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Farm Animal Companions: Can Cows, Horses, Goats & Pigs Share a Barn?

Metal Barns

Farm Animal Companions: Can Cows, Horses, Goats & Pigs Share a Barn?

by VersaTube Marketing on May 14, 2019

If you’re in the beginning stages of your hobby farm, or you’re thinking of adding a new animal to your current farm, you may be wondering if you can keep all your animals in your VersaTube Barn. In general, you need to keep small animals like chickens and rabbits completely separate in their own pens, but often larger animals can share quarters together safely. There are a few animals that generally do not, and you’ll always have considerations to keep in mind for the safety of all animals. Read on for a little help deciding if your intended farm animals will make good companions!

Horses and Cows

Horses and cows shouldn’t have a problem sharing barn space, although you need to be extra careful when medicine is added to cattle feed. There are certain types of medicine that are toxic to horses. Another thing to remember is that horses can spread hoof and mouth disease to cows, even though the horse can’t contract the disease itself.

Goats

While goats are typically okay with horses and cows, if you plan to have any sheep on your farm, you’ll need to be very careful with feed. Goat feed and mineral blocks include copper which is toxic to sheep.

Pigs

Pigs are the wild card in this scenario. The first issue is that pigs can be very aggressive. Different breeds of pigs are known for different temperaments, but even in the same breed, some pigs can be more aggressive than others. If raised with the other types of animals from young, a pig will probably be okay with them, but again, there aren’t any certainties with pigs.  Plan to milk cows or goats? There are good chances that pigs will try to get into the milk bucket. Also, they enjoy muddy accommodations that aren’t great for other animals, especially horses.

The question of whether different types of farm animals make good roommates isn’t always a simple, “yes” or “no” answer. Before you bring another type of animal into your barn, do your research about its temperament and dietary requirements. And in general, always keep feed separate for all types of livestock!

If you do need to keep a breed separate from the others, adding a VersaTube Loafing Shed could be the perfect solution!

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