I have seven meat and dairy goats in a large fenced field. I want to get two little cows to raise until the fall. Can I put them all in the same field with separate housing?

-- Mary in East TN (barnwood@preferred.com), March 23, 2002

Answers

Yes, goats and cattle are compatible on the same field. The cows prefer the grass and the goats prefer the weeds:) We had one cow with our goats in Texas, on a few acres, and they got along fine.

-- mary (mlg@mlg.com), March 23, 2002.

My Dexter cows graze with goats, mini donkeys and mini horses. The Dexters clean up weeds as good or better than goats!

Judy

-- J McFerrin (JMcFerrin@aol.com), March 23, 2002.

will share housing and pasture, no problem.

-- Tim (goathillfarm50@aol.com), March 23, 2002.

Boy was this a timely question. I have a couple of does with babies that need to come out of the barn and bottle calves that have a small lot. I had wanted to put the goats in there, but DH was worried that the goats might butt the calves too much. My concern was the calves chasing the kid goats. The buck has his own space that he shared with the girls up until they had the kids, now I have to separate them.

-- beckie (none@this.time), March 23, 2002.

Boy, was this timely!! Just bought a heifer and a steer yesterday, was wondering the same thing!! Sissy

-- Sissy Barth (iblong2Him@ilovejesus.net), March 23, 2002.

They actually work very well together. The cows will vacume up the parasites as they graze so they don't reinfest the goats. The parasites that bother goats are killed in the cows system. Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh TX (Nubians) (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), March 24, 2002.

That's something you'll have to judge according to the personality of the cows. My boss cow has a deep and abiding hatred for dogs. Since the goats are the same size, she goes after them every chance she gets, and has taught that trick to all of her children, and every other cow we've brought in.

If you have a buck, he might decide to get froggy as well, and start a head-butting contest that he can't help but lose. Mine lost the battle, but apparently fell in love, and spent the rest of the summer hanging over the fence, flirting with his new girlfriend. (it was a steer = )

-- Connie (Connie@lunehaven.com), March 24, 2002.

our steer thinks he is a goat!, he was getting kind of rough with some of the pregnant does so i seperated him, he went to live with the horses . ,he now moos over the fence to the goats , and any time he hears a goat bleat, he gives an answering moo... btw, it was kind of hard on him , to go from the biggest in the pasture to the most picked on, the horses do not like him, but he has learned how to dodge.. on the other hand the yearling looks to be a good cow horse, she "stalks" him , just like in the rodeo cometitions :)

-- Beth Van Stiphout (willosnake@hotmail.com), March 25, 2002.