If you are going to own goats, providing for their safety and shelter is your first concern. If you live on a farm with a barn and goat fencing, these things may be easy. But if you live in an urban environment, have less space, or have other animals, you probably need a goat pen.
Table of contents
What is a Goat Pen?
A goat pen is an enclosure with fencing sturdy enough to contain goats and protect them from predators, that also contains their food, shelter, and provides a healthy environment where goats can thrive. Because everyone’s herd size, landscape, climate, and needs are so different, most people find it easier to make their own. This guide will show you how to plan and build the best goat pen for your needs.
Planning Your Goat Pen
Here are the primary things you need to consider when planning your goat pen:
If you are keeping a couple pygmy goats as pets, your goat pen will be configured differently than if you are keeping a few dairy goats, or are starting a meat goat business.
Dairy goats need to kid regularly, so you will need to anticipate space for milking, smaller pens for kidding, and determine whether you will keep a buck on your property or simply rent one in season.
Meat goats usually are larger, stronger, and less docile than other goats, so your pen will need to be proportionally bigger and more sturdy to contain and protect them. Your goals will determine the kind of space, storage and supplies, and breed of goat you end up choosing, and therefore makes all the difference in your goat pen.
Your goals
If you are keeping a couple pygmy goats as pets, your goat pen will be configured differently than if you are keeping a few dairy goats, or are starting a meat goat business.
Dairy goats need to kid regularly, so you will need to anticipate space for milking, smaller pens for kidding, and determine whether you will keep a buck on your property or simply rent one in season.
Meat goats usually are larger, stronger, and less docile than other goats, so your pen will need to be proportionally bigger and more sturdy to contain and protect them. Your goals will determine the kind of space, storage and supplies, and breed of goat you end up choosing, and therefore makes all the difference in your goat pen.
Your Goat Breed and Herd Size
As a rule of thumb, every goat needs about 250 square feet of living space. Miniature breeds can do with a little less space, and large breeds need a little more. You should never keep a single goat, because they are social animals who will suffer if they are lonely; plan to have two or three. You should also expect that your herd will grow over time, due to kidding or simply because goats are so fun and easy to care for that once you start, you may want more.
Your Climate
Goats are hardy creatures who are extremely adaptable to different climates and environments. However, they will need protection from hot sun and protection from cold winds. Almost all goat species do better in dry climates (hot or cold) than in damp, wet ones, so you need to plan for a dry indoor shelter, and provide good rain drainage in their outdoor space.
Your Landscape
Goats are browsers, not grazers. They will typically not eat grass, but will happily much on leaves, weeds, and shrubs. Allowing them to forage lets them have a more balanced, healthy diet, and reduces your feed and supplement cost.
And if they see tasty plants outside of their pen, they are more likely to try to find ways to escape. If possible, situate your goat pen in a way that supports this foraging habit, or consider mobile pens that can be rotated through areas of weeds and undergrowth.
Other farm animals and predators
Goats are prey animals, and will attract the attention of wolves, coyotes, bobcats, foxes, and other predators. Their fencing needs to be sturdy enough to exclude predators. On the other hand, because they do not eat grass, they can be comfortably penned with sheep, cows, horses, and other grass-eating animals.
While goats are good natured and sociable, and get along with a wide range of other species, it’s best to allow them to share pasture, but separate them at night. And always take care when introducing goats to other animals and observe them closely; individual animals have very different dispositions and may not get along. Goats can comfortably get along with:
- Sheep
- Cows
- Donkeys
- Horses
- Dogs, as long as they aren’t hunting breeds
- Chickens
- Cats
- Alpacas
Goats should not be kept with pigs. Pigs and goats have very different fencing and climate needs, and will compete for food.
Equipment and Supplies
Your goat pen will also need to contain feeders and waterers, and toys and recreational equipment for your goats. You will also need to store goat food and supplements, medical supplies, cleaning equipment, grooming equipment, and so forth. If you won’t be storing goat supplies in the pen itself, consider where your storage will be located and how you will access it. You also may need kidding supplies, milking supplies, and various other equipment depending on your goat breed and purposes.
Goat Shelter
In most cases, it’s best to design and build the shelter first, then place the pen enclosure around it and well away from it. If the roof of your goat shelter is low, goats will jump or climb on it, and from there can easily jump or climb over their fence. Here is what to consider when designing your goat shelter:
Size
If you have a generous size pen, with 250 square feet of outdoor space per goat, then you can plan on indoor space of 10-15 square feet per goat. If you live in a rainy climate, or have a smaller pasture area, then you should allow 20 square feet of sheltered space per goat.
Climate
If you live in a mild climate, goats can require little more than a three-walled shelter with decent protection from occasional sun, rain, and wind. If you live in a more extreme climate, then the shelter needs to provide protection from extremes of heat and cold, and should always provide protection from rain and water runoff.
Flooring
The floor surface should always be dry and comfortable, and will need to be cleaned frequently. While cement flooring is easy to clean, it is also cold and hard, and you will need to provide a lot of additional bedding to compensate. Packed earth is sufficient in dry climates, provided there is adequate ventilation to keep the floors dry. Most people prefer wood floors for a goat pen.
Ventilation
Goats need protection from wind, but good indoor ventilation is extremely important to keep the air healthy. Ventilation allows the dissipation of humidity and removes unpleasant smells from a goat pen, and reduces the amount of microbes that may grow in soiled bedding. In extreme climates, open windows high on the wall, with cross-ventilation, provide good protection while still allowing good ventilation.
