Written by Administrator-GL
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Monday, 28 May 2007 |
To make a quick kidding pen inside or out of the barn: A 16 foot panel with 4 inch squares is good - here they call them hog panels as opposed to the cattle panels with 6x7 inch squares (which babies have no difficulty getting out of then hollering for a mom still in the enclosure driving her and you nuts *S*). They are welded heavy wire and need to be cut with bolt cutters at home or maybe you can have the feed supply store cut them for you into 4 equal pieces. Make a square and either fix them together with wire or you can tie them with baling twine which is what I do.
If this is a strong doe or rambunctious doe or if you want to make this a more permanent set up, you should also use 4 T-posts , one at each corner for supporting the wire enclosure. Leave one corner for your entry-way by using 2 fence clasps to attach the ends together. (Shown in picture are 2 types- I prefer the bottom one, easy to manipulate with one hand and it seems stronger.) If this is made in a corner of the barn you do not need to make a roof. If this is made outside you need to have a roof made of either a 6x8 ft tarp placed over the top and part way down the sides and tied in various places to keep it on or a 4x8 piece of plywood set on top whole hanging over two sides for shade (watch yourself when you walk near it you don't walk into it) and held down by 4 construction bricks at each corner on top.
In cold weather you will also need siding made the same way to keep the draft out especially at the bottom where baby will be. You can do this by wrapping a tarp around the sides and tying it or cutting 2 full sheets of plywood and having 4 equal pieces one for each side drill holes to wire or tie them to the panel around. Hold the bottom in tight with either construction bricks or bales of straw on the outside IF you do not have other goats in that area that will use this for a play yard- jumping up on the straw bales onto the top of the new pen.
This will make an approximate 4x4 foot square- not huge but big enough to be in with mom and baby for short periods and small enough for mom to bond after babies are born. It also gives you somewhere to hang a water bucket for mom to drink keeping it off the ground so baby doesn't fall in and drown. Just tie or clip the handle of the bucket to the wire side up high enough to keep baby out and low enough for mom to reach without tipping it.
If you are dealing with babies who may be able to sneak through the 4x4 openings you may also want to run a piece of chicken wire along this side to keep them from sneaking through and getting too close to the light source and getting burned.
You can run your wire from your baby monitor through a PVC pipe, so the goats willnot find the cord and chew on it. A baby monitor is one of the most useful $20.00 investments you can make for monitoring kids and moms to be.. also works well for the sick ward to keep an ear peeled for impending trouble. Make sure that if you are using an extension cord to run power to this pen that the extension cord and especially where everything plugs in is all inside PVC pipes all the way to the plug!
You can also use wood pallets for all of this instead of welded wire panels if you cannot get them or happen to have pallets - they work great as long as the openings are not big enough for babies to escape. Pre-built dog pens also work if you have one or can get one at a garage sale. Those igloo dog houses are great kid houses too for winter so if you see those at bargain sales I would grab them up for winter.
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Last Updated ( Friday, 21 January 2011 )
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