Safer tethering protocols

[jennigrey]

It's raining pretty good today, so our goats get to take the day off from their brush-clearing duties. They get to stay in the barn and eat hay. I injured my back and I'm supposed to be "taking it easy" which really means that I shouldn't go into the barn at all today because everything that needs to be done in there is pretty much off-limits. SO, I thought I'd take this opportunity to photograph and document the equipment we use to tether our goats out for brush-clearing. Is is conceivable that goats tethered on pasture with nothing to get tangled on could take some shortcuts and get away with it, but if there is any brush whatsoever, I strongly recommend following my protocols.

There are many good reasons to avoid tethering goats. It does put them at higher risk of injury. They can get tangled and cut off circulation to a limb, they can choke themselves, they are at the mercy of their environment (sun, rain), it's about impossible to provide them with a water source that they won't knock over, they are sitting ducks for predators and wandering dogs. In general, I DO NOT RECOMMEND IT. However, some of us choose to do it anyhow. I would like to share my system, which has worked well for me the last five years, and which mitigates some of the inherent risks of tethering. I will also share with you some of the things I have learned to avoid so perhaps others might not have to make some of the same mistakes or suffer terrible consequences.

First, I should point out that our goats have horns. We have two Alpine wethers and one Kiko/Boer cross doe. We did have to blunt the tips of one Alpine's horns because he was quite vicious with them - particularly with the doe, who sometimes loves him a little too much for his liking. Our goats were all purchased at about 4-6 months of age, about a year apart. Each goat was introduced to collars, leashes and tethering immediately. They were introduced to tethering in a controlled environment, in the fully-fenced pasture, where we could keep an eye on them and where the risks were lowest. We started by tethering them short so they couldn't bolt, build up speed, and hit the end of their tether hard. A shorter tether also gives them less to get tangled in. As they figured out how to deal with being tethered and developed patience with being restrained, we gave them more and more length until finally they were on a 10' long tether.

My goals in tethering are:
to have the goats clear brush (in order to build new fences and to maintain the horses' hotwire fence line)
to have the goats take in their required sustenance for the day
to have the goats not get loose
to have the goats be content (and thus silent!)
to have the goats not become injured

I only tether while we are home. I stay where I can hear them. I check on them frequently. I bring them in before dark. I don't tether them in full sun without access to shade. I don't tether them in heavy rain or in cold rain. I tether them so they can see each other but not touch each other. I don't tether them somewhere they could jump off a stump or hillock due to the risk of hanging. You don't really know what all to avoid until a goat has just about killed themselves on it. We've been lucky so far, as none of our goats have been injured while tethered. If this should change, I solemnly swear that I will come back here and update this thread so people can take all the information into consideration when deciding to tether. I wouldn't even mind at all if people wanted to add their own personal tethering horror stories to this thread.

[jennigrey]

COLLAR:



We use heavy nylon collars with stout, metal, tongued buckles. Do not use plastic, side-release or quick-release buckles. They will not stand up to the abuse. Leather collars are nice and comfortable but you have to keep a close eye on the health of the leather because once it starts to age, it can become brittle and eventually break. The collars we use are two-ply nylon with the two layers stitched together.



They are 1" wide and 24-26" long. We buckle the collars at about 20" long to fit our goats. Having horns means that we can keep the collars loose and they won't slip off over the goats' heads. To avoid discomfort, I like to leave the collars loose enough that they can slide all the way to the BASE of the goat's neck, against his shoulder. That way, he can pull and strain against his tether all day and as soon as he stops pulling against the tether, the collar goes slack. Each goat has his or her own collar that is only used on that goat. It's weird (or maybe not), but if we put another goat's collar on someone, they are frequently obstinate and combative when we go to lead them out to that day's tethering point. I dunno, man. Goats. What can I say?

[jennigrey]

THE TETHER:

We use a 10' length of chain. The individual links are roughly 1.25" long and are made of steel that is about 3/16" thick. Each link is individually welded shut.



CHAIN. ONLY CHAIN. I cannot stress this enough. ONLY TETHER USING CHAIN. To use rope or cable is inviting disaster. The weight of chain makes it inclined to drape/sag down, causing it to slide down off a leg fairly easily. Rope doesn't have enough weight to slide down off a leg and cable will quickly develop kinks if used among brush. Perhaps cable can be used safely on open grazing but I still wouldn't ever use cable again, personally. It seemed like the natural choice in the beginning but it was nothing but trouble. We had several close calls during the initial training period in the pasture, but continued to use it because the goats seemed to be learning what not to do. After we moved the goats to brush, we had even more troubles and more close calls and finally discarded the cables alltogether. We went to chain and all those troubles went away. Another benefit of chain is that even if a leg does somehow get tangled in it (we had this happen once in a freakish set of circumstances - which, when you're talking about goats, should be expected!), it usually does not cut off all circulation the way rope and cable can.

