drive through goat gate

[mad_misky]

So, as I said in another post, I want a couple goats and a flock of sheep managing the vegetation on my 160 acres, so I'm wondering what the best drive through gate is. Texas gates seem like a lot of money and work for something that doesn't seem effective. Bump gates look like they'd be okay for cows, but not goats. I've got my eye on the Gap Zapper. It seems like the easiest to install and most effective. I am concerned about winter time, when snow is covering the gate. I'm also concerned about the pond freezing and the goaties walking across it onto the road. Maybe I should just keep them in the corral during the winter, since they won't be able to graze anyway.

Also, am I right in thinking that with so much space, the goats won't try as hard to escape? I think they probably could get through the fence (it was built with sheep in mind) but if the sheep don't leave, and they have a lot of space, maybe they'll just stay with their sheep pals and not force the boundaries?

Oh yeah, and if I feed them treats in the same spot at the same time each day, will they reliably show up? I need to milk them, after all!

[Alice In TX/MO]

Personally, I wouldn't do sheep and goats together, but that's me, and my operation is VERY small scale.

The gate has to be smarter than the goats. This is very difficult.

[southerngurl]

Yes, a larger area will keep the pressure down on a fence.

Keeping sheep and goats together, you will have to copper bolus your goats, because you can't put a mineral with copper out with sheep. Boluses are done every 5 months.

[KIT.S]

We have a whether goat, Willie, and an Icelandic ram, Sedro Wooley (the female sheep are coming in June, when they wean their current babies). Willie is the instigator. Wooley follows him anywhere. Willie went over the 5' fence, and Wooley couldn't, so Wooley bashed his way through the plywood wall of the sheep/goat shed to keep up with Willie. Willie also "told" Wooley that if he bashed right *there,* there would be food, so they ended up inside the chicken house, eating from the feeder. I am hoping once the female sheep appear, Wooley will change his allegiance!
Kit
Lacomb

[stanb999]

What I'd do is make a solid fence or really good fence where your going to be interacting with them. They will want to follow you when you leave.

Feed, water, bedding areas need good solid fence.

The rest you could just make about any fence and they will stay in. Heck I'd be surprised if you find them using more than 10 acres or so. They just won't roam that far and they don't eat much.

[dosthouhavemilk]

We have 80 acres available to our goats (150+) and they still leave the property at times. Of course, living in town, those people and their beautiful manicured lawns are just too tempting...
Make sure you have a good solid escape proof pen that you can lock them into if, well when, they get out.