# can goats and chickens live together



## farfel (Sep 4, 2011)

Have five pygmy goats, including babies. Can chickens live in same pasture safely? Are there any diseases that can pass between them. Are there any other issues to consider.

thanks,
farfel


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## mammabooh (Sep 1, 2004)

Just make sure that the goats can't get to the chickens' feed.

My chickens have their own coop where they eat and sleep, but they and the goats share a pasture and the chickens hang out and scratch around in the goat pen all day long. We've been at it for a year now and all is well so far.


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## Caprice Acres (Mar 6, 2005)

The main issue is keeping the goats out of the chicken feed. Goats will eat until they die - literally - and most chickens do the best egg production when free-fed. Our chickens go in the goat pastures all the time. Apart from all the annoying poo on the stairwell that they sleep on, no problems in 11 years.


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## Pony (Jan 6, 2003)

Mine do great together.


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## farfel (Sep 4, 2011)

Hi, 
Thank u for your responses. 

I know to keep the goats away from chicken feed, but can the chickens just eat grass and weeds during the warm months? We live in a temperate climate.

If the pasture grass dies off, I would feed the chickens in their house, so the goats couldn't reach it.

Your responses will help me decide quickly, as I believe the last of the chicks come into the Co-op the beginning of may.

farfel


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## Pony (Jan 6, 2003)

farfel said:


> Hi,
> Thank u for your responses.
> 
> I know to keep the goats away from chicken feed, but can the chickens just eat grass and weeds during the warm months? We live in a temperate climate.
> ...


When things green up and there are plenty of bugs, the chickens get a handful of something-or-other a day, just to make them think that they need to stick around.  They do really well on what they can scrounge, but they do have a lot of area to roam.


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## Ford Zoo (Jan 27, 2012)

I've also had chickens and goats together, in fact the coop is in the goat barn. Chickens can really keep the bug count down. In fact we rescued a few calves that were scouring a few years ago and I beleive it was the chickens perching on them and eating all the flies the first few days that kept those calves from getting maggots.

The chickens that we free range don't use much feed in the summer as the others mentioned. They are pretty self sufficient and wonderful tick control.


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