Goats, anyone?

[LegatoRedrivers]

So, the fiance and I just got pre-approved for a home loan! Huzzah!

We've started looking for a home in our price range, and we've got a few things we want out of it, but we don't have the world's largest budget. Since her family has always raised goats, one thing she wants is a property large enough that we can have a pair of la manchas. This presents a question.

She says that she heard some time ago that the state of Indiana requires that you own at least 5 acres if you want to keep certain animals, such as goats. I was looking around to try and confirm this, because most of the options in our price range (that meet our other requirements) are closer to the 3 acre range. After some Googling, we couldn't find a source for the legalities regarding keeping a couple of goats out in the country. Does anyone have either first-hand knowledge, or a link to whatever Indiana laws pertain to the situation?

 

[BehindBlueI's]

She says that she heard some time ago that the state of Indiana requires that you own at least 5 acres if you want to keep certain animals, such as goats.

She may have heard it, but its not true. Individual counties can set the minimum square foot requirement per animal. You may need something like 400 square feet per goat (just as an example) but this will vary county to county.

 

[LegatoRedrivers]

Thanks for the info. I hadn't heard of any state laws regarding it, but the only think my Grandpa kept were Deer; but those weren't livestock, and I only know a fraction of what he had to go through to work that out.

We'll just check the county laws for any house we get to looking at seriously. Now I just have to convince her to start browsing the Survival and Disaster Preparedness section to look for "Interior and Exterior decor" tips.

 

[Indy_Guy_77]

As I'm sure she knows... but maybe you don't. You will need GOOD fencing.

Either look for it already installed at a place or be prepared to put it up...$$$$

 

[BehindBlueI's]

As I'm sure she knows... but maybe you don't. You will need GOOD fencing.

Electric fencing works well for goats and is cheap and easy to run yourself. I understand this isn't always an option for more urban folks, but its what we always used to keep the goats in. Even in an urban environment, it seems like you could run a stand or two on the inside of a board fence, but I don't know for sure.

I like goat meat, but never could get used to the milk. They sure will keep an area mowed down for you, though. We let them run on a hillside covered in brambles and they were little hairy weedeaters taming that stuff back.

 

[Llamaguy]

I really liked my cattle panels for goat fencing. Only problem I had was that one kid got just large enough of a had to get stuck in the bottom set of bars (where they are closer together), didn't even bother the horned goats. The cow panels are half the price of the goat panels, but still pretty expensive. Super easy to install by yourself and no worries of tears or sagging.

 

[LegatoRedrivers]

As I'm sure she knows... but maybe you don't. You will need GOOD fencing.

Either look for it already installed at a place or be prepared to put it up...$$$$

I actually helped her parents put up some fencing for a goat last weekend, so I've got a little bit of an idea.

I like goat meat, but never could get used to the milk. They sure will keep an area mowed down for you, though. We let them run on a hillside covered in brambles and they were little hairy weedeaters taming that stuff back.

She primarily wants them for the milk. Something about store-bought bothers her stomach, but for some reason she's fine with goat milk.