Invasive Plants

I know of someone in CA that uses their goats for fire suppression work – eating/clearing brush around home sites in fire prone areas. They also got contracts on some “right-of-ways” – like where power lines run over head. Like Robert’s experience, they’re booked.

Also, there’s been more than a bit of work at some universities looking at what/how young animals learn to eat “novel” or new foods – like a weed species.
In our area at the University of Idaho Range Department is Karen Launchbaugh and another big name in Utah is first name? Provenza. Can’t recall which school he’s at.

Hey Tom – I doubled my rates & added a $200 delivery charge split 4 ways & they still lined up for it! I haven’t had the nerve yet to add a surcharge for the “custom fertilizing” of their lots. 😀
Goats aren’t as selective/accurate in identifying the weed as you need to be w/ the spray…their philosophy is: If it tastes good, EAT IT!! If it DOESN’T taste good, trample it and poop on it.
Be warned, though; owners love it when they eat the multifloral roses taking over the pasture/woodlot…not so much when they get out and eat their prize roses by the door.
Again, don’t ask me how I know…:rolleyes:
Another aspect to consider: the way they browse, they also remove ladder fuels & ‘prune up’ the bottom of trees, opening up the forest floor.

Robert, what breed are your goats? And have you seen anything on some breeds being more prone to eating the brushy species than others? We haven’t historically seen many goats were I live, but in the past 12 to 15 years we have started seeing more and more Boer goats in our area.

From what little I have watched them they don’t seem to be too keen on eating the brush and forbs like the old Spanish goats did, but that is just a very casual observation. I have heard that the areas 300 or 400 miles west of me where they have always raised a whole lot of goats have also switched over to the Boer or Boer/Spanish cross and their loss to predators has soared. The thinking is that the larger, almost all white Boers are easier for the predators to see at night. I dunno, guess so.

I did see one thing that I never thought I would see and that is someone grazing goats behind a standard 5 strand barbed wire fence and they were staying put! There is a guy that has pasture land in the eastern gamma grass bottoms along the creek south of town where I live. He has about 50 or 60 Boer goats and he just puts them in one pasture or another just like they were cattle and I’ll be darned if they aren’t staying where he puts them; no gaurd dog or anything. That would NOT work with Spanish goats, they would be gone by the time he drove out the front gate. Haven’t figured out if the goats are eating the gamma grass or the weeds that are growing up in it. Have to investigate further.

Oldkat – I started with 3 dairy does – mostly Nubian/Saanen/Alpine w/ a dash or two of LaMancha – and 3 Boer x Spanish does (love those “bearded ladies”!). I then got a very tall Nubian x Alpine buck. After 4 years, I’ve got a nice blend of genes that has the heat-tolerance, weight, & multiple birthings of the Boer, the hardiness of the Spanish, and the height and added milk of the dairies. The white in the Boers & crosses makes it easier for me to se them on the mountain side…and face it, the predators can find them easy enough, regardless of color! 😡 But Boers are ‘short and squat’…and thus a lot slower – ‘devil (or predator) gets the hindmost! Just my opinion, really.
I’ve never noticed the Boers being picky eaters..but then mine are crossed w/ the Spanish blood. They can’t get as high up on the brush as I’d like them to (especially useful on the rose, to get all the hips – or “goat-candy”), which is the reason I added the dairy breeding. The breeds I’d like to add are:
* Cashmere = thick undercoat for winter survival
* Kiko = supposed to be every bit as good for meat production as the Boer w/ better feet
* Kinder = originally developed by a couple of women in western Washington in the 80s from a Pygmy buck and a dairy breed (I forget which one). A small dual-purpose goat that’s reknown for multiple births each time – as in, their record is 6! Lots of quads & quints…triplets are the norm – and plenty of rich milk to nurse them!!
For now, I’m happy w/ my “Pirates”. 😀
Oh, I suspect that your neighbor has that barbwire electrified…my Boers dance through 4-strand on their way to the equally sharp roses.
If anyone’s really interested in goats (I hope so, or else I REALLY overdid it on this post), there’s a university out of OK. I believe that has an excellent download on all things goatish for free.
Word of warning: keep the goats away from wild cherry, azealas, rhodedendrums (sp?), and, I believe, mt. laurels unless you want a dead goat.
Erika – I didn’t know that they like poison ivy…never noticed, before. Thanks! I’ll add that to the list I advertise.