Anyone who has
started or managed a homestead knows the many hours spent trying to decide
what type of livestock that they want to invest their time, money and
energy into producing. This means that each species and breed type
must be considered for their usefulness and productivity as related to the
current homesteading plans. Versatility in a species is a very
important part of production, and one of the most versatile species chosen
each and every day for the farming homestead is the goat. The goat
can offer more for the dollar than nearly any other animal ever raised.
Goats come in many shapes, types and colors, while being easier and
cheaper to manage than cattle or other, larger types of livestock.
Goats are most often used for brush and shrub clean up, fiber, milk,
cheese, soap, meat, driving, packing, and even as personal companions.
They have been the livestock species of choice for thousands of years and
their popularity continues to grow.
Most homesteads
require the clearing of brush and weeds. Often this is required to
be able to use the land for certain pre-planned purposes – or even just to
keep this undesirable type of growth maintained. The good news is
that the goat is the perfect animal for the job! Goats prefer weeds
and brush to even the most luscious of grasses. Given the choice
between grass and weeds, the goat will choose the weed every time.
Goats are so proficient at clearing undesirable vegetation that they are
often used as fire prevention in many areas that are otherwise too
difficult for people to clear. Goats nibble and remove the thick
undergrowth of combustible weeds and shrubs as well as low tree branches,
all of which are the most used fodder of wild fires. Goats can walk
and maneuver the steepest and roughest terrains imaginable, browsing even
poisonous vegetation as they go. These are the areas in which
fighting fires or landscaping are the most difficult, even with tractors,
trucks and power tools. Thus, goats are often called on to clear
these areas before they can become fire-hazards.
The main challenge of
using goats for weed and brush maintenance is the problem of keeping them
in the area that you want cleared and not finding them roaming wherever
they please. Goats do not do well without some type of barrier to
contain them. The least expensive and easiest type of fencing for
weed and brush control when using goats is a temporary electric fence.
Make sure the wires are spaced close enough that the goats can’t slip
between wires, under the bottom wire or over the top one. The
experience that our family has had with using goats for weed and brush
control has definitely been a positive one, however we have found it best
to take the goats back to an enclosure close to the house in the evenings.
This is due to the fact that predators are more prone to attack goats at
night and we have found that it is safer for the goats to take this
preventive measure, otherwise there is a risk of losing a few goats to
predation.
When choosing which
breeds to use for brush and weed control, any breed of goat will work; but
beware that if you allow a dairy goat to consume this type of diet it can
flavor the taste and smell of the milk from lactating does. This
warning comes from personal experience -- a few years ago one of our dairy
does ate an entire patch of wild onions. Needless to say, no one
wanted to drink her milk for a few days afterwards. Also, keep in
mind that hair goats have the tendency to collect certain types of briers
and vegetation in their coats if the area is very overgrown. If this
happens, you will need to brush and clean the goat to preserve its
quality. This can be a tiresome and difficult job if you have to
complete it very often.
