[plumseverywhere]

I like to shut our 4 in a night so that I know they are safe in their shed (and they can't wreck the neighbours gardens or escape while I am asleep!!) not finding it easy to get them in there though!
do you put your goats to bed at night? if so do they put themselves in or do you need to coax? also, what time now the sunny evenings are here?

[little blue]

our goats go in themselves when its dark... then often wander out when the security light comes on see what we're doing when we go to shut them in!
maybe tempt them in with something tasty, away from the door, and sneak out. (might take several people at first!) they'll soon settle into a routine with you I'm sure.

to be honest, we dont always shut the door, but our shed is surrounded by a secure pen and bolted gate anyway.

[plumseverywhere]

that's good to hear - I think they will get into the routine as you say. I think we were over jealous tonight as we tried to get them in at 8.30pm which is when the chooks put themself to bed currently. the goats were having none of it!! even with a bread bribe. doesn't help that hubby is scared of them bless him!!! he works for the national farmers union and gets bitten by every dog and other animal going  sorry shouldn't laugh!

will try later tomorrow

thanks little blue

[jameslindsay]

Although my 12 all run together during the day the 6 Pygmy goats are seperated from the big ones at night and are locked up during the winter months. The big goats do not get locked up as Rosie, the 14 yr old we rescued almost 2 years ago, hates being locked up. She panics and bange her head off the door so I have no idea what has traumatised her in her past. However, they often just take themselves off to their bed during the day without any encouragement.

[Roxy]

Cain and Abel, the two Anglo Nubian boys, had never been shut in when they came to us.  They have a small open fronted shelter, and are happy to sleep in there, rain or shine, even in the severe winter weather we have just had.  Llama joins them - don't ask how he squeezes himself in, but he does - when its raining hard, but otherwise he camps out in the field.

The five Franks and Billy and Dolly, are all used to the same system, and once the new field shelter appears, they will be living out too.  Pygmy goats are all in at night, although I do have a nice little field shelter for them. 

Paddy the big billy has to be stabled at night, and Jasmine and the kids head for their barn about 7.30pm.

[Brucklay]

My boys and girls do get locked up at night - but then I'm overcautious. The daily routine is breakfast and let out, all left open in case it rains, then they hang around for their tea from about 7.00 and they are in with their tea by 8.00, would give them tea a bit earlier really but it's used to get them in!! Everyone has been happy with the routine but last night Paige played up she didn't want to go in with her sister she kidded on Saturday - funny though as she was fine Sunday, Monday and Tuesday - so today will have to come up with an alternative!

[langdon]

i put milly and molly away at night time, i first used leads attached to their
collars and brought them in that way.
now that they know their house  for sleeping and know where it is, they go off the lead now,
with a little shake of some food in their blue bucket which they have in their day pen.
i wonder if goats can see colours like us?
there was one time i tried to get them in without the bucket and they werent having any of it!
hope all is going well for you
funny about your husband, my father in law is scared of them too!
langdon

[plumseverywhere]

I think I'll do the leads trick for a few more days but maybe leave it till after the human kids are in bed.
tried the bucket shake trick and they ignored me 

[Anke]

Mine come in about 4 at the latest, but as the BT is still feeding her kids during the day I make sure its a quick snack for the kids at lunchtime, then back out and back in for good at 4. Bucket shaking helps, they queue up outside their shed until I put all the buckets into their pens and then make a beeline for it. GG goatling tries always to go in with her mum (bigger portion!), but i now know to anticipate. Once the kids are weaned I hope to have them all out together for longer.

But I couldn't sleep with them outside at night!

[ballingall]

Our females are always brought inside at night. But then our milkers need to be brought in to be milked in the evening anyway. We generally bring them in about 6:30pm, maybe 7pm if particularly nice weather in the summer. Just now, they aren't out for as long as the grass up here doesn't have that much goodness yet.

At the moment the wee kids and lambs come back in at 5pm, because the 3 smallest kids and the 3 lambs get a bottle then. The bigger boy kids stay out until 7pm.

When it gets warmer, I will start putting the adult male, Raker, out in the field in the evenings. As we only really have one proper field, from late April to October, it can get grazed 20-24 hours a day. When the girls come in to the shed, the entire boys go out. They do have a field shelter, and they come to no harm shut out all night at all. Though I wean him into gradually- put him our a couple of hours to begin with and gradually extend it.

Though when I read about horses getting stabbed in their fields at night, I do worry about my boy sometimes.

Beth

[Lizt]

We have recently been given a solitary goat. She was previously chained up all day and night in a big open barn. Now she is with us we shut her in at night - she has a house with its own secure run and is next door to chickens and opposite the ewes with lambs. I like her to be off her collar at night. She is often tethered in the day or running with the sheep. We need to find her a goat companion! I put her in at about 7.30 - 8pm and she's out again about 12 hours later. She has perfect manners (fingers crossed!)
Lizt

[Anke]

Yes get a companion for her, either a castrated young male if you don't want two milkers, or a young female so that the older one can dominate and there won't be too many fights.

[ballingall]

I would recommend getting her a companion too. Whereabouts are you Litz?


Beth

[Lizt]

I am in Brittany. We have sheep, poultry and beef steers. The goat belonged to our neighbour who had her for about 10 months all on her own. She had 2 kids in March but they both died - he then decided he didn't want her any more so now she is here! I will look for a suitable companion for her.
Regards
Lizt

[little blue]

aw, poor girl!
hope you find her a friend soon....