posted 6 years ago
Everyone seems to have their own magic formula that works for them. A lot of personal information and choices go into this question: type of land, climate, how much I am willing to hand feed them verses letting them graze, and so on. I've raised Nigerian dwarf, and they do take less area just because of their smallness compared to other goats. I used welded wire and T post with good success, however I placed my post different then most people do. Every other post was on a different side of the fence (One on the inside, next one on the outside. ) My reasoning behind this was goats climb and push on fences and this method supports the fence better from both sides. It helps to keep them from walking down a fence.
I actually like calf hutches, because of the size, easy mobility, and you can clean them well if you get into a situation where you had a sick animal in them. Also it you have several then the "boss" can't control all the shelter entrances. However these do not make good milking parlors. ;)
One suggestion I did follow, sorry can't remember anymore where I read it to give credit to, was to cut two 16 foot welded wire panels in half, then attach them together so they form a square with one corner easy to open. Now you have a moveable pen for your goats. The eight foot square is suppose to help deter birds of prey from wanting to land inside that small area and take off with a young one. This pen saw lots of use. It is much easier to move with two people, but when there is a will you find a way.
"The world is divided into people who do things, and people who get credit. Try, if you can, to belong to the first class, there is far less competition."
Dwight Morrow