What to Flag Before the Goats Arrive: Irrigation, Wells, Debris and Other Surprises

Our preparation checklist covers the basics. This is the other list: the things that do not look like preparation, but cause the most surprises. If you can walk the property once with a pen and a roll of flagging tape, you will save everyone a bad afternoon.

Things that go in the ground, and things already there

• Irrigation lines and sprinkler heads. Shallow drip tubing is easy for goats to chew and for fence stakes to puncture. Mark where it runs, even if it has been dead for years.
• Wells, cisterns, open pits and old septic access. Anything an animal could fall into or a fence post could hit. Cover them or tell the herder where they are.
• Buried lines. Gas, electric, water and communications lines. Netting stakes do not go deep, but tell us anyway, and call your utility's marking service if you are unsure.

Things on top of the ground

• Old fencing, wire and scrap metal buried in brush. This is more common than you would think on long-neglected land. Goats and electric netting both get tangled in it.
• Trash and debris. Plastic, rope and netting can be swallowed or snagged.
• Chemicals. Antifreeze, paint, fuel, fertilizer or pesticide containers. Antifreeze in particular is poisonous and has a sweet taste. Move anything like this before the herd comes.
• Treated lumber and old structures goats could climb or chew.

Recent herbicide

If the area has been sprayed recently, tell us what was used and when. Product labels give waiting periods before animals can graze treated plants, and we need to see them. Do not skip this one because it was a long time ago and you cannot remember. Find the label or the invoice.

Access and logistics

• Gates. How wide, whether they lock, and who has the key.
• The route in. A livestock trailer needs more room than a pickup. Low branches, tight turns, soft ground and weight-limited bridges all matter.
• Water. A hose bib, a tank or a spigot. The herd needs a regular supply. See how much water a herd needs.
• Shade and shelter. Trees, buildings or a plan to provide shade in hot weather.

The neighbors

Not a physical object, but worth flagging. Whose property touches the grazing area? Is there a shared fence? Do they have dogs? A heads-up to neighbors is courteous and it heads off a call to the fire department asking what those animals are doing there. We cover this in goat grazing and your neighbors.

If you do not know what is out there

Say so. A good herder walks the ground before the animals arrive, and one reason for the site visit is to find things you did not know about. The point of the list above is not to make you an expert. It is to make sure nothing surprising is waiting in the brush.