Goats are mischievous escape artists. They have a flair for escaping without an ounce of fear. If you confine these farm animals in a fence below five feet, expect your goats to disappear without a trace. Why? Goats can jump over your fence as higher as five feet tall. The ideal fence height for confining your goats is about six feet. Some goat species are agile; some are wise to find ways to escape from your farm. Larger goats have difficulty jumping over the fence due to their weight.
How High Different Goat Breeds Can Jump?
Goats are excellent jumpers, whatever the type of breed they are. Depending on their breed and size, goats can leap from 4 to 12 feet high on your fence. A short fence is not ideal if you are into goat breeding. Some goat breeds may escape from your farm through the wires or pass underneath the fence. The problem arises when their heads get entangled in the wire fence. The best way to contain your goats is to find the breed and their abilities to climb, jump or leap over the fence.
Here are common goat breeds and their characteristics.
Cashmere
Cashmere goats are known for their soft and warm downy, which textile manufacturers use for making fabrics. Some Cashmere goat breeders raise them for wool production. Four cashmere goats are enough to produce cashmere for making a piece of sweater.
Any farm fence suits perfectly for cashmere as they are well-behaved and easy to handle. It is uncommon to see cashmere climbing tall posts and jumping over fences. This goat breed is a good choice if your farm fence is short because they are not hyperactive and jumpy compared to other types.
Pygmy Goats
Pygmy goats are raised for milk production, goat show, and as pets, making them perfect livestock for acreages. This goat breed is manageable as the size is smaller. The average size is similar to a medium-sized canine. The average height that pygmy goats can jump is about four feet, depending on their size and height. Some pygmy goats can grow about 1.67 feet tall to jump as high as four feet tall fence.
Anglo-Nubian
You can quickly identify a Nubian goat through its long floppy ears and curved muzzle. This goat specie originated in England as a product of crossbreeding the female British goats with Indian and African-origin male goats. These goats are good meat and dairy sources but are high in fat content. Nubian goats are lazy and noisy, but this does not stop them from jumping up to five feet in a vertical position.
Alpine
Alpine or French Alpine goats had their origins in the French Alps. This goat breed is known for its ability to produce more milk compared to other goats. Healthy Alpine can yield two gallons of milk daily. To raise Alpine goats, you must monitor their diet and nutritional needs to increase milk production. These goats are friendly, and they are generally small in size. They are agile and can climb on cliffs and rocks. The average height they can jump is four feet tall.
Kiko Goats
Kiko goats are excellent weed cleaners in your acreage. This goat breed originated in New Zealand in 1980 due to crossbreeding dairy goats with feral goats to test the growth and survival rate. In 2000, the breed leveled up when breeders crossbred them with Boer goats in the United States to increase meat production and mothering ability. A typical Kiko goat has a bulkier body and is easy to maintain. They can jump as high as three feet vertically, making them ideal for acreage.
Nigerian Dwarf Goats
Nigerian dwarf goats are easy to keep due to their small size and height. Some farmers keep them for milk production or pets because they are a friendly goat breed. They are ideal goat specie for homesteads. The average height of Nigerian dwarf goats could reach sixteen to twenty inches tall, and they have an average weight of 75 pounds. Their diminutive size encourages them to jump for up to four feet tall fences. This goat breed is adorable and friendly.
Boer Goats
Boer goats are heavy and oversized types of goats. Their weight can reach up to 230 pounds, and their height is 2 ½ feet tall. This goat specie quickly matures sexually at five months old. Despite their stocky bodies, Boer goats can jump about 3.5 feet tall fences, making them difficult to manage.
The best method to contain them is to place them in an enclosure made of offset or electrified wire (one foot) inside an outer fence close to the top to deter them from escaping. The farm fence should be 3 ½ feet or 42 inches tall.
Mountain Goats
Also known as the Rocky Mountain goat, mountain goats are not goats but hoofed mammals that thrive in the mountains of western North America. They are the forebears of domesticated goat species. If you plan to raise goats, you must study mountain goats’ characteristics and jumping abilities to give you an idea of how to secure them.
Mountain goats are capable of jumping as high as twelve feet tall fences. Domesticated goats that descend from mountain goats are challenging to handle, given their ability to leap taller fences.
What is the Average Height a Goat can Jump?
