Using Goats for pasture clean up

[Double A]

I was wondering if anyone has any good or bad experiences using goats to help weed and brush control. I have been seeing a lot of articles about the good job they can do for clean up and they eat a lot of stuff that the cattle won't (and will pass up the grass for the multiflora rose); however, I also read recently the you'd best have a good fence if you want them to stay on the farm - almost to the extreme of if the fence won't hold water, it won't hold a goat (if a goat can get his head through, the rest will follow). Our fences are in great to poor (a visual blind with a strand of hot wire on stand offs about 20" from the ground) condition and we have a couple of pastures cross-fenced with 2 strands of hot wire; but, due to water flow and periodic flooding in the creek, we run electrified water gaps only. I was curious if anyone had any personal experiences with them. I didn't want to spend money on them and have them disappear (to the neighbors or become coyote feed). I was not planning on raising them, but getting a couple of Billy's to run with my cows/calves.

 

[Double A]

My husband works with a guy that raises the Boer goats and if I remember right, said they can get to be a good size. I think I would like the horns on them - give you something to grab on to and require a larger hole to get through. ;-) I just wasn't sure about my electric water gaps. I wasn't sure if they are like other animals that once they hit it, they don't tend to try it. I would put them in a (quarrantine) lot with electric fence for a little while for training near the cows - give them a chance to get used to each other - Can't have my lead matriarch running the clean up crew through the fence either.

 

[Double A]

Thanks for the urinating insight; although I wasn't planning on keeping him in the house , but may still have to name one Bill. The "geldings" would suit us just fine (and maybe be cheaper) - that way if they get to be a pain, they would probably eat better...I hear there is getting to be an increase in the meat goat market?

 

[CPL]

We've got a pygmy and she won't eat anything but alfalfa hay and sweet feed. She's above weeds, and she can get into almost any lot. We just let her run loose. She won't let you catch her either. Worthless brat ;-)

 

[Jogeephus]

If you have low humidity and woven fences, I'd say go for it. They are terrific browsers and will really clean up a place. Once the area is cleaned - sell em cause they are not good grazers and the worms will kill goats in a heartbeat.

 

[Double A]

Humidity up here can vary and for the most part all of our exterior border fences have woven wire (although a couple are barely above a blind - future project) other than those electrified water gaps. I was hopeful that, once trained they wouldn't be a problem and would hope they would hang out with the cows - who stay where they are supposed to (and for protection?).

I had read somewhere that you need to de-worm them about every 3 weeks? I'm sure if we decide to get a couple the man that raises them should be able to help us out on that. Although once they got our place cleaned up and the neighbors saw it - maybe they would just sell themselves (OK, this may be wishful thinking - I don't know how much of a pain they could be in winter and if they would even eat regular fescue based hay).

CPL, I've never heard of a goat being a picky eater; they get so much teasing about eating (chewing) on anything! If she's an escape artist, is she part beagle? (ours is good at this and can suffer from selective hearing too)

 

[Jogeephus]

Have to worm them once a month here. But when they were in the woods eating what they wanted - what the cows didn't -they did pretty good.

 

[angie1]

I have had Saanens, Nubians and French Alpines all my life. My first peice of advice is don't get goats. They cause far more problems than they solve. They destroy more than they fix. They have little respect for fencing. They will turn their noses up at a lot of things, yet ravish your trees, bushes, shrubs, garden, flowers. I am down to one goat now. I would give her away but I don't think anyone would give her the home I want her to have and care she needs and I like her. I will never have another one when she's gone though. I worm once in falll and once in Spring and have never had a problem with worms. Reconsider getting bucks. Despite what Dun thinks ~ they smell BAD! What about sheep?

 

[buckwheat_87]

My first peice of advice is don't get goats. They cause far more problems than they solve. They destroy more than they fix. They have little respect for fencing.

I fully agree!!

They are very, very picky eaters and are a pain in the a$$ to do anything with. I think you would save money by not messin with them.

If you are set on having them i would get some sort of brush goat. I have boer goats and they will eat the weeds and the thistles but they seem to like grass better.

Just my opinion. ( my goats are for sale )

 

[Outrigger2]

i have some brush goats and they'll even eat the bark off trees, even when there is plenty to browse on.

