Clearing Pine Brush

[Genevieve M.]

My friend is buying a new house on 5 acres. All of the property is covered in waist high pine trees. She wanted to buy some goats from us to clear it, but my daughter said that goats could not eat that much pine.

Is there a kind of animal that would do well there, or does she just need to rent a tractor?

[fishhead]

My goats love jackpine and will eat red pine and will nibble white pine. It really depends on the pine species and the goats. You could always bring some boughs to the goats for their opinion.

But....is your friend willing to make the commitment it takes to keep goats healthy?

[meleahbee]

My goaties love pine needles. The only things I know about them is that you should not let pregnant does eat them because it can cause abortion. The other problem is that they are not very nutritionally dense. They are high in vitamin C, but goats don't need vitamin C in their diets. So as long they are being fed good hay, allowing them to browse on pine trees sounds ok. I just think it would take a while because mine don't really devour them, just nibble on the needles here and there.

[big coop]

She could have a land clearing company come in and mow them down.
The results are less damaging to the land than dozers plus the trees turn into mulch and replenish the soils nutrients. The mulch also holds moisture and prohibits erosion until the new grass takes hold.

[KSALguy]

i dont see why you couldnt put a couple goats out there for a while and let them clean up as much as they want/can, i am sure there is more than just pine out there and probably alot of brush and vine growth if its anything like here, the goats will clean alot of it up, use it as free grazing for a while and then bring them back to your pasture, that way they dont have to make a commitment to keeping goats and you can get free forage for your heard.

[Scrounger]

My area is overrun with Eastern Red Cedar trees. They are considered weeds in this part of the country. I had several 2'-3' high ones in a pasture I opened up for goats. They RAN to them and DEVOURED them. The bigger ones, say 6'-8' tall. Were stripped bare as high up as they could reach. Then, they would CLIMB into the tree and reach further!
All of the cedar/pine trees anywhere near the goats get treated in the same manner - bare up to the last 2'-3' feet of the tree. They will even eat the bark.

They will sell their mother to the mob for Hedge (Osage Orange) leaves, too, despite all the thorns....

[Chinook]

If she was willing to put time into making sure the goats are healthy and stay healthy it should be fine. My buck and the kids eat all the pine they want and they love it (I make sure the does can't reach it so that the milk doesn't taste like it, but it's okay for them too).

[southerngurl]

Originally Posted by meleahbee

My goaties love pine needles. The only things I know about them is that you should not let pregnant does eat them because it can cause abortion. The other problem is that they are not very nutritionally dense. They are high in vitamin C, but goats don't need vitamin C in their diets. So as long they are being fed good hay, allowing them to browse on pine trees sounds ok. I just think it would take a while because mine don't really devour them, just nibble on the needles here and there.

No, pine does not cause abortion in goats. It will in cattle. My goats eat tons of it while pregnant.

And yes, goats will clear this property of pine with a big smile on their face.

[MisFitFarm]

Originally Posted by southerngurl

No, pine does not cause abortion in goats. It will in cattle. My goats eat tons of it while pregnant.

And yes, goats will clear this property of pine with a big smile on their face.

I agree completely. I've never had a goat abort from eating pine. They will do ANYTHING to get to the pines!