Only use link chain that has individually welded, elongated links. Some common types of light-gauge chain that you might be tempted to use include: jack chain, double loop chain, register chain, oval loop decorator ("deco"/"decor") chain, plastic chain. Don't use any of those. The jack, double-loop and register chains all kink, tangle and can cut. Oval loop decorator chain is a fine gauge chain intended for hanging swag lamps and the links aren't welded shut. It will not stand up to goats. Plastic chain is not durable enough and doesn't have good weight. Twist or curb chain is one of the types of chain that I fear may actually be able to cut off the circulation, due to the conforming shape of the links.

[jennigrey]

PICKET PIN:



If there isn't a convenient tree or large shrub to attach the tether chain to, I will drive a picket pin. Our pins are 3' long steel stakes that I bought from the hardware store next to the rebar, in the concrete/foundation section. Note that I do NOT use rebar. These steel stakes that I use are just a little less than 3/4" thick, smooth-shanked, and pointed at the end. Rebar is blunt so it doesn't drive as well. Also, the ridges on rebar mean that it doesn't draw back out of the ground as smoothly. I use a big maul to drive the picket stake. These stakes have small holes drilled through them at regular intervals. I don't know what the stake's intended purpose is or what the holes are supposed to be for, but I run some electric fence wire through the top hole and make a small tangled mess at the top of the stake. This prevents the chain from lifting up and off the picket pin.



How deep I drive the picket pin depends on the terrain and the soil but I generally drive it in about halfway. When I first drive it in, you'd think there would be no getting it back out again. But after a day of the goat yanking on that picket pin all day, it has "wallered" out the hole enough that I usually have no trouble lifting the pin straight out.

If you attach your tether chain to a tree or stout bush, fasten it very low... within 6" of the ground. The higher you go, the more you increase the risk of entanglement. Also, it gives the goat more leverage against the bush or tree. Don't tether to a limb. Only to the base of the tree or bush. You might be surprised at how quickly a full-sized adult goat can loosen and entirely uproot a small tree. When the goat comes home dragging an improbably large sapling and his fellows are screaming because he left the herd, you will start to get a feel for what sort of brush you can tether to and which ones are too flimsy to withstand the might of GOATS.

[jennigrey]

FASTENERS:

To attach the chain to the D-ring on the collar, use what's called a cattle or bull snap.



Don't use a trigger snap or a clip. Any kind of trigger snap or clip that has a protrusion to lever the clip open will eventually get snagged on brush or on the chain itself and come open, freeing your goat. Believe me. Also do not use any type of snap or clip with a tongue that you press in. No carabiners. This type of fastener can easily grab onto another section of chain or brush and snag the goat up short. The cattle or bull snap is the only type of fastener we have used that has NEVER come loose or gotten hung up on anything else.



To attach your cattle snap to the chain, use what is called a quick link, mending link or monkey link. It is like a large link of chain with a long threaded portion that you spin to screw it closed, fastening the link shut. Get on it with a couple of wrenches and really snug it tight. Some Locktite wouldn't be a bad idea either. The only time you'll need to undo your quick link is if your cattle snap gets old and rusty and needs to be replaced. Check that sucker every day to make sure it hasn't loosened. The jaw of the quick link needs to open wide enough to get your cattle snap in there, but be fine enough to feed your chain onto. In the image below, only the second largest quick link would work with my chain. The largest quick link is too thick to get the chain on it. The two smallest ones don't open wide enough to admit the cattle snap.



To attach your chain to the picket pin, fence post, tree, etc., use a small threaded clevis which is also sometimes called a shackle. I highly recommend using one that is stainless. If your clevis rusts, you will need to bring tools with you when you go to move your tether chains. Stainless and galvanized clevises will usually operate smoothly enough that you can undo them without tools. The size of the clevis needs to be particular to the size of your chain. You will want to be able to use the clevis in two different ways: to make a loop of a fixed size



or to make a loop that can be tightened.



A loop of a fixed size can spin freely around the base of a small tree or T-post. This can sometimes be helpful to alleviate tangling. A loop that can be tightened is what I use on the picket pin to help ensure that it cannot come up off the top of the pin. In order to make a loop of a fixed size, you need to be able to pass the branch of the clevis though a link of chain



and pass the threaded pin through a link of chain.



In order to make a loop that can be tightened, you need to be able to pass links of chain through the body of the clevis.



So you see how the dimension of the chain will dictate the dimensions of the clevis. Stainless clevises are generally made more slender than galvanized ones. Marine/boating supply stores are an excellent source of stainless clevises / shackles. Buy your chain and your cattle snap first and take them with you when you go looking for your clevis and your mending link.

