Goats to clear land

[ansinfamily]

Hi everyone, My husband and I just bought an abandoned 12 acre farm. The fields are overgrown (some weeds being 5+ feet tall). I've read that goats are good to clear land. We are not in a real hurry to get it cleared and do not have a tractor as of yet so we were thinking of trying goats. In the future we would like to milk but we have a lot of work to do before we get to this point. My question is - what breeds are best for clearing the land? I've thought about getting electric netting fence so that I can move them around the fields and keep a closer eye on them. Does anyone have any experience with this?
Thank you,
Jodi

[Ken in Maine]

I would suggest a meat breed... Boers or boer crosses. They are really good at browsing and have strong legs. Dairy breeds will work but they tend to have long, fine boned legs that often do not work well for heavy terrain.

[simi-steading]

I would think trying to learn about goats while also trying to get your new place in order would be a lot of added stress you'll probably not want all at once.

I'd think something like a Stihl or Tanaka Brush Cutter with a blade on it would be faster and a lot less maintenance while first starting out... You'll be spending a lot for the fence, the time moving it and the goats around, carrying water, and the cost of other feed you'll need...

Cheaper in the long run too to get a brush cutter.....

I'm in the middle of buying a place that is in the same condition you are talking about... I'm buying a brush cutter, even though eventually we'll more than likely have goats too.... Just too many other things to deal with than having to deal with animals at the same time.

[southerngurl]

Just get whatever kind of goat you are going to want in the future. They will all eat brush and eat it well.

[ansinfamily]

Thanks for the advice! I was thinking about boer/nubian cross. I've also heard the boer/kiko cross is good. I've always loved nubians tho. I had a large rabbitry when I lived in FL and the neighbor behind me had nubians that would peak over the fence for lovin every time I was out with the rabbits.

[Kits&Kids]

The boer/nubian cross would be a good choice. All my girls are of that cross from f1 to f3 and they only get better in time.

[houndlover]

My dairy goats do a great job of brushing. There is a guy near me that rents out goats, he uses that netting but he also keeps an LGD in with them because while the netting can keep the goats in, it won't keep a determined predator out.