how much does a goat eat every day?

[NMDemDist2]

I have so many weeds after all this rain I need something

:banghead:

[mike_c]

1. we need some of that rain....

Not that I really WANT it-- we had so much in spring that I'm quite happy with the dry season lasting for another couple of months-- but there are lots of big fires nearby and I'm sure the fire crews would love some rain.

[China_cat]

2. Would depend on the weeds.

Goats are really a lot more picky about their food and water than most people believe.

[Tanuki]

3. since you asked...

http://www.goatconnection.com/articles/publish/article_52.shtml

"How many goats can I place on my property?
A general recommendation is 6 to 10 goats per acre for stocking year-round. This rate will vary with the quantity and quality of forage and browse available. Browse includes shrubs, woody plants, weeds and briars. "

[NMDemDist2]

6. ooo I forgot about flies

what I don't need is more flies. they are better now that the old owners have removed their horse, but my neighbor has goats and hogs and there's still flies

:sigh:

maybe I can borrow my neighbor's goats eh?

[hermetic]

4. Oh, I want a goat

I did bookmark that page mentioned so I can do real research when the time comes. But I visited some people in Oregon once who had a goat. He was so intelligent and friendly. And he ate up the weeds in their yard like crazy. Plus they had a she-goat for milk and cheese. What a good idea. So, goats for all, I say. They can even pull a cart.

:hippie:

[pinto]

5. Here's an interesting "background" piece.

http://www.noble.org/Ag/Livestock/GoatVegetation/

[NMDemDist2]

7. thanks! that was a good piece n/t

[wakemeupwhenitsover]

8. Don't go there!

Seriously, we had a goat that jumped on everthing. He jumped on my car. I didn't realized it at the time, but when he jumped on it he jammed the windshield wipers. So, I'm driving down the highway, minding my own business when it starts to pour. I flip on the wipers & nothing. Nada. Zip. I can't see jack squat & am finally able to pull over to the side where I figured out what happened.

Of course we got the goat from friends because they were sick & tired of him. When he began to kill their favorite apple tree they called & asked if we wanted it. Not having a favorite apple tree, we said yes. Big mistake. I'll never have a goat again.

[pinto]

9. (I hear the males are especially mean and, stink to high heaven.)

[wakemeupwhenitsover]

10. Just like a few men I know. (The smelly part. lol)

I don't remember him stinky & he wasn't mean. Just got into everything. (Again, like a few men I know.)

[Horse with no Name]

16. Not if you have them fixed

Our vet charged me $5 to fix our goat.

[hipneck]

17. Not necessarily

The males are generally more aggressive, but goats of either gender will be more friendly the more human interaction they have. Many people keep wethered ("fixed" - castrated) males as pets, or even draft animals.

Intact males ("bucks") tend to be a bit rougher, and they do stink - largely because they perfume themselves by peeing on their legs. We had a buck visit for about half an hour to service our does, and you could smell him for a couple of weeks, both on the girls and on the grass where he peed.

[lindisfarne]

11. They're using them in Southern CA to eat vegetation in areas of fire

risk - from what I understand, they'll pretty much eat anything.

[MuseRider]

15. This is what they are using

in the Flint Hills of Kansas for weed and bramble control.



We are looking into goats for when we move to the farm next year. Lots of brush to munch on and we are going to be busy getting our gardens up and going and my chicken moat (thanks to some DUer who posted about that) built.

[LWolf]

12. I'm working on that, too.

I don't have a good answer for you, since I've never kept goats. I know that goats are really hard on fences, and will eat brush and trees as well as grassy stuff.

I have 6 acres of weeds, cheat grass, and other grasses. I picked up some lambs in July, way too late to help this year but the first that were available. I was picky; I wanted sheep, because they are easier on fences. I wanted hair sheep, because I didn't want to have to shear them. Hair sheep are rare in these parts. I had to get on a waiting list and drive 4.5 hours one way to pick them up. They spent the first week in the front yard while I was finishing the pasture fence, and here is what I learned:

These sheep (I don't know about ALL breeds) browse shrubs as well as eat grass. If the grass and weeds are dry, they want nothing to do with them. They pruned my roses and lilacs for me, which was fine. They left the bark alone.

If it's green, they eat it down to bare stubs in the ground. :D

Right now I have them out on two pastures; boys in one, girls in the other. I got a ram, so I can have more without the drive. I got him a wether to keep him company. They browse the really poor stuff out there all day, and I give them a small ration of grain in the evening, plus an all-in-one mineral lick. The grain is to get them used to being handled. They come to grain, and have learned to be touched and brushed, although I can't say they like it. I have halters on them and can catch them if need be; leading them anywhere is a 2-person job. They need someone behind them; they don't go forward with a tug.

My family is highly amused; they sit on the front porch and watch me head out to the pasture in the evenings, with lambs trotting single-file behind me, bleating all the way.

I'll know better what kind of help they can be next spring, when they are full grown and the new grass is just coming on.

[wakemeupwhenitsover]

13. We have sheep.

Smart move getting the hairless ones. Finding a shearer is an unbelievable pain. The stories I could tell. :(

[LWolf]

14. I'll bet.

We've got various wool sheep everywhere, and my place used to be a fiber goat ranch. I won't rant about cleaning up after years of goats that weren't managed properly.

I ended up with St. Croix sheep; the only other choice in the state that I could find were cross-bred barbados, with big horns added. I wanted mild mannered, polled sheep. So far, so good, and worth the drive to pick them up.

http://www.ansi.okstate.edu/breeds/sheep/stcroix/index.htm