Goats and Calves

[HandyDandyAcres]

Has anyone every run goats and calves in the same pasture? Any concerns with this combo? The goats are about 4 months old and the calves are just shy of 2 months. They are near each other in the barn, only an aisle separating their pens so they are used to seeing and hearing each other. The way the existing pasture is fenced would lend itself well to letting them run together, and would be more affordable from a reinforcement standpoint than having to separate into two fields and reinforce.

Thanks in advance for any input!
(cross posted in Cattle forum)

HDAcres

[Smoke_Adam]

I have never had a problem. We have dairy goats and a holstein feeder calf and all are growing well together. Good luck!

[HandyDandyAcres]

Thanks! It seems reasonable in theory. Glad to hear it works in practice!


HDAcres

[Josie]

I am also considering raising a bottle calf or two. For those who have experience, how do you handle the Johne's risk? Is there anything else one should be concerned about?

[Frosted Mini's]

I've had them together with no problems.

[mygoat]

The johnes risk is why I don't own cows or raise calves. Very young animals should not be shedding it but by around 8 months old they can be fecal-positive and thus shedding it...

Unless I trusted the source herd, I wouldn't run them together. Most commercial dairies have an incidence of Johnes, you should always ask about their johnes status/how positive cows are handled and how calves are handled/fed. Many are fed high quality (raw) colostrum from random cows, and sick tank milk, or fresh cow milk, or milk replacers.

[Awnry Abe]

The calves will mount a goat. You could get a gimpy goat out of the deal.