Tag: southern Minnesota

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Water

Water!

Goats need access to water at all times during the year.  During summer however, they get a lot of their water intake from all the fresh greens they are eating, and drink much less then other times of the year.

We use multiple short water tanks, which are usually made from the bottom third of a plastic drum.  These are durable, light and short. This makes it so goats of all sizes can get a drink when needed.  They may be hard to see at times, but they are usually in an area where the goats can not push them up against the fence and where we think the goats would be most likely to rest during the hot summer day.

We bring water with us in a large tank to top off as needed.  Usually the amount of water we set up on the first day is plenty for the week and we end up dumping most of it out when its time to move.

 

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Keeping the Goats Safe and In Place

“Do I  stay out with the goats to contain and protect them?”

When we get a site ready for the goats, the first thing we do is set up the fence.  This ensures the goats stay in the desired area and are protected from wildlife or stray dogs that may be in the area.

What is the fence?

  • The fence we use is an electronet fence.  It is a white and black netting that comes in rolls with posts already attached.  This flexible modular fence allows us to set up our fence to accommodate each sites specific needs and terrain.
  • The fence is powered by a fence energizer, that is powered by a battery.  This way we don’t need to be close to a power source or out in the open for a solar panel to work.  The battery is switched with a freshly charged battery as needed to keep the fence energized for optimum performance.

How does it work?

  • For the goats the fence is a psychological barrier.  Once the goats are trained to the fence they avoid it. This prevents the goats from challenging the fence to get greens on the other side.
  • For the predators who may be checking the fence and thinking a goat looks like a good snack, they find out that the fence is quite a shocker and look for an easier meal elsewhere.
  • The shock is uncomfortable, but won’t harm people or pets who get to close to it, but I wouldn’t recommend testing the shock, believe me, I have accidentally tested it on a few occasions.