Moving them out... Advice Please

K Epp · #1 04/15/13, 09:52 PM

I got a wether King Tut Friday to go with my Cleopatra. I returned my friends borrowed doe. I completely cleaned the barn out and gave everyone fresh bedding hay. I never had trouble with the girls making a mess. both days since I have had him he has dumped the water out and made a mess in general of their large dog kennel. The kennel is in the 320 sq ft barn they share with 10 chickens. They all seem to get along fine. To night I cleaned out all the bedding and left the kennel door open so they had more room to move around. Is it okay to leave them loose with the chickens? They will be in the barn together from dark until around 2 pm Monday- Thursday and out all day on Friday- Sunday. I know they don't need to eat the chicken feed. I keep the water clean and fresh as well. Is there anything else I need to do? I moved the low nest boxes out because since I got Tut I have found several broken eggs. I think he has been jumping from box to box.

Alice In TX/MO · #2 04/15/13, 10:02 PM

Keep them out of the area where they aren't supposed to be. Goats will figure out how to make a mess if the water isn't secure, the feed isn't locked up, and you don't have a good fence or gates. You have to be smarter than they are.

Having said this, I will tell you that my MiniMancha doe has figured out how to open a gate that she ignored for four years.

K Epp · #3 04/15/13, 10:33 PM

The girls never made this kind of mess.... poor Cleopatra looked like he had dumped it on her head. I actually picked him up and made sure the right parts were missing... I thought wethers were supposed to be big babies. He is wild. I have calmed and tamed him down a lot over the couple of days I have had him. He will let me pet him most of the time. He also climbed up all four feet on my back while I was changing a chick feeder.
I got rid of the water bucket and put the feed hay in it. Will they be okay in with the chickens? She is 5 months old and he is 3 months.

**mygoat** · #4 04/15/13, 10:55 PM

They will be fine with chickens as long as they cannot get to the chicken feed. Remove the chicken feed... Very few contraptions you can possibly build will keep goats out of it. It's less that they don't need the chicken feed and more that if they get at it and gorge themselves, there's a darned good chance they'll die. We have chickens that free range everywhere on the property, including in our pastures all over. Makes for an easter egg hunt every day (it does get old...) Our chicken feed is well separated from our goats all the time. There is no problem housing chickens with goats, apart from the feed issue.

Dunno what you mean by 'removed the water bucket'... they need water all the time. Either a more stable bucket, or moved to lower traffic area, or hung on the fence for stability.Chances are he's new to the area, got scared and knocked it about.

As for tameness... a wild goat is wild no matter the sex (or castrate). wethers are just as wild as unhandled does or bucks

It's a tameness thing. Handling will bring him around, most likely. He most likely won't make a 'mess' anymore once he figures out his area that he's in and if you move the bucket out of the high traffic areas.

K Epp · #5 04/17/13, 10:15 PM

I had the goats in a large kennel inclosed while I'm at work. They are both really small and I dont feel safe letting them or the chickens out when no one is here to supervise. I kept a bucket of water in the kennel. Since I started leaving the kennel door open They can drink the water I have out for chickens. I have completely stopped feeding chickens in barn. The feed is stored in the garage so they cant get to it. Tut the weather is calming down a lot. He will now walk beside me, eat out of my hand and he also allows petting by me and kids. I was trying to feed chicks on a small grow out coop and the silly guy jumped up on my back. He is a climber...

Alice In TX/MO · #6 04/17/13, 10:17 PM

Sounds like you have come up with a work around.

Almost all goats are natural climbers.

I did have one family of goats who weren't, but in general, the goat focus is UP.

Minelson · #7 04/18/13, 07:51 AM

It takes a while for everything to settle and everyone to get used to things and into a consistency mode. Anything new gets messed around with until it becomes boring...most of the time. not all the time. Tut sounds like a real character! And he will continue to mellow out as he gets to know the ropes. Lots of scratching and a few raisins or animal crackers go a long way

You are doing great!