Guest guest Posted February 1, 2004 Report Share Posted February 1, 2004 Just a quick question... How much space would one need to have to own a chicken and a small goat? I've seen goats at the zoo that are smaller than some dogs, and they looked pretty old, so I'm thinking I could have one of those. I'm moving in a couple months and am making out my list of requirements. Thanks Michele _________________________________________________________________ Check out the new MSN 9 Dial-up — fast & reliable Internet access with prime features! http://join.msn.com/?pgmarket=en-us & page=dialup/home & ST=1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 1, 2004 Report Share Posted February 1, 2004 Hi, I've never met one, but I was looking into buying a small dairy goat about a year ago and I found several web sites for Nigerian Dwarf dairy goats. Might be of interest to you. Can't answer your other questions, sorry. Judith Alta -----Original Message----- From: the scorpio [mailto:rawbabymama@...] Just a quick question... How much space would one need to have to own a chicken and a small goat? I've seen goats at the zoo that are smaller than some dogs, and they looked pretty old, so I'm thinking I could have one of those. I'm moving in a couple months and am making out my list of requirements. Thanks Michele Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 1, 2004 Report Share Posted February 1, 2004 >Just a quick question... How much space would one need to have to own a >chicken and a small goat? I've seen goats at the zoo that are smaller than >some dogs, and they looked pretty old, so I'm thinking I could have one of >those. I'm moving in a couple months and am making out my list of >requirements. > >Thanks > >Michele I visited a farm once where they had 4 happy indoor chickens ... in a space 4 feet by 8 feet, using horse " barn pellets " as flooring. They said they only changed the pellets once every 6 months or so, and it didn't smell at all. Granted it is better if they can forage, but you can also bring the weeds etc. to the birds, or feed them worms (a worm bin is great, and they don't need to be big at all, and they take care of a lot of garbage easier than a compost bin. Mine is 2 ft by 2ft by 4 ft). Your chicken pen can be pretty small if they chickens can roam a bigger area, or you can make a moveable pen. www.backyardchickens.com has some ideas. Goats don't take much room if you feed them hay. If you want them to eat your own grass mostly, you need enough grass to feed them, which depends on the size of the goat. You can stake them out on the lawn (like a dog) for exercise, or let them loose in the yard of you have a fence. They like to get into things though, and climb on cars etc. Really, comparing them to a dog is apt, they have about the same requirements (except they don't like to run so much, the poop isn't so much of a problem, and they make less noise). You could keep a goat on most city lots, but it's usually not legal. The goats need a place to stay that is dry and out of the rain ... you can use straw for the bottom of the pen and change it every so often (you can just pile it up to compost it, or use it as mulch under trees). One thing though -- both goats and chickens tend to attract rats (spilled food). And if there are loose dogs that get into your yard, both may be goners, you need to protect them. -- Heidi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 1, 2004 Report Share Posted February 1, 2004 I live in the city. We have one acre on a very steep slope. Half of that is in yard and only about half of the remainder is usable as it's a very steep slope covered with blackberries. There is no smell. What makes the biggest difference of all is what I feed my animals. They get no pelletized or premade mixes. I feed them my own rations without any soy or fish meal. To increase their protein levels I sprout grains, feed the birds back their extra eggs and clabber any extra milk and feed it back to them as well. When I switched my feed mixes I did away with most of the noxious smelling poop. I have three smaller nubian goats. At one time I had four and after they kidded we had 8 for about four months. When we first got the goats they were in an area that was 10 x 10 with a little covered hut beside that. We cut a trail into the middle of the blackberries and they are slowly clearing the blackberries and making their area bigger. They are milk goats so they aren't real agressive on the blackberries. They eat the leaves then I roll a bale of straw on the stems to knock them down. They then clammer up on the bale, eat the high leaves first, work their way down to the lower ones and I roll the bale of straw again. When we had a couple wethers they were much more agressive and would plow right into the blackberries. Their little pen is just a lean to that keeps wind and rain out. They need to be able to get out of the wind yet there needs to be ventilation to keep the smell down. In their pen I put down about 1 c of Stall Dry and a flake of straw each day and there's no smell. I only clean their pen once or twice a year. If the moisture is just right it composts beautifully and there's no smell as long as I use the Stall Dry. In the chicken coop at one time I had 56 chickens, 14 turkeys and 6 ducks. The ducks are the problem child as they go through way too much water if given the opportunity and can get the straw too wet. I keep the water bucket outside at a place where it will drain and won't pool. The chicken coop again, doesn't smell. I keep about 12 inches of straw in the coop and it's all in the process of composting. I don't need to use any stall dry or anything in the coop. The manure and straw are a perfect mix. I don't put down fresh straw each day. To keep the straw from getting too deep sometimes I rake the top layer off and pull it out to their pen so I can put fresh straw down. The goats have free choice alfalfa of which they eat only the prime parts leaving lots of leaves and tons of stems. I pull that out of their manger and put it in the chicken pen. The chickens eat the leaves and scatter the stems in their pen. Sometimes I have to put down some straw in the pen to add some brown so it will compost. I clean the pen once a year as well and again, it doesn't smell. It just takes getting a feel for what it takes to have your straw composting rather than rotting. Once you get that down it doesn't smell and the straw is nice and warm which keeps their huts warm in the winter months. When we were gone over Christmas we had friends watch the animals. When