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05/21/11, 08:42 AM
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Join Date: May 2011
Location: Eastern plains, Colorado
Posts: 42
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New to Goats
Hi, I'm a newbie here (and this is my first post).
We're thinking about getting some goats. We live on the eastern plains of Colorado. We currently raise Belted Galloway cattle. I'm looking at goats for two principle reasons; meat and weed control. I have some questions for the experts here...
Will goats eat yucca? We currently range our cattle on about 40 acres divided up into several pastures. We fenced the pastures with a pretty typical 5 wire fence (barbed). The fence is rock solid for cows, but I know goats are another story altogether. What would we need to do with the fencing to put goats out in some of the pastures?
BTW...this is a fantastic forum (I've been reading it for some time). I very much look forward to participating.
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05/21/11, 09:31 AM
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II Corinthians 5:7
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Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Virginia
Posts: 8,102
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Welcome to this forum. I trust you will find it as helpful as I have.
Meat goats would work well with your cattle; however, goats are more curious than cows. This may mean your "barbed" fencing could be problematic in creating cuts you will need to tend to to keep your goats healthy. (This of course depends on what you have growing next to that fence on the other side from where the goats would be.) I would recommend placing only what you will slaughter that first year to see how they do.
I don't know what "yucca" is; so you might want to talk with your ag dept to see if it would be poisonous to goats. I suspect, if your cows eat it, then it probably will not harm the rumen of a goat.
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05/21/11, 09:32 AM
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Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Southeast MO
Posts: 1,075
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We have yucca around our place. The goats don't touch it. But - they have a lot of other browse to keep them occupied. I've seen several feed supplements that are "yucca flavored", so I assume they would eat it if they wanted it.
As far as fence goes, I've only ever done woven wire. My girls would laugh at me if I tried to keep them in with strands of anything, I think. 
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April
Southeast Missouri
Nubians, Boers, Jersey cows and a whole lotta ticks
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05/21/11, 09:42 AM
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More dharma, less drama.
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Join Date: May 2002
Location: Texas Coastal Bend/S. Missouri
Posts: 30,482
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Alice
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"No great thing is created suddenly." ~Epictitus
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05/21/11, 11:49 AM
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Katie
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Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Twining, Mi.
Posts: 19,930
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Welcome to our wonderful Goat forum! Lots of great folks with lots of great info here.
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05/21/11, 12:48 PM
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Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: North Dakota
Posts: 1,713
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Welcome!!!!!
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~Candice~
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05/21/11, 12:58 PM
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Join Date: May 2011
Location: Eastern plains, Colorado
Posts: 42
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Actually, the cows don't eat the yucca, that's why I was wondering about goats. People say cows will eat it, but they've got to be pretty darn hungry. We've sure got plenty of it and I'd like to find an effective means of removal (e.g. not me).
Anyone who has ever tried yucca removal I'm sure will agree that it is an effort of epic proportion!
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05/21/11, 07:36 PM
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Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: West Texas-we had rain!!
Posts: 647
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With the lack of rain this year, yucca is about all the green we do have, that and the mesquite.Yucca dining appears to be a matter of taste-some of our goats do and some don't. It's NOT on the top of their list, especially the large prickly ones (ouch), but they will eat young tender ones to the ground.They eat the dried seed pods like they are candy. I use an axe,cut the large yucca to the ground and when it re-sprouts,it's tender enough, they'll readily eat it.If you don't know what yucca is--rejoice--you probably actually get rain.
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05/22/11, 09:41 AM
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Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Southeast MO
Posts: 1,075
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I'm digging up yucca today out of a bed I'm converting from "pretty" to "edible". Mind you, these are the same yucca plants I've been digging up for the last three years. I don't know how in the world that much root system regenerates in just a year's time.
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April
Southeast Missouri
Nubians, Boers, Jersey cows and a whole lotta ticks
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05/22/11, 09:45 AM
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Join Date: May 2011
Location: Eastern plains, Colorado
Posts: 42
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Quote:
Originally Posted by noeskimo
With the lack of rain this year, yucca is about all the green we do have, that and the mesquite.Yucca dining appears to be a matter of taste-some of our goats do and some don't. It's NOT on the top of their list, especially the large prickly ones (ouch), but they will eat young tender ones to the ground.They eat the dried seed pods like they are candy. I use an axe,cut the large yucca to the ground and when it re-sprouts,it's tender enough, they'll readily eat it.If you don't know what yucca is--rejoice--you probably actually get rain.
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Roger that!!
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05/22/11, 09:47 AM
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Join Date: May 2011
Location: Eastern plains, Colorado
Posts: 42
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Quote:
Originally Posted by April
I'm digging up yucca today out of a bed I'm converting from "pretty" to "edible". Mind you, these are the same yucca plants I've been digging up for the last three years. I don't know how in the world that much root system regenerates in just a year's time.
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Just wait until you've got about 100 acres of them. I can't, for the life of me, understand why people actually BUY and PLANT these things!! On purpose!!
Good Grief!
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05/22/11, 12:02 PM
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Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: central south dakota
Posts: 4,096
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and another fun yucca thing, they made nice shade for rattle snakes. had them both at the last place we lived. yet another reason i didn't sob one lick when we had to leave it. i believe the yucca's tips can also give a person a nasty infection.
as for planting them, i also seen where they are selling creeping jenny in a pot! unreal!
and if you're really wanting rid of yucca, buffalo like them. big buffalo pasture near us, the pasture next to it is FULL of yucca, the buffalo pasture is wiped clean. sooo, how bad do you want rid of them?? buffalo need a fence like no other!
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