Bedding
Bedding should be clean and comfortable. Straw, hay, or wood shavings make good bedding for goats.
Access
Even if you have small goats that can be happy in a small shelter, you will still need space for your own access to the shelter. You will need to clean it regularly, which may require enough room to use a wheelbarrow. You also may need to tend to sick or kidding goats inside the shelter. Plan for your own access, equipment, lighting, and maneuverability inside the shelter.
Kidding
A kidding doe needs a separate kidding pen, about 4 x 5 feet square, and you will need a kidding pen for every doe who might be kidding at the same time. If you breed does in different seasons, you can reuse the kidding pen. If you will be breeding your goats, allow sufficient space for kidding pens and new babies.
Supplies and Equipment
If your shelter will only be housing goats overnight, it needs to at least provide them with clean water at all times. A watering station should be big enough to allow all your goats to drink at once, if they want to. If your goats will be sheltering indoors for longer periods, it should also contain a feeding station. You may also want to store goat food, bedding, medical supplies, etc., inside the shelter, or nearby.
Goat Enclosure Needs
Once you know how big your shelter will be and what it will contain, it’s time to think about everything else your goat pen needs to have. The biggest considerations are:
Feeders
Goats do not like to eat off the ground, so feeders are necessary, whether you build them or buy them. Your goat feeder or feed station needs to be large enough for all your goats to eat at once, if they choose.
Supplements
Goats typically require mineral supplements. These can be given freely, as they will usually not over-consume supplements. But, again, goats do not like to eat off the ground, so it’s best to consider whether you will use mineral feeders or blocks, and where they will go inside the goat pen.
Toys and Activities
Goats are active, curious, playful animals. Their pen needs to be large enough for them to get good exercise, but also should be a rich environment that keeps them active and engaged. They love to climb and jump, and will make ready use of old playground equipment, like see-saws, climbing structures, old tires, and the like. Natural features like tree stumps and large rocks are also fun for goats.
Goat Fencing Needs
Once you know the size and placement of your shelter and your enclosure, it’s time to consider fencing. Goats are difficult animals to fence, because they are intelligent, persistent, and agile.
Fence height
Standard size goats need fences that are at least 4 feet or 48 inches high. The fence should be higher for bigger goats, or higher still if it is near objects goats may use to jump over the fence.
Fence Material
Because goats will chew or rub on a fence, it needs to be made of woven wire, and never welded wire. Openings in the wire need to be less than 4×4 inches, to exclude smaller predators and keep goats from putting their heads through the fence. Standard “goat fencing” is made of woven wire with 4-inch openings and comes 4 feet high. This is excellent for most standard and small goat breeds, but is not tall enough for large breeds or very active jumpers.
Fence Posts
Fence posts for goats need to be closer together and deeper than for many other herd animals. Placing fence posts close together not only makes the fence stronger, but it reduces opportunity for animals or predators to try to dig beneath the fence.
Posts should be 8-12 feet apart, and wooden posts should be sunk at least 2 feet deep, or set with concrete footing. Bracing and reinforcing should be on the outside of the fence, not the inside, since goats will climb on it.
Additional Security
You may also need to reinforce the bottom of the fence if your area has predators that may attempt to dig under a fence, like foxes or dogs.
Fencing a Buck
If you choose to keep a buck, you may also need separate pens and more sturdy fencing for a buck during breeding season. Male bucks need to not only be contained with an extremely rugged fence, but, believe it or not, goats have been known to breed through a fence.
To ensure that there are no accidents, it’s important to contain bucks and does separated with a wide area of at least 2-3 feet between both enclosures. Both enclosures need to be reinforced, as goats in season will lean, bite, climb, rub, and wear on a fence.
The alternative is to keep bucks in a sturdy enclosure that is well away from does, to lessen excess wear on the fence. In that case, you will need a separate goat pen specifically for bucks, while does, wethers, and kids can be together in a different goat pen.
Goat Pen Gates
Once you have planned the perfect goat pen, you need to plan your gates. After all, you need access to the space as well.
Gate Size
Chances are good that you’ll be bringing wheelbarrows, yard tools, bales of hay, etc., into the goat pen. Plan a gate wide enough to make it easy to get equipment in and out of the pen.
Self-closing gate mechanism
Because your hands may be full or you may be in a hurry, consider making the gate self-closing. These mechanisms may not be fast enough to deter a determined goat, but it may save you time and effort.
Gate Direction
Hang your gate so that it swings inward only. An inward-swinging gate allows you to nudge goats out of the way when you enter, reducing the chance of escape. And if the gate can’t be pushed open, it is more difficult for goats to open if unattended.
Goat-proof gate latch
Goats are agile and intelligent, and are able to open a wide range of latches when sufficiently motivated. There are a wide range of latch designs for this very reason. However you latch the gate, keep the latch on the outside, and high on the gate.
Do you need a second gate?
If you will regularly be taking the goats in and out of the pen to pasture, you may want a second gate for the goats. If your goats become accustomed to leaving through the single gate, they will crowd around it every time you approach it, and can get in the way of normal cleaning and feeding tasks. If you will be taking the goats in and out of the pen often, you should consider adding a second gate that is only for the goats.
Video: Building a Goat Pen -16′ x 32′
Conclusion
Goats are wonderful, versatile little animals, and are a welcome addition in a wide range of households and lifestyles. With some attention and planning, you can have a goat pen that works as well for you as it does for your goats, and keeps them safe, healthy, and happy.
