further reduce the worm load of the pasture. They break up manure piles and reduce the number of flies that hatch.

I like it when my animals work together. It means there is less work for me.

Genebo
Paradise Farm

[HomersGoatLady]

I also run cows and goats together, always have, but it can be a problem at times. Last year I had a young black Angus calf (a few months old) who decided he wanted to "play" and butt heads with the goats. One head buttin' broke the neck of one of my Boer does. I still run goats and cows together, but I watch closely and separate anyone who is getting too playful for a while. It doesn't seem to be a problem for the older cows who pay little attention to the goats, just the young playful ones.