Chcken Coop

Goat Fencing

After years of reading and learning, I think were about to bring home some goats! Unlike chickens, goats require more work, but to have my own milk and meat source is worth the trade off. I hope! Were about to find out.

One of the reasons Ive dragged my feet for so long is the issue of fencing. Goats are notorious escape artists and they can be destructive as well. Constantly climbing and chewing, they can make a mess of things really quick. Read any goat book and fencing is a good portion of the contents and usually theres a full chapter dedicated to the subject.



For months, Ive been weighing my options. I wanted my goat area to look as lovely and nice as the chicken yard, but our peeler post fencing with non-welded wire would not be tall enough or strong enough. Wed be repairing it constantly, and since my husband has a progressive disease (and of course, were getting older each year!), I didnt want to add something that would be more work for him. We have enough things to do around here to last a life time!

Because of our CC & Rs, several choices were automatically eliminated. (Oh, how Id love to have white fencing! But I knew the rules before I moved into the area and I dont regret our decision.) That left us with only a couple of viable options...  I chose corral panels.

Practically speaking, corral panels will withstand a lot of abuse and last for the long haul. And because theyre portable, I can move them around or change the configuration depending on our need at the moment. I can add more panels as money is available and expand the area, or I can create sections in order to keep mommas and their babies separate from the rest of the herd.  And should I ever decide we dont need them, I can resell the panels and recover a good portion of my costs (although Ive thought about reusing them for my meat chickens if the need arises).

If you decide to use corral panels, the only draw back besides the aesthetics is the fact that you will need to install some type of additional galvanized welded wire to keep the animals in, often referred to as "hog panels". These usually come in 4 gauge wire with different configurations, so be sure to get one that has smaller openings at the bottom in order to keep baby goats from squeezing through. Because the corral panels are 12 long and the hog panels are 16 long, the hog panels will need to be cut to size and then wired onto the corral panels.