Do I need to pen up my goats each night?

[natedlee]

Every evening my goats put themselves to bed and I make a last check and shut the gate in the photo. I do this because I figure it deters predators or varmints that want the food. But every night I wonder if it's really necessary to shut the gate. Every morning I don't get out there early and they're yelling at me I think, gosh if that gate was open they could just get out and start their day.

So - is it really necessary to shut the gate? I s'pose it depends on local predators too. While I suppose there are coyotes, I have never seen one. We live in central Maryland.

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[Awnry Abe]

In your circumstance, I wouldn't shut them in. If you do find yourself with a large predator problem down the road, what you have there in the way of fence won't help.

[sisterpine]

Wow I am so glad I read this entry. At first I thought I was going to go to Hades for not locking up my new young goat who loves to run sideways across the yard and poop where folks want to walk. She has been sleeping in the shade of a big tree on my sun lounger and at night she moves to the front porch. New fencing going in today to keep her poop in its proper place!

[natedlee]

Originally Posted by Awnry Abe

In your circumstance, I wouldn't shut them in. If you do find yourself with a large predator problem down the road, what you have there in the way of fence won't help.

Thanks! Yeah that makes total sense that a large predator would get right through this. The previous owners must've used it for other reasons.

[marusempai]

I don't shut them up at night - I'll probably do it in the spring when I have bitty babies, but that would just be for my (admittedly paranoid) piece of mind. By the time I get up they are out grazing, and I don't want them to miss out on the good forage in the pasture while it lasts.

[mygoat]

I don't shut them indoors ever for the night - I worry about the small chance of a barn fire and them not being able to get out. Predators big enough to get to goats have not been a problem through the years, so far, so locking them up isn't something I've done. I don't ever let them run loose in unfenced areas, though. They tend to get into trouble (like dancing on our cars) and for us it's easier to keep them to their pastures. They have ample spaces in pastures.

[natedlee]

Originally Posted by mygoat

I don't ever let them run loose in unfenced areas, though. They tend to get into trouble (like dancing on our cars) and for us it's easier to keep them to their pastures. They have ample spaces in pastures.

Haha. That sounds like a sight to be seen. We have ~1acre fenced in, so I'm enjoying patching up areas they find to get out. So far no car dancing though.

[where I want to]

I shut mine up because we have mountain lion and bear and I rather the goats were not at the fence line at dawn and dusk.
I admit that if the mountain lion really wants them, then a pen wouldn't stop them but no sense asking for it.

[gila_dog]

Originally Posted by where I want to

I shut mine up because we have mountain lion and bear and I rather the goats were not at the fence line at dawn and dusk.
I admit that if the mountain lion really wants them, then a pen wouldn't stop them but no sense asking for it.

Same here. Plenty of serious predators around here. So I have a pretty formidable fence for a goat pen adjacent to their barn. But a bobcat or mountain lion could, with some effort, get in. Or a bear could just tear it all down. It's pretty dog and coyote proof, tho. Hopefully any bad guys trying to get in would set the chickens to squawking and the goats to bleating and the dog to barking, and give me time to get out there with the shotgun.

[BethW]

We've had our goats for over 7 years and in that time, they've always been locked up in the barn at night. Every night, without fail. But that's just me.

[motdaugrnds]

I never lock my herd up in their barn at night. Of course, I have an LGD (Valentina) who is great at keeping would-be predators at bay!

[wintrrwolf]

My goats are not locked in at night though they do prefer the outer pasture area for browsing during the day and come to the gate to be put in the inner pasture/barn area at dusk.
Few weeks ago did have a couple of roaming dogs that tried to access my goats through the back pasture, they hit the electric wire and took off screaming. But if anything were to try to get to the goats in the barn or the chickens and ducks my aussie would throw a fit, my male guinea gets pretty noisy when something isn't right, and soon my LGD puppy will reach her maturity...I feel fairly secure with so many lines of defense.

[Pony]

My goats all come in to the chicken house/goat shed area at night, but I don't lock them up. If something were to happen (predator, fire), I want them to have a chance to run if they can.

[miraclethaw]

I don't lock my goats in at night. Their entire fence is built out of livestock panels, as of now, so it's all the same as far as predators. But the barn (actually a shed, but we always say barn so as to not confuse it with the actual shed) is about fifty feet from my open bedroom window, so I would also hear if there was a predator. I also worry about a fire, as all the wiring to our well pump is in that shed.

At the farm I worked at in Pennsylvania, where bears were a serious threat, we locked in every night at six.