# Can I pasture with goats?



## VtRv (Sep 3, 2009)

Hi, I'm new to the forum and after reading several useful posts I wanted to ask a question. I have about 1/2 to 3/4 of an acre fenced in with 3 strands of electric fence for two young goats that I have. I'm getting two pigs and although I have an area set up on the back of the barn for them I've been reading about putting them out on pasture with an electric fence. Can they run with the goat, should I split the pasture or just keep the pigs in a contained area? I'm open to whatever advise is offered. Thanks for all the info.


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## olivehill (Aug 17, 2009)

For the safety of the goats I probably would NOT pasture pigs in the same enclosure. Pigs can be quite rough with one another and they grow fairly quickly. The height difference would also make things more complicated the pig's center of gravity is lower, when he body checks one of your goats (assuming we're talking standard size) that is going to go straight to the goat's legs. I've never pastured them together myself, but I can see all sorts of injuries potentially occurring. 

That said pigs absolutely can be turned out in electric fence. Just keep in mind that they are lower to the ground than a lot of other livestock. Your fence height needs to reflect the animal you're keeping in. A 3 or 4 foot electric strand will mean nothing to a pig.


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## KSALguy (Feb 14, 2006)

pigs should be kept separate from other livestock due to the fact that its more than possible for the pig to eat the other livestock, 

if a goat or ewe has their kids the pigs will eat them, and it has happend where female livestock have been bled to death by a pig when they come into esterous or after giveing birt, 

chickens and other small animals are on the menue too, 

some people have been able to have them togather but they lead a blessed existance and this is not the safty norm, pigs should be kept separate


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## oldcj5guy (Jul 24, 2006)

I have kept my smaller pigs in with my fainting goats until they started to gt close to 100lbs or so. It gets quite funny sometimes. The little girl I have in there now loves to play with the goats. Its funny to see her reaction when one of the goats faints on her. She runs to the other end and hides behind their house and peeks out until the goat gets up and then goes over and i'm sure apologizes.


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## VtRv (Sep 3, 2009)

oldcj5guy said:


> I have kept my smaller pigs in with my fainting goats until they started to gt close to 100lbs or so. It gets quite funny sometimes. The little girl I have in there now loves to play with the goats. Its funny to see her reaction when one of the goats faints on her. She runs to the other end and hides behind their house and peeks out until the goat gets up and then goes over and i'm sure apologizes.


Too funny!

Thank you all for the advise. I think I'll have two seperate areas. My fence hight starts at about 6" then the two top strands are about 8" apart. I've read about the training to electric and look forward to seeing how it works out.


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## Bfly Farmer (Aug 8, 2006)

We actually we pasture raise our pigs with the goats, but they are guineas which are bred for their sweet temperment, but another option instead of fencing them in is to create a pig tractor out of cattle panels. We use these for not only our pigs, but goats when we want them to graze areas that are not fenced.

Take 2 panels and bend them each into an L shape. Wire them together to form a square. Put a tarp over the top to provide shade. Attach a waterer to the side and place the pigs in. The squares are easy to move/drag from place to place. 

We have gotten fancier with time and placed tires on two of the corners so it is easier to move. Also, once the pigs reach a certain size, they have been able to move it on their own. Thus, they start tractoring themselves. Less work for me.


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## FreeRanger (Jul 20, 2005)

If given enough space, I don't see a reason goats and pigs can't be on pasture together...when ever I have a question about my farming practice I try to think back what farming was like 100 years ago...very little fencing...mostly to keep the animals OUT of the garden...not to keep them apart from each other...

I am certain that poultry and pigs do well together. It's been working for us just fine. Maybe once in a great while a farmer has an experience where a sow eats a chicken. I'm thinking that hen probably has it coming. I have seen roosters sleeping at night on top of the sows.

Anybody tried putting cattle and hogs together? I plan to do that tomorrow. The pigglets already are "living" with the steers since they go right thru the fencing. Saturday I will let the two sows out to pasture with two heifers and one steer. There are eight roosters free ranging with them now.


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## highlands (Jul 18, 2004)

We pasture raise pigs, sheep, chickens, ducks, geese, dogs and children together. The caveat is that when the sheep are lambing we separate them from the pigs. A bloody newborn lamb is too tempting to taste. Otherwise the pigs are fine with them. Likewise newborn chicks are kept separate from the pigs until they're up and running well. 

We fence for the sheep.

Cheers

-Walter
Sugar Mountain Farm
in the mountains of Vermont
http://SugarMtnFarm.com/blog/
http://HollyGraphicArt.com/
http://NoNAIS.org


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## raymilosh (Jan 12, 2005)

We have been keeping goats, cows and sheep and chickens in the same pasture. That has worked pretty well.
This year, we added piglets. We're currently building a fence to separate the pigs, because:
we can't figure a way to keep the pigs from making a mes of the drinking water.
the pigs are beginning to tear up the pasture.
When we feed the pigs, we have to referee to keep the cow from bullying them and potentially getting too much grain.


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## MissyMoo (Jan 29, 2009)

:1pig:
I have a 24 foot x 27 1/2 foot pen with a 12 foot x 12 foot enclosed barn inside of it. I have straw hay in there, and water buckets, and feed alfalfa and grain. I have chickens in there, with numerous small goats and a couple large ones, also I had a couple sheep and a calf in there but I put the sheep into another smaller pen so I'd have more room in the big pen for the other animals. Yesterday I sold the calf, but will probably put a couple more in there tommorrow (which I already have sold, so some animals "come and go" in the pen). We had sold our HUGE (maybe 200 or more pounds?) female pot-bellied pig named "Bacon" to a friend and she recently gave the pig back to us, so now our pig is in with the goats and chickens, however now the above posts have me worried about her maybe eating future baby goats or something. She has never tried to harm one of the other animals before. She is quite picky about what she likes to eat. She LOVES grains and people food (fruits/vegs/milk/granola bars, etc. She is a complete love and runs from the goats if they even attempt to look at her funny (she is submissive to them). I saw her sniff the chickens yesterday and then just walk off. She was raised by city people with children, a little baby, and dogs. She was an indoor/outdoor pet.
I probably will separate her into her own smaller pen as I am going to be getting 1 or 2 more pigs soon (piglets) so I dont want THEM trying to eat my livestock.....IF they would.


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## Feathers-N-Fur (Dec 17, 2007)

I weaned my goat kids in the sow pen one year with no problems, but these were 3 to 4 month old kids, not bloody newborns. My pigs don't eat my chickens either.


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## dezeeuwgoats (Jan 12, 2006)

My piglets have always been able to run with the goats as they were able to fit through the cattle panels. (pb crosses)

Mine have never eating a chicken or any other live thing thus far. Again, this may be due to the cross bred thing as I have heard stories of hogs catching and eating live chickens. I had one hen who brought her teeny weeny chicks in with my sows and boar and piglets, and none ever bothered them at all. 

I have a six month old gilt who has adopted the goats as her 'family'. I was literally out walking the herd with another breeder when she jumped up on her fore with a snort (we surprised her) and was peering out from under a goat. She was in the middle of the herd! The goats were all lying around HER...The only one testy was a huge older doe who has a two week old kid and the gilt was submissive to her. 

This particular pig was pretty emotionally explosive when we got her too. I am pleased to see her doing so well as she was slated to go this fall if she didn't calm down and settle in. I wanted to use her for breeding, but not if she was a spaz!


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