Best Buck Housing? Photos and Advice Please

Congratulations on the new addition!

The only housing we have found buck-indestructible have been the white igloo calf hutches or a handmade wooden “mini barn” that uses leftovers from our barn roof enclosure kits. We have also tried pallet houses, and they do seem to work, but it is entirely dependent on how well you can enforce it. I don’t have any pictures, but I might be able to snap a few today when hoof trimming.

I found that anything else can get destroyed easily. We spent like $300-$400 each on these plastic-like pyramid shaped goat hutches, and they were so easily destroyed. So much money wasted!

Make sure your fencing is secure! We have even gone the length of enforcing some of our buck pens with horizontal rods when we use to have constant head-beaters. This may seem like overkill, but when you have a doe pasture not even two feet away from the closest buck pen... you tend to be safer than sorry lol. We also put up plywood on sides where other pens are visible. Even if they can see over the fence, I’ve found it lessens the beating and head butting against fencing from both bucks and does.

We’ve also found using those round pen panels and zip tying goat fencing onto it (from those rolls) is a great way to keep anything inside. We have yet had anything finagle that.

 

Oh that’s a nice little guy you got there! I’m so excited for you!!!!
Well when it comes to bucks nothing is over kill lol and I have thrown any idea of looking nice or fancy right out the window because they are so destructive! Their pen is a absolutely disaster right now but you get the general idea off this pics those panels for the roof actually weigh a ton, plus it’s just laying flat so I gave up on that idea. I now just have plyboard up. What I did was come out and on top of the panels laid the 2X6 across the panels and then attached the plyboard on one end to that and the other end just lays on the panels. So it gives it a small slant for water to run off. On the panels under the roof I put plyboard all along them so it’s like a 3 sided shelter. My boys I actually keep separate and so the dividing panels that keep them apart I put plyboard up as well. It has helped a LOT with them smashing into the panels.
Now since I sold one of the trouble making bucks I am actually thinking about taking those dividing panels out and expanding the pen and using this as their shelter roof the feed store has one set up for their boys to keep them out of the rain and sun so I’m going to totally look it over first next time I am down there and see how easy it will be for them to destroy before I buy it though.

 

the next buck barn i buy will be a prefab concrete septic tank. about 1200 gallon with a 32 inch round hole for a door. and 3, 4 inch holes in the floor for drainage.

the price of concrete tank was $600.00 the last time i looked

 

Do you have a wether friend or another buck for him to live with? My buck lives in his own house and pasture adjacent to the girls and he can see them every day, but he would constantly cry, escape and be destructive to the fences during the month before we got him his wether friend to live with. Now that he has a buddy he hasn't tried to escape once.

 

Here is a picture of the hog barns i bought many years ago. I do not have hogs any more but the barns are used by my sheep a lot.

 

Hi..I have Nothing Fancy. Its for destructo Bucks.
To the far left is a tarp covered.feeder. its attached to the side of the goat.house. The doorway is the main 10 x10 wooden buck house. Then a 20 x 6.metal buck house with 2 openings. The ladder is a goat push around toy.


This is the.middle of the metal buck house. With.an open area next to the fence where.they can look over to 1 of the doe houses..but a cover it to keep them from attempting to get out.
For some reason my bucks dont like the heavy leather cover over the fence. They wont push on it. I dont know why. But they are in a chain link 3/4 of an acre paddock. They have toys and variouse items to push on, climb, fight over or on. They love big wooden spools to jump on or push around. I keep plastic tubs on the low roof..to keep the bucks off. Its about 5 ft tall...but they like to attempt to get on it. Add the tubs...they leave it alone.
Like I said..nothing fancy..only durable. The fence on the side that goes to the bigger pasture( where does are) are cattle panels covered with chain link. I have a hot wire 6 inches on the inside the top of the fence. Its solar powered and hurts when you get bit. Yes all 3 bucks have touched it once. And 1 time only...lol lol

 

OMG I LOVE it!!! That is definitely buck proof lol

 

We use a big oil tank with the round part cut off and the back has plywood. It’s wonderful.

 

You can find these totes cheap and sometimes free. I've found that they make nice goat shelters and dog houses. You can also make hay feeders and several other things out of them. I keep my buck and my buckling in a 20'x40' pen with a door on each end. I was lucky enough to find a bunch of old fairground horse stall panels cheap and made my pen out of those. They are taller than they would need to be but they're not goi g to get out. The South door of my pen opens into a larger enclosure with some good grass and a shelter belt which I put electric fence around. Give your buck some company if possible and as much room as you can with you particular setup.

 

Here is a view of my buck pen setup.

 

So I have these panels and they actually connect to each other. And then I have these panels to keep stray dogs, coyotes or what not from getting in with them well not the exact panels but you get the idea they are very easy to take apart and move which is half the reason I went this way. I do have T posts in the corners to keep them from moving around when they rub on the fence.
My bucks are by their selfs. Do I think they as happy as they could be? No probably not but they are not suffering being by their self either. Not getting depressed and sick or anything like that. They can easily see the girls from where they are at too. Not right up against the fence so they can breed threw the fence or the girls really tease them when they come into heat but they do get to see other goats and I think that probably helps.
NO hot fence only will probably not keep him contained. I had hot fence and beef panels up and my one buck just gritted his teeth and went over anyways. If he’s determined I don’t think it is going to hold him.

 

Blessed boers: That is a great set up! Thank you for sharing your photos! Do you keep one buck in that pen or more than one? I am trying to figure out if it will work having him housed by himself.

I actually have 2 bucks so they can cuddle in this big area.
But here is what we used for one young buck before we got 2 and one started being destructive.
This worked well as we already extra metal laying around and 2x4’s. It’s only about 4 ft tall.

 

The back is closed off with more metal

View attachment 194255

 

Sorry! One more thing... we keep the bucks in a welded corral that’s probably 50x30. We used to keep them in half that space of regular 4x4 goat fence until the became to rowdy. You’d probably be best to make sure whatever you do the first time will last and work for all possible bucks. Just my advice since we had to do ours twice.
But... our first attempt was good for just something temporary. Hope this helps.

 

An electric fence should be at nose height. I have our electric fence between 2.5 and 3 feet high. that is high enough the bucks can eat close to the fence but not climb on it