Goat proof gate latch

[airotciv]

Is there such a thing? I'm getting a couple of goats, my nieghbor and I were talking the other day about latches for the gate. He has goats and I'm getting 1 goat from him and 1 from another friend. I goatsit when he is on vacation, he has 5 different latches on each gate. Now I know to close every latch he has, because they will get out. I asked him about getting a combination lock. He LOL and said no one in the family can remember the combination and if he wrote it on the wall of the barn the goats would figure out the lock. So, is there a goat proof latch?

[Trisha-MN]

I figure if I can't get into the pen, the goats can't get out of the pen :-)
No really, a lot has to either do with your set up and the location of the latch. What are your pens and gates made out of?

[Alice In TX/MO]

The one I like the best is a metal plate on the wall with a finger that sticks up. Extending from the plate, just at the top end of the finger is a metal ring that is parallel to the ground. On the gate is a short chain. You put the link of the chain up and over the finger. The ring keeps the goats from lifting the chain off.

Available from Jeffers Livestock

[Wonderland]

I use a chain and a padlock Keeps strangers out and goats in!

[farmmom]

Originally Posted by Wonderland

I use a chain and a padlock Keeps strangers out and goats in!

I'll be doing that too as soon as my new fence is up.

[Bricheze]

I used a lock with a key, and keep my all my keys in the barn.

[bluemoonluck]

I have the latch on the outside of my (4-foot-tall) gate, about a quarter of the way down. If my goats can reach it, its because they're already on the wrong side of the gate, so I have nothing to worry about

[Bricheze]

lol that's a smart idea

[airotciv]

Thanks everyone great ideas. Padlock is the way I was thinking of going, until the DH reminded me we have Padlocks that have been cut off of things because we have lost the keys. My gates are metal gates that I really need a chain and lock of some kind. The people that I'm getting the goats from all have wooden gates. Easier to put other latches on than my metal gates. So thanks again.

[deetu]

run electric fence inside fence line. keeps goats away even if the gate is left unlocked. keeps predators from digging under too.

[Ezekiel's Garde]

Maybe our goats aren't too determined, but we like Kiwi latches. We learned about it from a llama person. Evidently llamas are smart about gates, too.

[Minelson]

I use these
http://www.tractorsupply.com/webapp/...g=true&cFlag=1
and these
http://www.tractorsupply.com/webapp/...g=true&cFlag=1
Mine must not be very determined either... I don't have any escape problems

[Trisha-MN]

Chains with clips are good on metal gates. You can use a short piece of chain to make sure the clip is on the outside of the gate so that the goats can reach them. Also, the link connectors work well if you aren't going in and out of the gates more than a couple times a day - the kind that look like a chain link but screw closed.

Good luck.

[where I want to]

I use the ones that Alcie mention above- with the metal gates, I just use the attached chain that came on the gate (I have a bazillion of the little chain it came with) or fastern a length of chain to the gate using a link thingy that you can pound close.
What I really like about it is that I can use one hand to lift the chain over the hook. Also I have a way of running it through the metal gate latch that makes it extra secure.
Although the goats have never seemed to put much effort into diddling with it, I have one horse who can open everything but that one- not that she has given up trying for years.

[Nancy_in_GA]

All of the entrances to our goat enclosures have metal tube gates. If yours is a tube gate, then you might consider a Sure-Latch gate latch. Pretty expensive, but they are really nice, especially the two-way version. The one-way version is a bit difficult to operate, but still goat proof (so far).

[http://www.jefferslivestock.com/ssc/...w=sure%20latch

I can't seem to make the link work, but they have them at Jeffers.