How to Choose Shelter and Fencing for Your Goats

When it comes to raising goats, providing them with proper shelter and containment is essential for their health and safety. We’ll explore practical and budget-friendly tips in this post for setting up a shelter and fencing that works for you and your goats.

Shelter

Things to consider when determining the type of shelter needed are the size of the goats and the number of goats you may own. You will also want to consider how to keep separate areas for bucks and does if you plan to own both. Bucks and does will need separate living spaces to prevent constant breeding although they can share a fence line. This will allow for controlled breeding and being able to separate goats that tend to be food hogs or bullies.

They can share the same pen during breeding season if the bucks aren’t too much of a nuisance to the does. Our buck, Jingle Bells, for example, is a food hog and he continues to try to cover the does even though they are not interested. The does spend a lot of time running from him and lose out on grain they need more than he does. So, we keep him in his own pen that is right next to the does.

For smaller goats like the Nigerian Dwarfs, large dog houses will work just fine for a few. IBC totes with a hole cut out for a door will work well for Nigerians Dwarfs or kids of any breed. Other bigger breeds such as Alpines, Lamanchas, or even Boers will need a small, shed size structure or something of a similar size like those neat little port-a-huts (not an affiliate link).

Nothing extravagant is needed, just simple and functional. Goats don’t mind cold weather too much (they have plenty of fur and body mass to keep them fairly warm) but they need somewhere to stay dry. They also need shelter to provide shade from the heat. Of course, extreme conditions may require some additions to the structure later (such as wind blocking implements and heat lamps for cold or fans and better airflow in the heat).  

Determining Shelter Size

Our buck stall is roughly 4-foot by 6-foot. Three Nigerian Dwarf bucks would live comfortably in this space, maybe four but it would begin to be a bit cramped at four. For the larger breeds, two bucks would be fine in this space, keep in mind that the bucks typically grow to be larger than the does. And the larger breeds can be huge in comparison to Nigerian Dwarfs. Nubian bucks for example are bigger than most Great Dane dogs (at least in my opinion).

Our does have two stalls on their side of the fence. This is mainly because they will need more space when kidding season comes along. The main stall they hang out in is 6-foot by 5-foot, the second stall is 6-foot by 8-foot. For the Nigerian Dwarf breed, we could probably fit four to five does without any issues. However, once there are kids on the ground this may be a bit cramped if all the does have multiples. Larger breeds could probably fit two or three does in these stalls, but again kidding time might be a bit cramped.

Overall, if you are starting with only a few goats, a small space is fine. Building onto existing structures is possible, or you might come across a good deal and be able to buy a bigger building later on down the road. It doesn’t need to be Buckingham Palace; the goats aren’t going to notice the difference from a doghouse or a lean-to made from pallet wood or a metal building.

Containment

Fencing off an area around the goat structure is a must, goats are very curious creatures. There is a saying that goats will eat everything…well truthfully, they don’t eat everything, but they will get into everything.

Our temporary goat pen for the boys was roughly a 5-foot by 5-foot space. This didn’t give them much space to roam while we were away from home, but we would let them out into our fenced back yard when we were home. The main thing our goats would get into is the chicken feed. Goats will overeat on grain very easily; they think they are bottomless pits, but this is extremely dangerous! We of course took action to make sure they couldn’t get to the chicken feed, but it took a few tries…

First, we moved the feed we had in the run to inside the coop, which worked at first. Then they figured out how to get their chunky little bodies through the coop door and got to the feed in there. So, we had to keep the doors to the coop closed while the goats were out or make sure they stayed in the back yard with us. Fresh hay was often a good distraction.

Containment is also important to keep your goats from wandering through streets, neighbor’s yards or anywhere else they might think the grass is greener. We have a doggy door that our buck and wether learned how to use pretty quickly, and they would use it whether we were outside with them or not. While they didn’t get into too much inside the house, they would leave little gifts we had to clean up.

Another very important reason and probably the most important is to keep the goats safe from predators. If the neighbor’s dogs or stray dogs are common in your area, keeping them out is necessary to keep your goats alive. Even if the dogs don’t attack the goats, being chased can stress the goats out. Worst case scenario is your goat has a heart attack and dies. Seems dramatic but it’s best to just avoid this situation. Of course, wildlife predators such as bobcats, cougars, coyotes, and foxes can be a threat as well, especially to newborn kids.

Determining Containment Size

So now that you know why goats need to be contained in a certain area, how much space do they need? The amount of space needed for goats, like their shelter, depends on the size of the goats and how many you plan to have.

The whole fenced area for our goats is roughly 35-foot by 32-foot, but it’s not a complete square. The fenced area for our bucks is roughly 380 square feet. Dimensions of the side and back of the pen are 24-foot by 32-foot. The front is a bit of an oddball shape since part of the fence is angled to separate the bucks and does, the front being 11-foot and the angle being 13-foot. This is more than enough space for four or five Nigerian Dwarf bucks but remember our shelter can only comfortably hold three. Similarly with the bigger breeds, three bucks would be fine in the area but cramped in the shelter.

The does have a little less space on their side of the fence, but they still have plenty at roughly 230 square feet. The back and side of their fence is 29-foot by 18-foot, the front is 10-foot. The oddball space is 8-foot by 4-foot with the angle also being 13-foot. This area could probably fit five to six does of the Nigerian Dwarf breed and four to five of the larger breeds. Of course, our shelter cannot hold that many comfortably and there will be kids to account for at some point.

The fencing, like the shelter, can start out small or be a temporary setup until something bigger can be provided. Ultimately, if the goats have food and water, some type of shelter and some barrier from predators they will be just fine.

If you need a way for the goats to get exercise because their area is small, just take them on a walk. Just a simple dog collar and regular leash and train them to lead. If you plan on showing your goats this is something you will have to do anyway (it gets them used to being led around a show ring).

Side note, we don’t leave collars on our goats. Goats really will try to get into anything they can. And sometimes that means they get stuck; a collar could end up strangling them in this situation. A good option is break away type collars, many goat owners use plastic chains with a zip tie or “break away link” that holds it together.

How to Find What you need:

I prefer to look for the cheapest option without losing out on overall quality. Online marketplaces (Facebook, Craigslist, etc.) are a great resource for cheap although the quality can vary. Auctions are a great option as well. You can often find tools, supplies or even an already made building that just needs to be moved. Of course, many big box stores will have what you need but this is typically a more expensive option.

DIY is a great option for many homestead needs. Especially if you have random things laying around just waiting for the perfect project. For example, after we turned our shed into a chicken coop, we used some wood we had on hand to build the attached run. The wood was left over from the deck we had built on our previous home. The only thing we bought for this was a couple bolts to attach it to the shed and the chicken wire.

You don’t have to be an expert on building things to make functional DIY projects. Drew and I have been learning as we go on every project. Some things don’t go as we plan but still end up being functional and that’s really all that matters. None of those fancy tools that are out there are required either. Most of the first projects we did were completed with a drill and a jigsaw, a lot of times we borrowed tools from friends and family if we needed something particular.

Don’t stress over the temporary and remind yourself that simple is best and you will have the perfect shelter and fencing for your new goat herd in no time.