Goat Watersource question

[elemay17]

Somewhat new to goats, I have had 4 pygmys since fall. We are currently using a heated bucket on the ground for their water, I read that they like to eat "up" like deer do, I was wondering if they like to drink "up" too? We were wondering if they would drink out of a bottle in the summer months (like the kind for rabbits and hamsters but bigger) so it would be easier to keep the water clean. I looked on Jeffers website under the goats section and didn't see anything for sale so im guessing no ???

[momma_to_seven_chi]

We always just water our goats on buckets. They seem to do fine. Some people with large herds use a horse tank, but with just a few goats, buckets work fine.

[fnfredux]

goats actually siphon water up, don't lick or lap. I think they must drink from a water source below their heads.

[bookwormom]

Ours always drink out of a bucket. I have never heard of anyone giving them water in a bottle. It sounds like extra work that I don't need. In winter I have a bucket standing in the shed, in the morning I carry up hot water, put some in the bucket to melt the ice, then wash their udders with the rest. In summer they drink out of the stock tank underneath the eaves of the barn.

[silvergramma]

i have a very tough black oval tub that i bought for my horses when i first brought them from out of state,, straight across from my front door.. with a floating pond heater in it,, it became apparent i needed to get a bigger tank so i could leave during the day andnot have to worry about the smaller one goin dry during the hot summer months
when our well froze up we had to carry 3 gallon buckets of water and gallong water jugs from a friends house in town in the back of our truck.
work ? omg yes..
those were some days,, during dead of winter...wind and snow..eeesh
but now i have an oval metal tank 300 gallons that half of it sticks out on this side of the fence the other half on their side i place that pond heater in it and wrap the whole thing in tech foil bubble wrap insulation to keep the electricity bill down and i cover it ( the half that is outside of the pasture) with 2 inch foam insulation sheet cut to fit..
keeps the water warm in winter ,, they drink more.. healtier too
but i still carry water in 3 gallon buckets with lids from bakery..on a plastic cargo sled to the tank to refill from the house when the well isnt frozen
I did the same thing for two german shepherd dogs i rescued just before winter set it
they get warm water and they made it through just before the biggest blizzard hit..
now that we know they are housebroken.. they go in and out just like our other dogs
do the same for your goats... big enough tub you arent constantly refilling it during the day the smaller the goats we even used cheapo k mart plastic swimming pools three of them in the pasture near the fence where it is easiest to refill
they played and splashed in there too
the goats will probably play in these as well
to clean the water use a pool wand the kind with the screen to remove the debris.,