Though goats might be just as companionable as the friendliest dog, one thing is for sure: they need a lot more space than any house pet.
While chatting with a friend the other day who is looking into inviting goats into their life for the first time, the one thing she’s a bit unsure on is exactly how much space they would need.
She asked me, and I decided to look into it to get a better idea.
So, how much land does a goat need?
It will vary somewhat depending on the breed, but at least a quarter-acre per goat is a good rule of thumb. They will need a fenced-off, enclosed area, a grassy pasture or paddock is really important to their health. Without enough space, the health effects will be dire.
Goats are farm animals, and livestock, then—they’ve become closer to us as pets over the years, but that doesn’t change their own needs.
They still need the space to act like herd animals.
The other important point, of course, is that you should never keep one goat on its own.
So you’ll need space for at least two.
Let’s look further into this.
How much space do you need per goat?
The best rule of thumb, as I’ve said, is one quarter acre per goat.
No goat is going to need less than this, although some may well need more.
As I’ll get into later, this quarter acre should also ideally be growing wild plants and other things they can forage.
So, any less than a quarter acre is going to be no good.
As I’ll explain shortly, you also should not keep a single goat alone.
Ideally, you would have at least three—so you’re looking at around three-quarters of an acre at the very least if you want to keep goats in any capacity.
Goats will not do well in back yards, and certainly not in houses.
They need large, outdoor spaces, where they can continue being herd animals.
Of course, today, there is more variety in goat breed, shape and size than ever before.
Breeds like the pygmy have become very popular, and it’s understandable to wonder whether goats of different sizes need different amounts of space.
Let’s examine this question.
Do smaller goats need less land?
In reality, there isn’t really going to be much of a difference.
As I’ve said, the figure of a quarter acre per goat is the absolute minimum—even the smallest pygmy goat will need this amount of land.
Larger goats, though, and especially larger herds of such goats, are going to need a deal more land, though.
The biggest breeds, like the Boer goat, will probably need closer to a half-acre of land per goat.
They might get boisterous and aggressive towards one another with any less than this.
So, think of it this way: it goes up from a quarter acre per goat.
Some may need more, but none are going to need less than that. Ideally, any goat should really have around a half-acre to itself.
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Can I keep only one goat?
So, we can discuss how much land one individual needs.
But that’s often less relevant to this discussion than the question of how many goats you ought to have.
Goats are herd animals, and never exist in isolation in the wild.
There’s always going to be a fairly large number of them, depending on the kind.
Mountain goats might live in smaller herds, but they’re still herds.
So, at the very least, you should have two goats.
You should never, ever have a single goat on its own.
A pair is a good start, but three is even better as then it begins to feel like a real herd.
So, if you’re looking to keep any number of goats, then at the very least you’re going to need a half-acre.
Ideally, even for a pair, you would have closer to three quarters of an acre.
For a good herd, you’ll need a little over an acre.
Finally, then, what kind of land should it be?
What kind of land do goats need?
The other thing to consider is that it can’t simply be barren, dusty land.
It needs to be a fertile pasture, ideally, so that they can roam around and forage.
This is good both for their diets, but also for their enrichment.
If you can, just let the pasture become overgrown and wild.
There are few better natural lawnmowers and weeders than goats, so they will get to work clearing out your land—you’ll have clear pastures and happy goats!
You can, of course, keep them stocked up on hay, and they will still be happy on less than fertile land.
Ideally, though, there should be things for them to forage.
In any case, you can’t rely on the foraging entirely—they will still need additions like fruit and veg to balance out their diets.
Keeping goats is huge fun and really rewarding, but you’ve got to be honest about the scale of the job.
They need a lot of space, and you need several goats in order for them to be truly happy with their lot in life.
If this is possible for you, then great.
If not, though, then you shouldn’t go ahead and get the goat anyway to put in your backyard.
They need plenty of space and multiple of their own species.