Query: will goats eat thru a briar patch?

CAjerseychick · #1 09/19/13, 11:00 AM

Have an odd corner to our pasture-- the left corner triangle slice is actually the neighbors-- its filled in completely by a huge 25 x25 ft briar patch (himalaya berries) completely impenetrable-- actually when we had our 5ft cattle fence put in on that side-- it ends-- in the briar patch-- so that corner is actually not fenced. None of our escape artist dogs have ever attempted it (not sure why except maybe they get stuck)-- not sure even a cat could squeeze thru.
SO we will get goats (ok maybe not this week, am picky).... and are buying the moveable electric fence... but just wondering.... what its the likelihood of the goats eating their way out of the patch? Am told they eat the leaves not the canes and there are plenty of canes, I think it would take a backhoe to clear out that corner actually.... But it does abutt the main road so any outs would be dangerous.....

BarbadosSheep · #2 09/19/13, 11:02 AM

At my old house, I had a very dense briar patch of blackberries. They were very thick and VERY high, well over 10'. Over the course of the summer, the goats ate the entire patch down to the ground. And they kept the new sprouts trimmed off to the point that the entire patch finally died.

**mygoat** · #3 09/19/13, 11:02 AM

They can. They'll knock down the canes, too, even if they don't eat them - to get at the tall parts theycan't reach and to get further in to untouched canes.

dozedotz · #4 09/19/13, 11:05 AM

They absolutely have done it here! One of the biggest problems with goats is having ENOUGH land with enough forage.

CAjerseychick · #5 09/19/13, 11:15 AM

Ok that is good to know. DH will be thrilled- thats the main reason he wants goats (and they guy who helped us fence said he would need to rent a backhoe to get that corner fenced in -- even if neighbor was agreeable)-- any ideas than about that corner...? its an odd shape and swamping from the dang NID ditch across the street it floods and leaks and that corner is usu wet it also has a willow stand interspersed with the berries...just a mess...

Squeaky McMurdo · #6 09/19/13, 01:27 PM

They aren't going to eat the whole thing in one day so as long as you have a pen to put them in at night, you could probably just monitor their progress until it's eaten back enough to do some weed whacking.

Another alternative would be to put a moveable fence that they can get their heads through like cattle panels along the front of the briars and move it back as they eat it away.

Alice In TX/MO · #7 09/19/13, 06:59 PM

Mine will not eat rose hedge, aka McCartney Rose.