As has been mentioned, goats—especially the kids and elderly, sick, injured, and miniature goats—are prey animals. This means that your goats will be looked at as food for other animals.
Depending on where you live, the types of predators you’ll need to prepare for will vary. Predator types range from mammals to reptiles, and even some birds will prey upon goats. Examples of these predators include coyotes, wolves, bears, alligators, constrictors, eagles, vultures, dogs (both domestic and domestic-feral—those dogs that were formerly domesticated, but have turned wild and can run in packs), foxes, wild cats, and wild hogs.
While all predators can potentially do great damage and kill, wild animals will usually kill only for food and will tend to take only what they need. However, domestic-feral dogs (and some domestic dogs) will slaughter, making them one of the more significant dangers to a herd. A pack of domestic-ferals will kill multiple animals, more often than not just to kill. In fact, in farm country (where I grew up), it was a well-known fact that livestock attacks by domestic-feral dogs or even coydogs (coyote/domestic-dog crosses) were much worse than a simple coyote attack; the farm would usually suffer a greater loss. Worse, while most predators will go after and prioritize the most vulnerable members of the herd, domestic-feral dogs and even some (nonbreed-specific) domestic dogs will kill indiscriminately.
Finally, in talking about predators, we cannot forget human predators. Unfortunately, goat theft is not unusual, and it can be especially prevalent during various religious and ethnic holiday celebrations, when goat, especially young kid, is the main course. As a result, if you are in an area where you feel that this may be a problem for you and your herd (ask the other goat people in your area; they will probably know), it is best to keep your animals locked up before and during these holidays and celebrations.
Not every type of predator will go after every type of goat. Some, like the wild hog or fox, will go after only the small kids. The bear, even though it is considered a predator of goats, does not count goats in its “favorite foods” list. However, should you live in an area with predatory animals (and most of us do), predators would be an unavoidable reality. Thankfully, there are some things that you can do to lessen the risk to your animals.
One simple, key act of predator prevention that you can do to protect your animals is to lock them indoors at night. Many predators will hunt and feed at night, and animals left outdoors make for easy targets.
When you have one or more does nearing their kidding dates, it will be in your best interest (and theirs) to keep them indoors until a few weeks after kidding. This will allow your kids to become stronger and slightly less vulnerable to predators, as well as give the doe enough time to get its strength back. It will also make safer the possibility of nighttime kidding by eliminating the vulnerability that a kidding doe and/or newborn kid would face if the event occurred outdoors during the night.
Make sure that you have good, solid fencing. It should be high enough to keep the goats in and the predators out. It should also be heavy enough so the goats cannot create an escape route through the wire mesh by sticking their heads through the opening and widening it until the wires begin to break and the goats can walk right through.
Goats love to get into mischief when they can, so a strong, dependable fence will save you a lot of headaches going forward.
And, if you think that you may have a problem with other animals burrowing under the fence, bury the bottom of the fence underground or block it off with a dig guard, as was mentioned in Chapter 3. Remember that your goats cannot and will not dig under a fence (although they will crawl out under a fence if they can fit). But, if any other animal digs under—even one that means no harm to the goats—it can become a problem.
Tethering a goat outdoors can make the animal very vulnerable to attack, as it cannot run from its attacker. You should not tether a goat and leave it alone, especially at night. If, for some reason, you do need to tether your goat (maybe you need one to clean out a small, weeded area, which is too small for setting up a temporary fence), then there should be someone attending the goat at all times.
Never leave a tethered goat out overnight. If you are in an area with a lot of predators, leaving a tethered goat out all night is setting the animal up for attack; which, if it happens, will place the blame solely on you. An attack on a tethered animal is preventable simply through responsible ownership.
Along with locking your animals up at night, there is another precaution that may be taken when pasturing your animals during the day: making use of a guard animal.
Before we go further, it should be made clear that a guard animal is usually not a herding animal, and a herding animal is not a guard animal. There are exceptions to this rule, as with my Australian Shepherd, Cheyenne. She is primarily a herding dog; however, she would also defend her charges with her own life if the need arose. Should you be able to find such an animal, it would be one of the most valuable animals on your farm. As stated, though, this would be the exception and not the rule. Do not expect your herding dog to guard, or your guard dog to herd, as you’ll be only disappointed if it doesn’t happen. And, as always, do your research first.
Guard animals will protect your livestock, sometimes at the cost of their own lives. A good guard animal, like a good herding animal, will be worth its weight in gold. Notice that I say guard animal. This is because, contrary to popular opinion, dogs are not the only animals used for guard work: llamas and donkeys are also very popular, and successful, as guard animals. Let’s look briefly at the three most popular guard animals just to familiarize ourselves with each.
Large guard dogs, also known as LGDs, are most likely the first things that come to your mind when you think of guard animals. When raised and trained properly, LGDs will be ruthless against predators, while being as gentle as can be around their livestock charges and human families.
Just like people may work better in one type of a job than another, the same may be said of the LGD. Some may work well on their own, alone with the herd on the back forty somewhere; others may do better a bit closer to home, having their duties vary. You job is to find the right dog to fit your situation and needs.
There are a number of LGDs to choose from. Breeds include:
• Great Pyrenees (aka Pyrenees Mountain Dog)
• Anatolian Shepherd
• Pyrenean Mastiff
• Akbash
This is, of course, only a partial list of LGDs. When you feel that you are ready to purchase your dog, do your homework. Talk with other breeders. If you are unsure about which breed is best for you, have a knowledgeable person work with you on a selection.
Llamas make excellent guard animals, and will not only chase off predators, but also will kick and bite them as well. They have even been known to kill an intruder to protect the herd.
Because llamas need to bond with their herds, it is best to have only a single llama in with a small herd. This way, the llama will bond with the herd instead of with another llama. An important note: intact male llamas should not be used as guard animals, as they may go after females in the herd that are in heat.
Just like with LGDs, should you decide that a llama will be your guardian of choice, you need to do your homework. And there is one more little perk that comes with owning a llama: you will get to keep all the wool or fiber from its yearly shearing.
If your predator problem is dog, coyote, or the like, then a donkey may be in your future. Like the llama, it will chase, bite, and kick, as well as make a general ruckus when there is trouble about.
Only a jenny (female) or a gelded jack (neutered male) should be used as a guard animal, as an intact jack can become aggressive toward his charges. Again, as with the other guard-animal types, should you decide to use a donkey, do your homework. If you are not sure, work with someone knowledgeable on guard donkeys.
This should give you a good, albeit brief, idea about predators and how to go up against them. From feathers to four legs to two legs, no matter where you live and what you have, predators are a fact of life when you have livestock. However, if you take precautions, use common sense, and do the best that you can to protect your animals (although you may never be 100 percent predator free or even loss free), you will eliminate many problems.