Goats for a weekend - browse back bush

Chicken Ninja · Post by **Chicken Ninja** » Thu Jul 21, 2016 9:44 am

Goats do a great job of mowing down poison ivy! Just watch you don't get all cuddly with them... The oil ends up all over them as they wash, and definiely no goat kisses

Post by **WLLady** » Thu Jul 21, 2016 10:17 am

Goats are escape artists but i wouldnt say theyre overly noisy. Noisy is cows in breeding season. Or chickens when someone unknown walks into my barn. Or guineas. All the time lol

JP* · Post by JP* » Thu Jul 21, 2016 10:32 am

Well, I guess the only way to find out is to get a pair. Wethers would be preferred I think.

madison174 · Post by **madison174** » Thu Jul 21, 2016 11:15 am

We just got two pygmys, my husband is not impressed but relented because my daughter was so excited. If they eat poison ivy they may have redeemed themselves! The one is leash trained, the other is a work in progress. I bet my daughter finds a way to make money from her dad on this one!

kenya · Post by **kenya** » Thu Jul 21, 2016 7:05 pm

Ha! Ha! They are escape artists extraordinare , mine got out and ate all the neighbours sweet corn. I think if I got one now I'd tie it where I wanted it. Could use one too to eat us the scrub and weeds, will they eat buttercup?

Chicken Ninja · Post by **Chicken Ninja** » Fri Jul 22, 2016 9:59 am

Ours have eaten Giant Hogweed (the natsy invasive) so I think they would have no problem with butter cup! :smile: Goats aren't neccessarily super picky about what they eat, more about when in the season they eat it. Our goats eat basically any plant they find - but they only eat them at certain times in the plants' growing cycles. Sumac trees are only a certain time in the spring, no other time of the year. So you would have to communicate a lot with the owner about which weekend to bring them over.

baronrenfrew · Post by **baronrenfrew** » Fri Jul 22, 2016 10:35 am

How to deal with noxious weeds:

1. Herbicide: poision the plant (and the surrounding environment) and hope it doesn't become resistant to the poision (roundup is no longer effective vs many weeds)

2. Burn it: assuming you can burn the roots and not burn down anything else you don't want burned

3. Tillage: drive over it with a disc and hope that does the job; or pull it out by hand

4. Find an animal that likes to eat the plant and let them eat it (assuming you can control the animal: i.e. Japanese beetles)

My place is overrun with cypress spurge: somehow introduced from Europe and spread by sand/gravel operations especially with road building. Its toxic to cattle and is moving from Braeside outwards up highway ditches. I've noticed it west near Cobden, and now some is past the Mississippi river towards Pakenham. And there's a big patch at Cavanaugh's pit in Carleton Place. It looks harmless but we have 12 acres of pasture now out of commission. I hate to spray roundup (nothing has been sprayed here in 40 years) so tillage and spot burning (with a garden propane flame burner) on agenda next year.
It grows a foot tall, leaves like needles from a spruce tree, grows ahead of the grass in spring, little flowers start yellow and go reddish.

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JP* · Post by JP* » Mon Jul 25, 2016 9:45 am

I have seen the cypress spurge but I didn't know what it is. Reading the OMAFRA website now and it is a real baddy.

Epona · Post by **Epona** » Tue Jul 26, 2016 1:23 pm

Whatever you do, don't' burn poison ivy, regardless of the time of year. Fumes are highly poisonous. Man, I hate the stuff w a passion. A tip from someone who is constantly in the beeping stuff. Windex immediately applied to clothes and exposed skin is a life saver.

JP* · Post by JP* » Tue Jul 26, 2016 2:06 pm

Thanks for the reminder Epona. I have checked out a few ads on Kijiji for goats but their haven't been many ads close to Renfrew. I think I should be able to handle 2 wethers....maybe even keep them as pets.

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