Goats, Turkeys in the same shelter?

emulkahi1 · #1 03/30/09, 09:37 PM

Hello All--

I have no idea if this is a completely ridiculous idea. I was hoping, if I posted here (and in the poultry forum

), someone would tell me if it was...before I tried it

.

Is it possible to house goats (two does, each w/ their twin kids) and turkeys in the same area? The goats are going to be spending time out on pasture in their electric net enclosure, so they won't be in their 'stall' (10 ft wide x 20 ft long) during the day. I am also hoping to get something set up for the turkeys, so they can be on pasture during the day as well. I don't have either the turkeys or the goats yet, but both will likely be arriving mid-April.

Anyway, I have been working all day today, getting the shelter to be more predator-resistant for the overnights and it would be so super if they would be compatible stall-mates. That way, I could just put the turkeys AND the goats in the same enclosure and call it good. But, I suspect that it is probably not a good idea as it would be too easy, lol. Any feedback?

Thanks!!!

Erin

charisma · #2 03/30/09, 10:24 PM

Our goats & turkeys bunked down in the same shelter-- the only thing I would suggest is making sure you have plenty of perches for the turkeys to "get away" from the goats. I never had any problems (not with the toms nor with the hens).

stanb999 · #3 03/31/09, 06:22 AM

Well it depends.

How many turkeys are you planning? If you just want 2 or 3. You may be fine if you clean it every day. But turkey poop is like chicken poop only much bigger. It is very messy. This is fine for the turkeys because the sleep on a perch up away from it. But the goats will be laying in the results of the daily feeding. It will be a stinky and sticky situation.

dixienc · #4 03/31/09, 07:02 AM

Our midget white hen jumps into the goat area and sometimes prefers to be in there. I have never had a problem, but it is only one bird and full grown also. I would worry about her if she was smaller and could get squished. Just a few days ago the new chicks that we put on the ground cudled up to my ND doe at night, next morning 3 birds were flattened, and I don't mean little birds, these were already about 6 inches tall.