If they are left on a hot day, they may get dehydrated because they are unable to get to water after wrapping themselves around an object. Goats may hang or choke themselves with a chain or rope. The snap holding them may come off or break and release them into a high traffic or otherwise dangerous area.
My neighbor had a goat that he tethered in the orchard to eat down the grass. One day he had a feeling that something was wrong and came down the hill to find the goat hung from a tree branch. I don’t know how he managed to do that (but then, he was a goat), but fortunately the neighbor got there before the goat had choked to death.
Don’t tether your goats. Instead, build them a proper fence, or if you need to move them around, use cattle panel sections or electric wire to create a barrier that you can move from place to place during the day. And supervise them or get them a guardian for protection.
Providing a safe place to bunk down
The best way to ensure that your goats are safe, especially if you don’t have a guardian animal, is to make sure that they are secured in a building with no open windows from dusk until dawn. Unless you have a very heavy door, make sure the door closes and latches to prevent animals from getting in and goats from getting out.
Considering local predators
Find out about the common predators in your area when deciding how to keep your goats safe. Don’t think that because you are raising goats in the city that you don’t have to worry about predators. While some of the animals that we traditionally think of as predators are rarely found in the city, dogs are rampant and birds abound. Kids are particularly at risk, because they are small and lack life experience.
Here are some of the more common goat predators. If you have a goat attack, you can determine which of these predators is responsible by examining the scat (manure) left behind and by the focus of the attack.
Domestic or feral dogs
Dogs are the worst predators of goats, attacking and killing more often than any wild animal and doing it for fun rather than because they’re hungry. Dogs go after goats individually or in packs, with pack attacks being the worst for obvious reasons.
Dogs dig under fences to get to goats or other small livestock. You can identify a dog attack because dogs usually go for a goat’s hind legs and rear end. They can kill or cause injuries severe enough to create major physical problems for a goat. Goats that are attacked by dogs often have to be euthanized or die later from the trauma of being terrorized and seeing their herd mates killed.
Coyotes
Eastern coyotes hunt individually, looking for weak members of a herd; western coyotes hunt in packs. You can tell the difference between a coyote attack and a dog attack because dogs chase and try to get as many goats as they can, while coyotes, which are looking for food, will go for the throat and then try to get at a goat’s internal organs. They may even try to carry the animal away for safe eating.
If you hear coyotes howling in your area, your goats are at risk if they don’t have additional protection such as a guardian animal or high tensile electric fencing. Neither of these is failproof, though; I have heard of packs of coyotes luring a dog away while other cohorts go after the goats.
Cougars
Cougars hunt individually. They leave tooth punctures and claw marks on the upper torso when they attack a goat. They also have been known to drag their prey a distance away, bury it, and come back later to eat. A good livestock guardian dog will normally deter a cougar, unless it is very hungry. Nevertheless, I know of a rancher whose three Great Pyrenees guardian dogs were killed by a cougar one by one over several nights.
Birds
Ravens and black vultures attack goats from time to time — generally when they are down from sickness or trying to have their kids outside. Ravens peck an animal’s head and gouge out its eyes. Ravens attack in groups, which causes a problem for does trying to protect more than one kid.
The USDA recommends hanging an effigy (fake vulture carcass) to deter vultures. Owls, eagles, and large hawks also may bother small kids, especially if they get separated from their mothers and cry. You can prevent losses to all types of birds by making sure your goats have safe, indoor kidding pens.
Other predators
Wolves, bears, foxes, wild pigs, and even feral cats will go after goats if their regular food supply is disrupted. You only have to read the newspaper to realize that humans are also predators on goats — some rustling for food, but others killing for the fun of it, as a prank, to get even with the owner, or for some other misguided reason.
Using guardian animals for security
Many goat owners keep livestock guardian dogs, donkeys, llamas, or alpacas with goats as full-time guard animals. Guardian animals can add a substantial cost in terms of training and upkeep, but they may be well worth the effort and time if they work out.
Livestock guardian dogs
Livestock guardian dogs (LGDs) were bred and have been used for thousands of years to protect goats or sheep in Europe and Asia. They live and bond with the goats, are aggressive toward predators, and are focused on the job. These dogs are traditionally white, which enables them to blend in with the sheep flock and be distinguished from predators. Of the many breeds of livestock guardian dogs, the Great Pyrenees is probably the best known. Other common livestock guardian breeds include
Akbash
Anatolian
Komodor
Kuvasz
Maremma
Ovcharka
Shar Planinetz
Slovak Cuvac
Tatra Sheepdog
LGDs live with the livestock they protect yet have a relationship with their human caretakers. They are large, aloof, and can be intimidating to strangers. If you plan to get one, expect to do a lot of training and supervision because they don’t reach maturity for about three years. You have to be the alpha member of the group so the dog knows you are in charge. Neutering or spaying a guardian dog also helps ensure that it will be a successful goat-guard.
