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Burra Maluca wrote:They can go broody without being bred. I'm guessing you have two females.
Andrew Bennett wrote:Hey all, new to permies.com so I thought I hunt around for the topics I know best. I've been herding goats/sheep for six years in a mountain town in BC using portable shelters and electric netting. I use land I lease from landowners for free in exchange for the tax break I get them. That means everything I do has to be lightweight and efficient to move. We also do veg, chicken, bees, etc. in what I call "periurban" farming, edge of town. Check us out, rad little place, Rossland BC.
Fencing: Permanet 10-48-6 single spike from Premier1supplies.com. I have a stash of 50', 100', and 150' fences. A bit of an expense up front, but my first fences from 6 years ago are still going strong. I can throw up 600' of fenceline in less than 30 minutes in a clear pasture, 1 to 1.5 hrs in thick, steep bush. This year I treated myself to a brush cutter, but for years I just smashed and crashed. It takes a week of working with someone to pass on the many helpful tips and tricks that I learned the hard way, but stick with the netting, it's worth it in the end.
Predators: We are full of bears and coyotes here. Rarely a day goes by we don't see a bear, and dung around the fences always. Every other night coyotes are yipping and yowling literally outside our window and around our goats. A cougar killed a deer not 100' from where I type. Our town is "on the edge." And in all that time, I've never had a loss to predators (knocking wood). In the spring I make sure the fence is cracking at least 5000 volts. The wildlife is soon trained (bear dung tells the story) and so later in the season I don't mind if the fence drops even as low as 2000 volts, but I aim to stay above 3. Buy a good voltmeter and use it all the time.
Shelters: I make mine 12' long by 4' wide and can easily move them by myself, through thick bush. Here are instructions for an 8' shelter, all you need for 4 animals: Get two 3x8' sheets of metal roof. Access (metal roofing) screws attach 2x2 purlins into every other rib on the metal roofing (assuming there are five ribs on each piece). I use my hoop bender (Johnny's Selected Seeds) to make 4' diameter hoops with 3/4" steel conduit (EMT), and then set 4 hoops set in 1" holes drilled into the edge of 2x4 “skids”. I lay the roof on the hoops and use steel straps to secure the purlins to the hoops. I put the roof on assymetrically so there is a low side and a high side...the animals dig it.
Addendum: If you're doing goat kids, I also add a funny electric-fence contraption on top to keep the kids from playing on the roof. When they get bigger, they'll punch a hole through the roof and lacerate their shin, requiring super glue and TLC to repair. Ask me how I know...
Water: Big ol' cheap plastic tub with a Little Giant float valve. I run water for 100's of feet from wherever the source is using 3/4" poly pipes with quick connect fittings at either end. Unroll what I need and plug into the tub.
Parasite and Pasture Strategy: If it's a big pile of bush, just fence the perimeter and let them have it for a while. So long as they're not feeding near the ground and it's not soggy, don't worry too much. Normally for pasture, however, I give them a fresh chunk of graze every day, and here's the big one... completely move them to new ground after four days to avoid closing the parasite loop. Pasture loves the intense hit of grazing for a short time, and animals love it too. So stoked when they move into new green every day.
Hope that helps... I'll see if I can upload a couple photos to give the idea...