Goats have different abilities when it comes to jumping, depending on their specie. They can jump as high as nine feet to twelve feet tall fences. That’s their nature to leap, whether domesticated or high breed. Like cattle and horses, goats are challenging to contain.
Smaller goat breeds like Nubian, Nigerian dwarf, and pygmy goats can jump as high as four feet tall. When a goat has mastered the art of jumping, it signifies that you must keep them in an enclosure, making them impossible to escape.
Clear all climbing structures they will use as their jump-off point to leap over the fence that can break their legs. Give your goats a comfortable pen and enough food to avoid visiting your neighbor’s vegetable garden.
How Tall Can a Goat Kids Jump?
Goat kids have an average height of seventeen inches, making them impossible to leap over a four feet tall fence. It is natural for them to keep jumping around the enclosure, but at this stage in their lives, they are less likely to escape.
Baby goats remain in the paddocks for as long as their parents do not escape from the yard. Like their human counterparts, goat kids are playful and love to run and jump around the yard. Secure your fences from underneath to discourage the kids from running away.
What is the Standard Height for Goat Fences?
Measure the goat enclosure, which depends on the number of goats you have. Experts say that the standard height for goat enclosures and fences should be four feet tall. But this height suggestion only works if you do not raise agile domesticated goats like the mountain goats that can leap as high as twelve feet tall fences.
For example, an eight-acre land is suitable for six goats with a 10by10 indoor shelter. Goats are scared of rain and water, so they need a shed to keep them dry. Mildews grow on their fur if you expose them to moisture. The fence should be five to eight feet tall to deter the goats from sneaking out of their paddocks.
What to Do When Goats Sneak Out from the Fence?
Goats can sneak out of your yard even if you have secured their enclosure. When this happens, the first thing that you will do is find your missing goat. It would be best to account for all your animals to determine the number of escapees quickly.
Usually, goats hide in the bushes, behind a tree, or in a vegetable garden. Their main targets are the greeneries, so they go directly to the plantation nearby. Check the damaged part of the fence.
Goats can escape by helping each other. They climb on ankle weights, climb on each other’s back, and voila, they disappear from view! Clear out any obstacles around the enclosures, like stairs, barrels, or crates, which they can use as jump-off points. However, goats are intelligent animals; they use their senses to return to your homestead.
Goat Fencing and Enclosure Tips
Goats are fond of climbing, crawling, jumping, and sneaking out, whatever it costs. A sturdy fence can discourage them from sneaking out of the yard. Here are some tips on how to secure them.
Determine the Fence Height
Keep the minimum fence height up to four or five feet tall if your goats are active and agile. But it depends on the size and breed of your goat. Their jumping behavior depends on their characteristics. Some goats can jump as high as four to twelve inches tall fences.
Install Woven Wire Fencing
This fence type is a popular choice to secure goats, but it is costly and challenging to install. If you prefer this type of fence, the spacing should be four inches apart, ensuring that the goat’s head does not get entangled or stuck inside the openings.
Install Goat or Cattle Panels
This type of fence panel can secure your goats while keeping a view of your herd. It is ideal if the fence is higher and the fencing is wide enough to safely keep the goats in the paddocks. The downside of cattle panels is that the tallest panels can reach up to 52 inches tall, which can be costly as you have to install additional wire linings on the top to deter the goats from crossing over the fence.
Install Metal or Wooden Posts
Aside from jumping around, goats love to rub their bodies against fences. If you cannot afford concrete posts, installing wooden or metal posts is a better option to secure your herd. Ensure that the fence post should be eight or ten feet apart and bury them in a hole of at least two feet in the ground. The post corners should be on the outer side to discourage the goats from climbing up the posts.
Secure with Electric Fencing
Enclose the goats in electric fencing, ensuring that the bottom wire is close to the ground. Goats are not only masters in jumping but also excellent crawlers. Electric fencing cannot kill the goats but leaves discomforts that discourage them from getting in contact. See to it that the head of goat kids cannot pass through the fence space.
Wrapping Up
There are more than 300 distinct goat breeds besides what we mentioned above. Other common meat and dairy production species include Saanen goats, La Mancha goats, and Spanish and Tennessee Fainting. Goat species possess unique jumping abilities that determine the type and height of farm fencing to install. It would be best to learn their characteristics before putting up the fence.