we returned things smelled a touch as the kids taking care of the animals didn't do things quite the way I do. The first thing I did was feed the chickens a bunch of anise seed. The feed bin smelled so good and the next day their poop took on this nice aroma as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 1, 2004 Report Share Posted February 1, 2004 See comments below: > > I visited a farm once where they had 4 happy indoor chickens ... > in a space 4 feet by 8 feet, using horse " barn pellets " as flooring. > They said they only changed the pellets once every 6 months > or so, and it didn't smell at all. Granted it is better if they > can forage, but you can also bring the weeds etc. to the > birds, or feed them worms (a worm bin is great, and they > don't need to be big at all, and they take care of a lot > of garbage easier than a compost bin. Mine is 2 ft by 2ft by 4 ft). > > Your chicken pen can be pretty small if they chickens can roam > a bigger area, or you can make a moveable pen. www.backyardchickens.com > has some ideas. Chicken poop stinks, don't know how the above didn't. They are quiet creatures so neighbors don't usually object if you keep the henhouse mucked out. Don't plan on any roosters, that will stir up trouble with neighbors for sure! > Goats don't take much room if you feed them hay. If you want > them to eat your own grass mostly, you need enough grass to > feed them, which depends on the size of the goat. You can > stake them out on the lawn (like a dog) for exercise, or let them > loose in the yard of you have a fence. They like to get into things > though, and climb on cars etc. Really, comparing them to a dog > is apt, they have about the same requirements (except they > don't like to run so much, the poop isn't so much of a problem, > and they make less noise). You could keep a goat on most > city lots, but it's usually not legal. > > The goats need a place to stay that is dry and out of the rain ... > you can use straw for the bottom of the pen and change it > every so often (you can just pile it up to compost it, or use > it as mulch under trees). Goats are susceptible to respiratory problems and will end up with pneumonia if staked out and left out on rainy cold days. They do not like to get wet and require shelter that is dry and fairly draft free. Staking a goat out in the yard is inviting trouble, dogs are known for killing goats left in this defenseless position. Goats are not grazing animals but browsers. They like to eat high, meaning brush, tree branches and leaves, bushes, not grass. They will eat grass and will eventually become accustomed to eating grass but it is not their food of choice. Goats are also prone to internal parasites. If left in one place for too long you will have a worm problem that you'll have to use chemicals to solve. You'll need enough space to rotate grazing/browse. For just two or three goats you could easily divide a couple of acres into 3 lots and rotate them throughout the year. Hope this helps, Belinda, proud owner of about 80 butt-headed goats Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 1, 2004 Report Share Posted February 1, 2004 > >Chicken poop stinks, don't know how the above didn't. They are quiet >creatures so neighbors don't usually object if you keep the henhouse >mucked out. Don't plan on any roosters, that will stir up trouble >with neighbors for sure! The secret is " horse stall pellets " . They are just compressed sawdust, but they absorb this huge amount of liquid (and the hens don't seem to eat them). I use them in the coop, under a layer of straw, and with chicks. Using the pellets, the indoor chicks don't stink! >Goats are susceptible to respiratory problems and will end up with >pneumonia if staked out and left out on rainy cold days. They do not >like to get wet and require shelter that is dry and fairly draft >free. Staking a goat out in the yard is inviting trouble, dogs are >known for killing goats left in this defenseless position. I agree, and you really have to watch them. Mine are staked next to the berry bushes, which they love. One prefers berries, the other prefers grass. They are also big and have horns, and we don't get dogs much and they are in sight of the window. We're making them a movable paddock though, which is better. One corner of it is sheltered in case of sudden showers. Also, my experience is only with 2 goats, and they were " blackberry goats " -- that is, they were left on their own more or less before I got them, and they are rather tough angoras (lots and lots of hair so cold doesn't bother them). -- Heidi P.S. So is " butt-head " a breed or a description of how they tend to act? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 2, 2004 Report Share Posted February 2, 2004 Thank you, Judith, Heidi and others for the information. I found some VA farms that sell the little goats... they are soooo cute. And not too expensive either. How many chickens does it take to get 2 dozen eggs a week? I don't know if that is even possible, but that's how many gabriel eats on average. thanks again. Michele >From: " Judith Alta " <jaltak@...> >Reply- >< > >Subject: RE: Backyard Chicken/Goat >Date: Sun, 1 Feb 2004 19:49:54 -0500 > >Hi, > >I've never met one, but I was looking into buying a small dairy goat about >a >year ago and I found several web sites for Nigerian Dwarf dairy goats. > >Might be of interest to you. > >Can't answer your other questions, sorry. > >Judith Alta > >-----Original Message----- >From: the scorpio [mailto:rawbabymama@...] > >Just a quick question... How much space would one need to have to own a >chicken and a small goat? I've seen goats at the zoo that are smaller than >some dogs, and they looked pretty old, so I'm thinking I could have one of >those. I'm moving in a couple months and am making out my list of >requirements. > >Thanks > >Michele > > _________________________________________________________________ What are the 5 hot job markets for 2004? Click here to find out. http://msn.careerbuilder.com/Custom/MSN/CareerAdvice/WPI_WhereWillWeFindJobsIn20\ 04.htm?siteid=CBMSN3006 & sc_extcmp=JS_wi08_dec03_hotmail1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 2, 2004 Report Share Posted February 2, 2004 In a message dated 2/1/04 10:31:22 PM Central Standard Time, heidis@... writes: > -- Heidi > > P.S. So is " butt-head " a breed or a description of how > they tend to act? > Butt-head describes both myself and the goats. <G> Belinda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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