Permaculture and goats

IndyGardenGal · #1 12/19/12, 03:51 PM

http://gardening.streamshare.com/posts/1139

Thoughts? I'm wondering if we can incorporate more permaculture into our farm, and feed goats too. I know saplings would need to be protected, but established areas? If you do run your goats through wooded/brushy areas, how often do you move them to prevent total destruction?

Alice In TX/MO · #2 12/19/12, 04:22 PM

Mine wander in the woods when I take them on walks. They grab a leaf here, a leaf there, an a twig another place. If you aren't overstocked, you don't have to worry. If they are in a confined area, they will eat everything.

Backfourty,MI. · #3 12/19/12, 05:24 PM

Both of our pasture areas have a lot of woods but we don't keep a lot of goats so they do well in the area & don't really Kill everything off. Plus by the time winter's over & spring is here so they can go back out to the pastures it always amazes me all the saplings & bushes that have grown back or so many more new ones coming up.

chamoisee · #4 12/19/12, 05:40 PM

I ended up cutting and feeding woody material such as tree species that could be coppiced, prunings, garden thinnings and leftovers, etc, as well as growing fodder crops for them. I've heard that angora goats don't climb, so have entertained the idea of wrapping trunks and seeing if that would work in an orchard scenario, but am skeptical!

ani's ark · #5 12/23/12, 07:36 PM

We've got about 20 poplar trees in a shelter belt along our fenceline that are ambrosia to the goats, but far too tall for our property. So we are planning on cutting them most way down, using the trunks for firewood, feeding the goats all the leaves, chipping the branches and coppicing the stumps, as they sprout really fast. This would put a large amount of tree fodder available for them and still work as a windbreak. I guess it depends on the trees you have, and how many.