Goats for clearing land

324 Views 11 Replies 8 Participants Last post by Orchardsmith, 7 d ago

Roothawg

Discussion Starter · 9 d ago

Howdy folks. We are getting ready to embark on a new phase of our life. We are about 5 years out from retirement. We have 10 acres that we just purchased that are heavily treed and covered in underbrush. I would like to start clearing this out and I have heard that goats are a good alternative to chemicals or cutting with a deforester. The goal is to get the property to be more usable without clear cutting it. I want to keep the trees for obvious reasons.

My question is this: I have never owned a goat. I have raised horses, poultry etc. but never goats. The property is remote and I will have to live elsewhere while clearing. I have thought about building temporary pens to house them, but I worry about predators. We mainly have to contend with coyotes here in Oklahoma. I have some stock panels I could use for temp fencing.

This is very rugged terrain I am talking about. Lots of thick foliage and no power yet. I could maybe drive out every 3 days to check on them. I was thinking maybe of using the 275 gallon food grade totes for water. It's not going to be easy to move the portable fencing, so do you have any ideas ? Solar electric? I would have to find a clearing for the solar panel or create one.

Also, would you suggest Boer goats for this venture?

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painterswife

· #2 · 9 d ago

You might be better off contracting a company that does this with their own goats.

They will bring them in, fence as needed and be there for a short period of time.

Goats On The Go®

Goats On The Go® and its affiliates throughout the U.S. (and beyond) use goats to control nuisance and invasive vegetation on customers’ properties. No matter what you call it — targeted grazing, prescribed grazing, rxgrazing, conservation grazing, goat browsing, goat rental, rent-a-goat, goatscapin

www.goatsonthego.com

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Roothawg

Discussion Starter · #3 · 9 d ago

Wow, whodathunkit. That's pretty resourceful. Looks like no one in Oklahoma does it.

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GTX63

· #4 · 9 d ago

Goats will gnaw on bark, so there is that.
Goats don't need 3 days to figure out mischief. Sometimes turning your back is enough.
Yes, goats are an excellent source for clearing heavy brush and they are happy to do it. I highly recommend goats for brush cutting.
However, unless you have a support system ie neighbors, goats are not employees who work well unsupervised.
In 3 days, you can lose your entire herd to predators, bad fencing, health issues, etc.
I strongly caution against any temporary fencing with goats. If a goat learns how to break thru flimsy fence, all fencing after that would be considered temporary.
My suggestion would be to brush hog, burn or hire it out for everything until you are settled on the property.

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Roothawg

Discussion Starter · #5 · 9 d ago

Thanks. It may not be feasible until we are on site.

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Alice In TX/MO

· #6 · 9 d ago

Ditto on GTX

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BadOregon

· #7 · 8 d ago

Everything GTX said. My goats manage to get in trouble/do stupid stuff even when I am right here on the property.
I can't even imagine leaving them for days at a time. Alone. With all that area. And predators to boot. No, no ,no.

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Pony

· #8 · 8 d ago

Goats are lovely. Goats are good at clearing brush. As others have already noted, goats are good for finding mischief.

They really do not do well when left to their own devices.

I do encourage you to seriously consider goats for your farmstead, but not if you cannot be there to monitor them. Would not be fair to you or to the goats.

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Orchardsmith

· #9 · 8 d ago

Roothawg said:
Howdy folks. We are getting ready to embark on a new phase of our life. We are about 5 years out from retirement. We have 10 acres that we just purchased that are heavily treed and covered in underbrush. I would like to start clearing this out and I have heard that goats are a good alternative to chemicals or cutting with a deforester. The goal is to get the property to be more usable without clear cutting it. I want to keep the trees for obvious reasons.

My question is this: I have never owned a goat. I have raised horses, poultry etc. but never goats. The property is remote and I will have to live elsewhere while clearing. I have thought about building temporary pens to house them, but I worry about predators. We mainly have to contend with coyotes here in Oklahoma. I have some stock panels I could use for temp fencing.

This is very rugged terrain I am talking about. Lots of thick foliage and no power yet. I could maybe drive out every 3 days to check on them. I was thinking maybe of using the 275 gallon food grade totes for water. It's not going to be easy to move the portable fencing, so do you have any ideas ? Solar electric? I would have to find a clearing for the solar panel or create one.

Also, would you suggest Boer goats for this venture?

No to solar electric. No to Boer goats. The premise is faulty. When you get out there, fence and clear a little bit at a time. Until then, don't try to 'clear land' with goats.

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WestCountryR&R

· #10 · 8 d ago

Goats will work great for clearing that brush, but you better wait until you're there to supervise on a daily basis. A good fence can keep them in and coyotes out, but you'll need to be there to make sure unexpected problems don't wipe out your herd while you're away.

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Orchardsmith

· #11 · 8 d ago

Have a look at the gallery. Looks like they're pretty good at weeds, but . . .

Goat Gallery

Goat grazing before and after photos, videos, and social media feed about weed and brush control with goats. Plus, some simply great goat pics.

www.goatsonthego.com

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Orchardsmith

· #12 · 7 d ago

So as I said, they're okay with weeds and with taking the foliage off of brush, but since the original question was about using goats to CLEAR brush, I'm sticking with my original ideas. When the goats take off the leaves and most of the weeds, you'll still have to go in and clear the woody parts of the brush. You could cut it, grub out the roots, pull stuff out with a tractor, etc. Granted, it will be easier if the foliage is off, but still . . .

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