[k9vms]

Hi all.

Hubby and I moved to Cirencester for 'the good life' a year ago and only have chickens at the moment.  We are looking to rent a field/paddock to keep some goats  - predominantly as pets, but perhaps long term for the fibre as a way to cover the rental/food/husbandry costs.

Firstly, does anybody else rent a field for their livestock and, if so, what kind of contract or arrangements do you have with the person you rent from?  As goats aren't grazers as such, do we need a special kind of arrangement?

Secondly, how feasible is it to live away from your livestock?  Are we mad to be considering it?   

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you   

[Anke]

Ok for sheep, difficult for goats. All goats - incl fibre ones - will need a shelter accessible all the time. So you would need to find a field with a shed already on it. Fencing needs too be spot-on, and tbh, many people just don't like goats, so finding someone will be difficult. Also the kind of rental contract you may get often means that the owner will ant their land back quickly…. I have lost count of the number of  adverts for "goats for re-homing" due to loss of rented land…


Also with the costs of keeping goats (and probably indeed a small number of sheep) plus rental you will not be able to even think about breaking even when selling fleece/fibres/meat. It is now almost impossible (or very expensive to set up) to sell milk or milk products for human consumption.


Due to their often quite friendly disposition to humans goats also get more often stolen, as it is easy to just walk them off the field…. so if you anywhere near an urban centre you really would be better to have them at home.


I don't want to put you off goats, but maybe your current circumstances make goatkeeping difficult.


That's just my personal opinion (I keep dairy goats on my own land in a very rural place.)

[pharnorth]

I keep both goats and sheep. The difficulty with both is fencing as the cost of good fencing exceeds what most people are prepared to pay for renting. Nonetheless there are a fair few people around with acreage including the odd building that is suitable for a shelter who like to see livestock on it but don't want the hazzle or have the confidence to keep them. I don't think there is a different arrangement for browsers, it is more a question of finding the right well fenced land.