It’s no secret that goats are climbers, jumpers, and overall a handful when it comes to containing them in one place. When considering building an enclosure, you want to make sure that your goats are going to be contained.
Goats can, on average, jump about 5 feet in height! The smaller the goat, the easier of a time it has getting up off the ground! Nigerian goats in particular can not only jump large heights but also will stand on each other’s backs to get even higher. Talk about dedication!
Goats all have different abilities, and containing them is important. Here are all the things you’re going to need to know when it comes to goats jumping abilities, and how that might affect what you need to do to enclose them.
Average Goat Jumps!
Every goat is different, and especially if we’re discussing different breeds of goats. Pygmie, and dwarf goats, both are incredibly versatile with their jumping techniques. They have small bodies, and fast reflexes, making it easier for them to jump fences.
Alpine Goats
The French-Alpine is a breed of goat that originated in the Swiss Alps. Alpine goats can come in any color, and are small in size. They’re very friendly and are well known for their ability to climb on rocks and mountains. They’re also incredibly fast! An Alpine goat can on average jump 4 feet in height.
Nubian Goats
Anglo-Nubian goats were developed in England by crossing British goats with bucks of African and Indian origin. They are very vocal, and very lazy as well. However, don’t mistake their laziness for inability. Nubian goats can jump up to 5 feet vertically!
Kiko Goat
The Kiko Goat was purpose-bred in New Zealand for meat production – the Maori word “Kiko” meaning flesh or meat. These goats are bulkier, which means it’s harder for them to move around. As opposed to being used for milk, these goats are bred for meat. Kiko goats are easier to keep up with than other goats, especially when it comes to jumping as Kiko goats can on average only jump about 3 feet vertically.
Goats can also jump an average of 9 feet in distance! Whilst we weren’t able to find specifics for each goat, the common consensus is they certainly can leap. They’re trickier than you would think, and can be hard to contain.
So now you know a little bit more about the common votes that are kept on farms, or bred, and how high they could potentially jump! Now, what do you do? How do you keep them in?
How To Enclose Jumpy Goats
Four-foot fences are the standard for goat enclosing, however, just because a goat can jump that high and get out doesn’t necessarily mean they will or will want to. Goats like to feel safe and are unlikely to jump out of their enclosures if they can help it. However, that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t take precautions for your goat’s safety.
Most goat enclosures need to be measured around an acre depending on how many goats you have. You can support about 6 goats, on 8 acres of land and have them be fully happy. They’ll also need a roughly 10×10 indoor shelter. Shelters are important to goats so that they can keep themselves dry and avoid mildew developing within their fur. Your fence should be anywhere between 5 to 8 feet tall, to avoid your goats getting too mischievous and sneaking out of their pen. You can also make your pen out of a number of materials.
Chicken fencing or regular wood can be used to keep goats out though it should be made known how smart goats are. Goats can easily get out of fencing if it’s not put together well enough. Although most goats will not attempt to get out of their enclosures, as they enjoy the safety of it, they may attempt it. Much like humans, once one goat tries, the others will too, and before you know it you might have an outbreak on your hands! So making sure your fence is safe and secure is important. Especially if they can jump up to 5 feet.
What Do I Do if My Goat DOES Get Out?
If your goat DOES happen to get out, then there are a few things you’ll need to do. Number one, locate your goat. Make sure you have all goats accounted for, and once you do, you’re going to need to watch them for a while. Perhaps hiding behind a tree, but somewhere out of sight, watch your goats and see how they’re getting out. If they’re jumping out of their enclosure, then you’ll need to make a makeshift wall atop the already created enclosure. If they’re pushing something over, then you’ll need to fix whichever part of the enclosure is easily being pushed away.
If you’re in the situation, where goats are climbing on top of each other then there are a few things you can do to keep this from continuing. One, weighing their ankles. Ankle weights are commonly used for jumpy animals, even birds. Some people believe ethically it isn’t right, but it certainly is useful when your goats are jumping up a storm. These weights will keep them from climbing on each other, and jumping off of each other’s backs to get out of the enclosure.
All in all, goats are sneaky, and you may spend many moments trying to keep them in their cage. Don’t worry too much though, goats are smart, and very commonly find their way back home.