Sunday, June 5, 2011

Goat Playground

The goats love to be free in the yard and to follow us around. 
They have never left, but I still don't feel comfortable having them free
when we aren't paying attention.
Anyone familiar with goats probably understands,
goats have a tendency to get into things (trouble) just like toddlers.
You would never leave a toddler unsupervised and just like toddlers,
unsupervised goats are trouble magnets!


So a couple weeks ago, I came up with the brilliant idea to build an outdoor goat pen that connects to their stall in the barn. That way they can go in and out as they please, but they are still safe. As with all my brilliant ideas, Matt looks at me skeptically and tries to understand what exactly my vision is,
and how much work is involved for him to execute it.
Lucky for him, there is a whole pile of scrap wood that was stored in an
old building on the farm. Anytime I have a project, we go to the "wood shed"
and get what we need without having to spend a bunch of money at the lumberyard.
We found what we needed and hauled it over.
Here is our progress:

*****
Day 1: The western fence goes up


Day 2: The east & south fences go up


Simon is going to join in and help dad

I would like to think that Matt is patiently teaching Simon something here...

Day 3: the north fence and the outside gate is finished

See Jack?
I am QUITE sure he is already trying to figure a way out of the pen

Hopefully this gate latch will do the trick and keep him in

Day 4: the goat door & play ground
Jack is checking out the progress

Now Sundance is checking out the doorway...

from both sides... looks good to him!

Simon also tries the door- a little tight, but he still fits

Matt does not fit.

After the door/ ramp is attached, the babies can get in and out too


Next Matt is building some toys for them- 
Goats love to climb, so this will provide them some entertainment.

In no time at all, the goats test it out and approve!

And now everyone is happy!


Another completed project!
Thanks (again!) Matt 

1 comment:

Journey11 said...

Your farm is so pretty! I have such a long honey-do list for my hubby already, I don't know when I'll ever get him to fence and build a shed for my future goats. Until then, I will have to live vicariously through your goat pics. ;)