new to goats...

[luvrulz]

and maybe my question is a silly one, but I tried searching and couldn't find info that would help me decide.

We have 4 cows and one bull calf (about a month old....) We were hoping to add a couple goats (a nanny and buck kid) and put them in the same pasture. Can we do that? Or should we have a completely separate place for them?

I plan on putting up more fence in another area and separating them eventually with cow panels but right now, there's other priorities........like the garden and the preggie piggie and then there's the 150 peeps we're expecting in less than a week....

Maybe I'm just taking on a little too much....?

NAH!!!

Thanks for your help y'all!

[Jen H]

The goats and cows should do fine together. They can even use the same minerals - if you use the granulated kind and not the block. Goats have a hard time with the mineral blocks (at least mine do).

[windyhollowfarm]

It may work...However, I would be cautious. If possible, create an area where the goats can get away from the cows if needed.

There may be a problem when it comes to feed involving aggression.

It depends upon the cows and the goats. I have seen it work, but also I have seen goats killed.

[rhjacobi]

Hi luvrulz,

We run goats and cows together all the time with no problems unless the cows are being fed something.

If you put out a bale of hay for the cows, our goats tend to climb on it and foul it so neither wants to eat it. We also use round bales and the goats will eat from the underside making the bale unstable and rollovers on the goats becomes a real possibility.

If the cows are getting feed, all good goat sense goes right out the window and they get right in with the cows without any reguard for the size of their feeding partners. This tends to be dangerous to the goats who have thrown all caution to the wind.

We can feed the goats because we can restrict the access to whatever we are feeding so that the cows can't get to it.

Bob
Lynchburg, TN.

Originally Posted by luvrulz

and maybe my question is a silly one, but I tried searching and couldn't find info that would help me decide.

We have 4 cows and one bull calf (about a month old....) We were hoping to add a couple goats (a nanny and buck kid) and put them in the same pasture. Can we do that? Or should we have a completely separate place for them?

I plan on putting up more fence in another area and separating them eventually with cow panels but right now, there's other priorities........like the garden and the preggie piggie and then there's the 150 peeps we're expecting in less than a week....

Maybe I'm just taking on a little too much....?

NAH!!!

Thanks for your help y'all!