[lottsagoats1]

I have Fishers but they have never bothered any of my animals, and I have standard and dwarf goats, poultry, bunnies, horses and dogs. Never had them bothered by much of anything.

 

[1Dogand5Kids]

Ohhhhh, fishercats.... I hadn't even considered them. We're used to coyotes--they're really bad here and I have even been stalked by one when I was taking care of rabbits. (Mr. Coyote didn't last long after that.) I usually build everything to Fort Knox standards, looks like we'll be doing that again in Maine!

We have 10 1/4 acres, mostly wooded, in a really rural area 13 miles from the coast. So we will definitely have forest predators, and Freya's job is not to fight them but to scare them off with some additional "encouragement" from our good friends Smith and Wesson.

We wanted to stay near the coast because the climate is definitely milder than it is once you get into the foothills and mountains up north! We're still pretty far up there, near Bangor, but we've been watching the weather reports and it looks like we're pretty much in an optimal spot. Also, we both born and raised Floridians so this is going to be an ~education~ for us, lol
Most people go from north to south, and we did the opposite! But we missed the ocean and Maine is a better fit for us all-around.

I feel much more reassured that the goats will be alright through their first winter--but will we?

Sounds lkie you have thoughts things thru!!!!
Much more then some of us ( me) did when getting or moving goats
Maine is one of my favorite vacation spots- Scarborough ME on the coast near Porland.
Be Blessed my friend

 

[Aozora]

So I had a thought over the weekend (Shock! Horror!)
I have Nubians, and one of my does took a nice drink of water, got her ears all wet, and slapped me in the face with them.

How do we handle keeping long floppy ears out of water in very cold temperatures? I have heard other suggestions like cutting down the size of bucket openings, but I have a couple of logistical questions.
Is it better to cut down the openings like A, or like B?

Either way, the openings will greatly reduce water access, especially as the water level drops. Do you have them float on top of the water so that they fall with the water level and make the water still reachable for the goats? What is the most goat-safe material for doing so?

 

[Boer Mama]

I’m not sure. Maybe some people in cold climates can chime in with what they’ve done.
I do get cold winters, but my Boers ears aren’t quite as long and I’ve never seen them dip into the water.

 

[GoofyGoat]

On a side note, in Freeport is L.L.Bean, it’s a great store for you to get outerwear and boots there in Maine. When I lived in Poland Springs, I’d always shop their end of season sales to get ready for the next year. Saved a small fortune on high quality clothing, jackets and boots. You also have their online shopping too

L.L.Bean - Outside Together Since 1912

Enjoy Free Shipping with $75 purchase on clothing, shoes, outdoor gear and more, all made for the shared joy of the outdoors.

www.llbean.com

 

[camooweal]

<<<I have Nubians, and one of my does took a nice drink of water, got her ears all wet....>>>

My Nubians do the same, getting their ears wet when drinking. So far it hasn't caused them any problems no matter the season.

<<<How do we handle keeping long floppy ears out of water in very cold temperatures? >>>

I used to wonder about that on a cold, frosty morning when they'd wander off to the water trough after finishing their morning feed, but if the goat wants a drink then it's going to get one regardless of getting its ears wet in icy cold water. At least it's just a once-in-a-while thing ... and if it doesn't bother them, why let it bother me?!?!

camooweal

 

[Aozora]

It tends to get very cold in Maine for months at at time, with lows between -10*C and -20*C (roughly 10*F to 0*F). I think the record low is -30*C (-20*F) for my area. While my barns would not be that cold, the goats could easily go drink in the barn and dip their ears, then go outside and be exposed to those temperatures with wet ear tips. I do raise show goats, and while frostbitten ears aren't considered a disqualifying defect it really doesn't look good in the show ring.

I'm also concerned about milking and getting teats wet with teat wipes/teat dip, but we do have milking heaters that I can set up on the corner of the stand to dry teats off and keep my hands from being icy cold (which I'm sure they appreciate!).

 

[Boer Mama]

Hopefully you can figure out a way to save their ears! I imagine you’ll need a heated bucket for the cold spells anyway. I’m sure there’s a way to narrow the opening somewhat to allow their face to lower, but hold their ears up. You’d want to make sure they aren’t bothered by the smaller opening and all continue to drink enough.

a little heater for milking would definitely be warranted. And you’d be there the whole time it was on, so there won’t be any safety issue.

 

[Rancho Draco]

To keep ears out of water, it works best to cover with a small circular opening. Thin plywood cut to shape with pool noodles attached to the underside can work as long and you can ensure it will not contact the heater and catch fire.

For milking during the winter, I use a clean rag to dry teats after milking so that they aren't going outside with wet udders. I know some like to use a balm as well to help keep their skin from getting dry but I haven't had issues with dry skin before.

 

[Aozora]

Pool noodles! That's brilliant! Thank you so much!

We're going up this week to prep the garage, and I will take pictures of our progress.

 

[GoofyGoat]

Use a baby wipe warmer to keep unscented baby wipes warm and readily accessible to clean their teats. They’ll thank you for it. Make sure you use udder balm or similar products to keep their teats from chafing, just like your hands they’ll need to be moisturized.

 

[Aozora]

So here's the garage, converted into a goat barn. It took a lot of stress and exhaustion, but we did it in 3 days even though I had to work. It's still a work in progress--we're going to add insulation to the walls and another layer of plywood, but that can be done while the does are in it, piecemeal. We will also fence in part of the yard just past the visible door, so that the girls have an indoor loafing area and and outdoor run. Not to mention the 10+ acres that we will gradually fence as well!

The garage is divided into 2 sections, so we just added some extra height on the dividing wall so the brats can't climb over. Boom, now we have a feed storage/kidding stall/kid pen area.

We closed in the remainder so we can still easily access the heating oil tank without goats being able to access it, and that also gave us room for our milking stand. We put it behind a plywood wall so that nobody tries to climb the fence to harass the doe on the stand by trying to eat the grain in the hopper. There is an open area, which we will close with a chainlink fence section. I don't know if the pictures show it, but we have driven eye bolts into the posts so we can literally just bring the section over and zip tie it in place once we arrive. Then when we need to clean, cut the zip ties and move the section out of the way.

This is SO MUCH BIGGER than our last barn.... The open loafing area, not including the dag made by the wall of the milking stand, is 17' x 25'. You could fit my current barn completely inside it.

 

[GoofyGoat]

Good work! Looks like a palace for goatees🤗

 

[ksalvagno]

That looks great!

 

[Dews]

That looks really good! 😍 Are you worried about the goats breaking the windows?

 

[toth boer goats]

Great work, looks great. 👍

 

[Aozora]

That looks really good! 😍 Are you worried about the goats breaking the windows?

If you see the door knob, the main windows are above goat head height unless they rear up. Not to say that they won't do it, but I think the chance is less that they break it when the windows are high up. We are concerned about the door, and already talking about replacing it with a solid door as one of our improvements. We're also going to use plastic window wrap in the winter to help insulate the barn, and we can open the windows in the summer so they don't bash at them as much.

 

[Moers kiko boars]

Looks really nice! GOOD J0B!

 

[Boer Mama]

That looks wonderful- all the stress and work definitely paid off!

 

[Dews]

If you see the door knob, the main windows are above goat head height unless they rear up. Not to say that they won't do it, but I think the chance is less that they break it when the windows are high up. We are concerned about the door, and already talking about replacing it with a solid door as one of our improvements. We're also going to use plastic window wrap in the winter to help insulate the barn, and we can open the windows in the summer so they don't bash at them as much.

Oh I didn't realize how high up they were!😳