[jennigrey]

I hope this information can be of some help, maybe sharpen someone's learning curve or save them some grief or a couple of rosebushes.

[Jenniferlynne13]

Very informative post!
Thank you for taking the time to put it all together!

It is clear that you have done your homework here!

I don't use my goats to clear brush,but if I ever needed to, I will definitely be using this information as a guide!!

Hope your back feels better fast!!!

[harvestmoonfarm]

I don't believe goats should be tethered - EVER! No matter how "safe" you try to make it, it's far too dangerous (they could get tangled up, break a leg and/or choke to death) and you're putting them out there to be sitting ducks for predators. Not trying to start an argument, but I just don't understand having goats if they have to be kept tethered. Electronet and/or polywire are pretty darn inexpensive and very, very easy to run, and solar chargers aren't terribly expensive either. Sorry, but I just don't get it...

[weisemaries]

Awesome Info! Thanks So Much For Putting It All Together So Carefully. It Would Be A Great Sticky To Have Available.

Sorry For All The Caps...The SWype Function On My Phone Insisted They BeThere.

[jennigrey]

I agree that it is comparatively dangerous. With all my livestock (and myself) I practice continual risk identification, evaluation and mitigation. I have to balance my goals with the risks involved. I don't know what other peoples' reasons might be but in my particular case, the goats' sole purpose here on the farm is to clear brush. They maintain the horses' hotwire fenceline to keep it from grounding out. They also clear brush on parts of the property that have not yet been domesticated enough to walk through, much less build any sort of fence at all. As we clear walkways through the thickets, we will eventually be able to build fence and enclose the thickets so the goats can finish their job in safety and without so much labor and supervision.

[jennigrey]

I wouldn't think that there would be a high approval rating for making this a sticky. Too easy to construe it as tacit approval of tethering. It might cause someone to think that there is a general consensus in the goat-husbandry world that tethering is okay. When, in reality, it is the exact opposite.

[harvestmoonfarm]

Originally Posted by jennigrey

I agree that it is comparatively dangerous. With all my livestock (and myself) I practice continual risk identification, evaluation and mitigation. I have to balance my goals with the risks involved. I don't know what other peoples' reasons might be but in my particular case, the goats' sole purpose here on the farm is to clear brush. They maintain the horses' hotwire fenceline to keep it from grounding out. They also clear brush on parts of the property that have not yet been domesticated enough to walk through, much less build any sort of fence at all. As we clear walkways through the thickets, we will eventually be able to build fence and enclose the thickets so the goats can finish their job in safety and without so much labor and supervision.

While I understand your situation, the above options (electric netting and polywire) can be run through even the thickest of vegetation; it's what's used around here by people who rent their herds out for brush clearing, and it's what we've been using to allow our goats to clear the thick woods and brush on our property.

[jennigrey]

No, wouldn't work here. You physically cannot get through the decades-old thickets of blackberry in order to erect netting or drag any kind of fencing behind you.

[KSALguy]

after having been to other countries where people HAVE to teather their livestock out on the sides of the road to take advantage of every possible forage option to feed their stock, yes its possible to do it right and the animals be safe, but it also depends on a lot of variables, teather type, how accustomed the animal is to being on a teather, where your teathering and what might get tangled on, preditors in the area, and how close can you keep an eye on things,

it can work and it can be a horrible horrible thing, but then if you REALLY stop to think about it, there are risks in all aspects of LIFE that can go both ways,

[jennigrey]

In those 3rd world situations I think they mainly send a little kid out there with a stick to watch over the goats all day.

[aart]

Great photo documentation!
I like the pics/details of the components and the details in the text about the do's and don'ts.
I'm sure some folks will not read the fine print and think it's OK to just get it close, their risk-their consequence.


Any chance you can add some pics of the goats tethered in situ?
...and a pic of the tightening loop of chain on the picket rod?

[fishhead]

I had to tether a goat once in an open pasture so that I could give it shots over several days. It was pretty wild and hard to catch.

I ran the rope inside of a garden hose to stiffen it and make it less likely to wrap around the goat.

[bluefish]

Given how many stories I read about people losing goats while in pasture or getting stuck in a fence, proper tethering isn't really all that bad. People say 'oh, the goat can't get away.' Where is it going to go in a fenced pasture? I've seen too many dogs and coyotes who can climb fences to feel all that secure. Once they are in the pasture, the dog can easily get the goat even if that involves running the goat to death. There is no way to completely predator proof things. Tethering mostly puts the goat at more risk of suffocation and/or damage from the rope/chain, whatever. Proper technique and training the goat to the tether will help mitigate those risks to some extent.

[K Epp]

I find this information very informative incase I ever need to use it.

[nostawmama]

Using the 10ft chain- do the goats clear their area in one day or do you have to retether in the same spot the next day?