I read in my goat book that llamas are good with goats, and they can protect them from predators. Just read it, not personal experience though.

I think it is so wonderful that you help rescue animals like that! Good for you!! :D

I had geese and a rabbit living with goats. The geese ruled except for the rabbit.She could have cared less what the geese were trying to tell her.

I have a very old blind mini horse in with my two big milking nannies. They get along well and the mini likes the company. He can't be with the bigger horses because of his size and his blindness.
So, the three of them have their own barn pen with an opening to go out in their own pasture.
With the price of hay and feed going up I'm sure their are more old ponies and minis looking for a new home.
Nice of you to rescue. I have 3 of my own rescue pots, and this mini. And I really enjoy having them here.

Mine stayed with horses and cattle. The pigs freaked them out.

a sheep and a cat. (yes I have a heard cat) He loves his goats-sheep. He was a rescue from a Walmart parking lot and has made his home with the goats and the one sheep.We just moved the goats and sheep to a big pasture and the cat (Walley) has moved with them! He keeps them calm, he heards them in when he feels they need to watch out for stuff, or he's just fooling them. Too funny to watch!

I have a rabbit and a desert tortoise that live in my goat pen. The goats are in charge. The tortoise could care less about the goats or the rabbit. lol

I've also heard llamas are good as well, but you probably won't find one of those in the parking lot at Walmart. ;-)

Kevin

In our experience, goats and horses seem to be natural friends... of course, having a horse is quite a bit more maintenance than having a goat!

As for goats and pigs-- we had a billy goat that was IN LOVE with the pig whose pen adjoined his... and when I say "love," I mean flat-out romantic obsession. The billy goat would make all sorts of un-goat-like vocalizations whenever the pig would get near the fence between them, and one day my dad figured, what the heck, put the goat in with the pig and see what happens.

Well the pig couldn't have seemed to care less, but the billy goat... oh my. Let's just say it got X-rated. None of us had ever seen anything like that in our lives, and I hope to not ever have to see it again!

Cnvh, ha ha ha! That is funny..I can only imagine....

And it wasn't just once!! Every chance the goat had to get in with the pig, the goat would go at it. We even got pictures, because we didn't think anyone would believe it. TOOO bizarre...

Don't know why but these stories relieve some of my anxiety about the State of the World. Thanks.:)

We have neighbors with goats(60)and they have a llama to keep watch over them. The llama does a good job keeping the foxes, coyotes and dogs away.

Cnvh, don't worry, I definitely believe you. After we had two male dogs...they were both neutered..uh...can't really tell you but let's just say it sometimes got pretty x rated too. :P
You should post those online, ha ha! Go to jeff foxworthy's website, I think they have a photo contest, you would be sure to win.

Paulns, yes this forum makes my troubles melt away! Don't worry, be happy! We can't change a whole lot anyway, except our own yards. :)

Caavonldy, now I want a lama too! And an ostrich so I can ride it....

Sheep and goats will generally get along fine if you have only females and weathers, but don't mix rams and bucks unless they have a big area to get away from each other. (Once the girls start to cycle, they will fight, and will need to be seperated from early fall to late winter.) The nice part about keeping the two species together is their feeding habits compliment each other; goats browse woody brush, sheep are strictly in it for the grass. Caveat: all of them will kill a fruit tree if they can get to it. The goats will rear up and pull down branches or push a young tree to the ground, the sheep will gnaw the bark at the trunk.

As far as commercial feed goes, they can eat the same thing and they require the same wormers, although goats need more copper in their minerals. Unless you opt for hair sheep (which shed their wool), they'll need to be sheared annually; something to think about in terms of extra work. Llamas will also need an annual haircut.

If you do get a Llama, make sure it has been raised with goats, and, if it's a male, that it has been castrated. Accept no subsitutes about this. Intact male Llamas are like intact male sheep and goats and cattle; frequently unpredictable and can be dangerous. I will say we actually have very good luck with our bucks. (intact male goats) but we train them from day one as bottle babies to be well behaved. The sheep, eh. Bottle fed or not, after the third year, rams naturally tend to get "pushy". If you keep a ram, watch your back: they are surprisingly fast and even a small one can hit hard enough to break bones. I've seen bottle raised intact male Llamas and imho, they seem to be the most onbnoxious; no natural respect for humans, and the playful antics that were so cute when they were little crias are downright dangerous when they are grown. A quick trip to the Vet for a little "macho-ectomy" might help with that. ;^)

If you keep a pony or mini horse, (what I would recommend) unless the goats have horns, the horse becomes the Boss by default. If you feed a pelleted goat ration, make sure it's safe for horses just in case he happens to get into some. Really, you don't want to allow the horse to have access to it at all, as it's very easy to founder the little guys, but it's better to be safe than have a sick pony.

Anyway, that's my free advice on the subject, hopefully worth every penny. ;^)

Here is a link that might be useful: DD's Dairy Goat site

I had a large dog, he and our kid's pony put on a dog and pony show that was X rated.

we have our rabbit hutches inside the fenced area for the goats and they love sitting ontop of their roof!! our hens also share the same area,.the goats have their own house and the hens have their own coop..works out great.

Thanks for all the great suggestions. I think I'll try for the sheep, sounds like the least trouble other than the annual shearing. But that could be an experience to remember!