 

[Double A]

I'm not really set on getting anything - that's why we're talking around - I've just seen a lot of really positive articles here lately about how good they can do at renovation. I was hoping they would be a good alternative to Round-Up, PastureGard, and 2-4-D; that the goats would love, ragweed, thistle, multiflora rose, ironweed, honey locust, etc. I'm not sure sheep would work for us, as there may be too many coyotes in the area?

 

[tytower]

If you are prepared to fence for goats what about hogs ?
they dig and fertilise too and will get most weeds .

Then disk and plant the grass you want

 

[Double A]

I wasn't planning on having to re-fence just for the goats (other than current planned fence projects) and was hoping that the existing fence with hot wire would do the job.

I don't know much about hogs other than they taste good (I'm guessing better than goats , but I don't have experience with it - we have too many deer in the area for me to add something else to the freezer). I was planning on running them together with the cows that we rotationally graze, and not wanting to close a pasture out of the rotation. If I were to do that, I'd consider planting an improved pasture of alfalfa or warm season grasses...but that's another subject.

 

[Jogeephus]

From my limited experience with goats, I learned what is a fantastic pasture for cattle is not the best thing for goats.

 

[hillrancher]

My neighbor is selling cows to run the meat goats. Said more money than cows.
We are using donkeys with our cows. Supposed to eat weeds and what cows don't. They keep the dogs, coyotes and cats out of the fields. They are like the deer eat more clover than weeds.
We are down to one female donkey per bunch of cattle. One will stay with the cattle more will not and male donkeys will kill calves sometimes.

 

[Jogeephus]

My neighbor is selling cows to run the meat goats. Said more money than cows.
We are using donkeys with our cows. Supposed to eat weeds and what cows don't. They keep the dogs, coyotes and cats out of the fields. They are like the deer eat more clover than weeds.
We are down to one female donkey per bunch of cattle. One will stay with the cattle more will not and male donkeys will kill calves sometimes.

Jacks will sometimes "rape" heifers as well.

 

[andybob]

I bred Boers since 1969. the secret is in the fencing, never had any escape from my parents' smallholding and they did a great job clearing scrub when I bought the overgrown land that became my farm. During my stay in England I ran Boers as a weed and brush controll service, running behind horses to clean up thistles,docks and other weeds, and clearing willow, elder and weeds on hillsides in Wiltshire. I used the 5 ft 'step in' plastic horse posts with six strands of wire, and could fence an acre and move the goats and huts in a morning. I had some Saanens I rescued from a visitors farm, they tried the fence a few times, so I used a mains unit from the pigs to fence train them, after that they remained behind the battery operated fence with the Boers.

 

[Double A]

I think I'll pass on the donkeys (but thanks for the info - its good to know); I think I read somewhere that Llamas were also good herd guardians (or was it Emu?).

We have used those step in plastic posts before and keep some in inventory - they can be quite handy. Glad to hear those worked with your goats. I think my husband told me that the guy he knows that sells them also runs electric fence, so they should be familar with it. It is our electric water gaps that had us concerned; although hopefully by next year sometime we will have another cross fence up to fence them out of the creek bottom to where the water gap will be a back up only. I have been somewhat encouraged with what I have read and I think I will continue to explore this option - may wait until next summer (and pick up a couple of his weanlings)to actually get them when my fences will be in better shape and won't have to winter them. I'll keep watching in case someone else has some more info/experiences. Thanks for all the input.

 

[b&langusfarms]

We have 6 goats right now, nubian & alpine dairy goats. One of ours is even a billy goat. Which by the way unless you want to breed I dont recommend because he stinks horribly and has some VERY unlikable habits.... But your idea to get them young is right on the money. We got all of ours at around 2 months old and even bottle fed one of them. They are all like dogs, they are so gentle, even the 200 lb billy goat... The dairy goats arent nearly as sought after as the meat goats and can usually be purchased cheaper. Right now is when everyone has them for sale. All of the 4H kids are needing them now in order for them to be the right age for the shows after the first of the year. Hope this helps....

 

[dun]

he stinks horribly and has some VERY unlikable habits....

One mans mead is anotyher mans poison. I persoanlly kind of like the buck smell. Of course I've been referred to as an old goat so maybe it's an associative thing.