For those of us keeping a range of animal species, space can quickly become an issue.
It’s often tempting to start co-pasturing animals rather than building a new enclosure.
This saves space, labor, time, and other resources.
We just can’t do this for some types of farm animals.
Goats and pigs are very different animals and should not be kept together in one pen or pasture. There is a high risk to your goats’ health if you make them share a living space with pigs. These animals are very rarely able to live in harmony. It’s best to keep them separate.
We know this isn’t what you wanted to hear.
Wondering if there’s any way to help your animals live peacefully together?
Read on to learn why this is such a bad idea and to see our tips for keeping these animals on the same farm.
The Danger in Keeping Pigs and Goats Together
Simply put, these animals have very different personalities, habits, and needs.
There are three major problems you’ll face if you attempt housing them together:
- Aggression and conflict
- Feeding problems and differences
- Potential for diseases
Let’s walk through each of these one at a time.
Aggression
Pigs probably seem pretty tame.
But trust me, their social habits leave something to be desired.
These guys are territorial and have been known to act aggressively toward other farm animals.
This is especially true of small animals like chickens.
But it holds for goats and sheep as well.
Putting your pigs in contact with sheep or goats often puts the latter in danger of harm or even death.
Sometimes this is because of conflict over food, water, or other resources.
But sometimes, it’s hard to pin down the exact reason.
These animals simply aren’t compatible roommates.
Many farmers have had negative experiences with pigs chasing and even killing goats.
The biggest danger is with baby goats.
Kids are NOT safe with pigs.
There have been instances where pigs have bitten the baby goat’s body or head and effectively killed them.
Even if a mama goat was protective enough to defend her baby, she would not be able to beat a pig in combat.
It’s extremely important to keep babies away from pigs and potentially predatory animals on your farm.
The bottom line here is: goats are social animals, but pigs are not.
Feeding
There are two main problems when it comes to feeding goats and pigs in one enclosure:
- Pig feed is bad for goats
- Eating habits are different
We know animal food varies between different types of farm animals.
Every animal has a different set of needs to maintain its health and happiness.
These needs are extremely different for our pigs versus our goats.
The former animals need a lot of protein, and the latter have very sensitive systems.
A pig can eat goat feed without experiencing problems afterward.
However, the opposite is not true!
We’ve also mentioned a few times now how different these two animals’ personalities are.
This extends to their eating habits.
Goats are herbivores, and they enjoy foraging for food.
We know how important it is to keep things like plastic and dangerous plants out of their pastures and pens because they are likely to accidentally ingest them.
This is because they explore with their mouths and eat whatever they find.
Pigs are just about the exact opposite!
These guys eat what you give them and destroy everything else.
They turn pastures into muddy messes before long because they simply trample over plant life and grass.
If you’re only raising pigs, this isn’t necessarily a problem for you.
It might be good because it gives your animals their preferred habitat.
But goats and sheep need plant life in their pasture.
They don’t enjoy wandering through slop and lazing in mud holes with nothing to forage.
Diseases
These two types of animals have very little in common.
Unfortunately, one thing they do share is a vulnerability to certain infectious diseases.
If a bacterial disease or a parasitic disease starts infecting one of your animals, it won’t take long for the rest to begin showing signs of infection.
The risk of infection may not seem to increase by much.
After all, your goat herd is already at risk if one caprine contracts an illness.
And all your pigs are at risk if one of them gets sick, right?
But now, one sick goat also puts your pigs in danger and vice versa.
Infections in sheep, by comparison, are so similar to those in goats that there is not much of an elevated risk of disease.
Also, an animal with a chronic illness is at a higher risk of developing more severe disease from a virus infection or parasitic disease.
For healthy farm animals, it’s best to house them separately.
Safely Keeping Goats and Pigs on the Same Farm
Despite all these differences, keeping these two farm animals on one farm and even in one barn is safe.
The key is ensuring they don’t have direct contact with one another.
This way, you lower the chances of death for your goats and disease for both parties.
Infected animals will be putting fewer of their friends at risk.
And severe disease will be easier to control if it appears in your animals.
Infection from bites won’t be a problem without the aggression you’ll see when co-pasturing animals.
It’s still important to monitor your friends for signs of illness. But the risks will be lower.
It’s also important to keep their feed separate.
Minimizing Harm When Co-Pasturing
It is safest to limit goats’ contact with more territorial and aggressive animals.
But if you’re dead set on keeping these two animals in one enclosure, here are our tips:
- Choose goat breeds carefully
- Feed independently and supervise
- Check on them frequently
- Keep kids separate
Most goats are pretty content to keep their body in their personal space.
The pigs are the ones with social difficulties.
But some goat breeds do cohabit a little better than others.
Separate feeding is crucial because of those different nutritional needs and sensitivities.
Just as we supervise our domestic animals and children around farm animals, we must be watchful over animals who are co-pasturing.
Newborn farm animals are vulnerable and unable to defend themselves.
In the same way, we’re careful with feeding them and monitoring for fever or other signs of illness such as diarrhea; we need to protect them from larger aggressive animals.
Not only are their immune systems unprepared to shield them from illness, but a newborn’s body is fragile and vulnerable to harm.
To prevent newborn death, do not expose them to potential predators, including wild and domestic animals.
