As the number of goats in your herd increases, you may need some extra working facilities that should enable you to easily catch the goats, separate and work on them. Shelters, and/or housing and layout of the pastures should be designed so you can isolate the animals by opening or closing the shelter gates. The width of the alleys connecting the pastures should be designed in such a way that opening the gates can be used as isolation panels to separate or herd the goats to working facilities.

A ten-foot working shoot, 4 feet high and about 12 to 16 inches wide will be appropriate when working on goats. For goats with horns, the shoot should be designed wider at the top. Longer shoots may be used; however, they must be divided in sections with sliding gates. Also, a series of canvas flaps suspended half way down into the shoot will keep the heads down and will keep them from riding each other. At the end of a working shoot, a scale or a squeeze shoot can be used to isolate individual animals or to stabilize animals and work on them. 

A crowding pen should be half as long as a working shoot and at least 12 feet wide at the open edge of the pen. When you are working on goats, the more aggressively you treat them, the longer it will take to get the job done. More sophisticated working shoots and handling facilities can be purchased ready to be installed, but they may be more capital intensive (for more information, see the Lynn Harwell and Frank Pinkerton, 1996 handbook). 

Harwell, Lynn and Frank Pinkerton. 1996. Housing, fencing, working facilities and predators.
In Meat Goat Production and Marketing Handbook. Sponsored by Rural Economic
Development Center, Raleigh, NC and Mid-Carolina Council of Governments, Fayetteville, NC.
http://www.clemson.edu/agronomy/goats/handbook/breed.html

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