Goats eatting trees

[christie]

So I am considering goats! One lady I talked to about goats had told me that thry will kill your trees by stripping the bark.Iaked her if I could distract the behaivior {like I do w/ my horse}with hay. She said NO!
And that they actually prfer it over hay.
So I have a beautiful shaded paddock w/ mature maples, hickories, and some ever greens that they will share w/ a horse.
I want to make a wooded paddock for them that has tons of brush to eat, as well as mature trees.
And a grassy front lawn.
So tell me w/ all the options that I have for them, And if I rotate them regularly, and feed them hay free choice, they will kill my trees??
I love my trees, we collect maple syrup too, so I don't want that to happen.
I see pictures on other threads of goats in pastures w/ live trees so tell me its possible...

[mygoat]

They'll strip the bark off of some trees -they especially like my apples. If you collect syrup, they're sure to get into the syrup and will probably also strip the bark off of that.

goats won't get distracted by hay - they're naturally browsers and prefer leaves over grass any day. Put them on heavily wooded lot and dry lot them during the winter so that they're either occupied with actual growth OR can't reach the trees on dry lot.

[fishhead]

You may have to exclude them from the maples during the sap run but I don't know for sure. Mine stripped the bark from young maple last winter but their pen was small.

[Alice In TX/MO]

Yes, they will eat the bark off your trees.

[mpillow]

mine strip maple, ash, cedar& pine

[sungirl]

Yes & No, ours will only eat the leaves on the trees. If you add some young trees they will eat all the bark off and kill them. I use small square chicken wire wrapped around my trees I don't trust them with.

[gerald77]

mine love the evergreens. stripped a baby one clean of it's bark. only tree i had. caught them in a ditch working on another one. i've heard of some giving them fallen branches to work on.

[Freeholder]

They will eat the bark off of trees, though they like some better than others. If there is lots of brush in the area for them to chew on, they will leave the trees alone, but when the brush runs out, be prepared to protect the trees somehow. They wouldn't bark them to death all at once -- if you are observant, you will be able to see when they start working on the trees, and either wrap them with wire, or put electric fence around them -- or move the goats to another area. They are browsers, like deer, and prefer tree branches over grass and hay any day.

Kathleen

[christie]

thanks, something to think about! thanks

[crowinghen]

I only have one or two trees in each of the pastures. Right before I move them ( I rotate pastures) I rub goat poop on the tree that keeps them from eating the bark. Not practical for lots of trees, and the neighbors look at me a little funny, but it works here.

Susie

[christie]

may be simple but how do you rub poop all over trees? W/ out getting bloddy knockles?!! lol

[fishhead]

Mix it in a bucket of water and use a paint brush.

[DQ]

my goats thought heaven had delivered candy just for them when the icestorm felled hundreds of branches for them to strip of bark. I use chicken wire around the keeper trees.