September 15, 2009

Goat Shed Wannabe

Well, I want it to be a goat shed, *lol*.

BeforeThis used to be a chicken coop, though in later years it was turned into a storage shed. Still, I think it would be a good first home for goats and indeed, we're already headed in that direction.

First step was to add a goat entrance...

AfterNow all we need are feeders, waterer, fence, and goats.

For the fence, we do have some of the corner and brace posts (cedar) ....

Sturdy cedar fence posts... and a used post hole digger found on Craigslist...

This is a 2-man post hole digger.  Guess who's the other man :)We've actually got a start on the fence too...

1st fence post!We keep two projects going, one indoor and one outdoor. When we need a break from working on the hearth or the re-wiring, we run out and dig a post hole!

The original Master Plan (photo here) calls for eventually fencing in two, one acre areas for livestock. However, when Dan was back in the woods searching for Catzee (still missing), he saw this ...

Kudzu invasionThis is kudzu invading our property from the neighbor's. We have driven around to the road behind us and it's amazing how the kudzu has completely taken over so much of the property back there. And it's heading in our direction. [And here's a bit of trivia for you - did you know that kudzu and honeysuckle wind around things in opposite directions?]

Dan thinks we need to get those woods fenced for goats as well, before our trees are completely smothered by the kudzu. It will be a tall order to do this, because it's really a mess back there, especially along the property line.

In the long run though, that may be the best place to keep a few goats. Once all the fencing is up, that would give me a browse area for the goats, and two small pastures (field #1 and field #2 on the master plan) to rotate grazing for a small spinners flock of Shetland sheep. Sounds good to me anyway.

Goat Shed Wannabe is copyright September 2009 


16 comments:

Theresa said...

Well, once those goats get there, they are going to be high cotton with all those goodies to nibble on!

Renee Nefe said...

well if the goats can eat that stuff safely, then yes, let them do the weed wacking!

will that shed still work for the new goat field?

Marie said...

Oh I miss my goats, your shed will be a wonderful home for them! We had nigerian dwarfs and oh I just miss them, we are hoping to get some again very soon!!! Can't wait to see pics of them!

Michelle said...

Don't forget, Shetlands like their BROWSE, too!

Julie said...

Its so cute and its red! I wish I could have a goat we was always going to get one before we moved from our 4 acres.

bspinner said...

Love red out buildings and its perfect for goats. We only had angora goats and were so darn CUTE and entertaining.

I've never seen kudzu before but heard it can be very nasty.

Dorothy said...

This is exciting progress!

I had to look up kudzu on Wikipedia, having done that, I think goats would eat it?

Sad that there is no news of Catzee, I'm sure she'd be back by now if she had a choice. Did she ever wander near the road :( ? If someone hit her on the road they might have taken posters down rather than face facts.

Leigh said...

Theresa, I hope so!

Renee, I researched what goats can safely eat and downloaded a list of plants that are harmful to them. I've looked for these but fortunately don't have any.

Maries Cottage, it will be awhile before I have pix. Not sure of the breed yet, but those Nigerian dwarfs certainly are cute.

Michelle, I haven't forgotten! Shetlands are definitely on my list. I just do like goats.

Julie, I knew you'd like that red!

Barb, yes, kudzu is almost impossible to control and can totally smother everything in it's path. Be glad it doesn't grow in Pennsylvannia.

Dorothy, yes, goats will eat kudzu and poison ivy too! And I have a lot of both. Actually, so will Shetland sheep, as Michelle mentioned.

Still in the dark about Catzee. I only saw her cross the road once, and she caught the dickens from me for it. One of the first places I looked was near the road, to see if she'd been hit. Fortunately not. We have seen one poster still up and Dan has talked to some of the places they are gone from, but no one has an answer for him as to what happened to them.

Sharon said...

Goats are such delightful animals - I absolutely loved ours when I was growing up. They would earn their keep in your case.

Robin said...

You shed looks much nicer then the one that came with our place. How soon are you planning on getting goats? Lee and I want to get some sheep next year after we finish fencing.

Leigh said...

Sharon, they will definitely earn their keep here! Not only for weed control, but eventually for milk and meat as well.

Robin, that little shed has it's problems, but we are fortunate to be able to use it. The plan is to get the goats as soon as we get the fence up! It's about an acre and we're doing it ourselves. Digging post holes in dry clay soil is slow going at the moment.

What kind of sheep do you plan to get? (I love sheep, though I don't have experience keeping them, only goats). I will get a few Shetland's eventually, though maybe sooner or maybe later.

Flower said...

Your resourcefulness is tremendous! You will love goats! Our goat make us smile everyday!!

Robin said...

We are planning on Shetland sheep and Navajo-Churro sheep. We like the easy keeping aspect along with smaller size and difference in wool uses. Never having had sheep before it should be a fun project.

Leigh said...

Flower, I am looking forward to it so much. I loved my two goats, though that was many years ago.

Robin, this is too funny. Navajo-Churros were the breed I originally wanted, after organizing a Rare Breed Challenge for the Online Guild of Weavers, Spinners, & Dyers. I loved all the different colors of wool as well as everything I learned about the breed. Then a blogosphere friend sent me a bunch of Shetland and I got involved with the Shetland folks online. I fell in love again. I figure that being easier to obtain and smaller, they are probably the best choice for us in our neck of the woods. I take it you must be a spinner?

John Hodson said...

This is the good blog with good images and good details. Please keep on posting the more stuff. I will like to hear more from you.

Leigh said...

Thank you John. Your comment is very encouraging to me!