goats and woods growing too bushy

My woods needs livestock, namely goats to clean it up. Marginal fence, that being said will goats come in from 10 acres in evening for small amount of grain. Do not want to raise for human food, just rough goats. Should I consider very small breeds or larger sale barn cheap goats?

You MIGHT have trouble with the "marginal" fences, but if they get enough to eat, and figure out where grain and housing is, they SHOULD come on in. Just get cheap "scrub goats" from the sale barn - just try to get healthy ones. If they get out into your yard, the first thing to go will be your wife's rose bushes....

I kept pigmy goats for a while. They are good eaters, but bad lawn mowers. They always want what's on the other side of the fence. I had to build and build that fence to keep them in. Finally gave up at 6' tall and they could still get over it. Wouldn't go anywhere, but the one that didn't get over would sit and scream that the other goats were out and she wasn't.

The last that I heard, the Navajo herders were charging the Forest Service $750 an acre to bring in their goats to clear the forests of brush, plus volunteers had to haul water for the goats. Then in 2-3 years the goats get to come back and do it again. Keeping down the brush reduces the chance of forest fires.

Spanish goats are known to be the best for cleaning up brush. They love poison ivy......as for fencing, the saying is if
the fence can't hold water, it won't hold goats.

(quoted from post at 07:52:41 06/28/15) Spanish goats are known to be the best for cleaning up brush. They love poison ivy......as for fencing, the saying is if
the fence can't hold water, it won't hold goats.

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Exactly. If a goat cannot jump over a fence, it will find a way to crawl through, or under. I've even seen them CLIMB a fence that was too tall to jump.

Wife has the filthy things. We have good woven wire fences. Seldom get out except when the kids leave gates unfastened then they destroy everything in the garden- shrubs around the house-young trees in the orchard etc. They are not hard to train to come to shelled corn and water. GOOD LUCK

they will come to food and shelter, mine hated the rain, as for fence you can't beat running a couple strands of electric at 10 inches and about 18 inches....never had one out after i installed the electric. but don't scimp on the charger

I run about 150 meat goats mostly Kikos if you don't have good fences don't get goats
they'll worry you to death. It takes 48" woven wire to really be able to keep them.I now fence only with 16ft long stock panels easier and cheaper than good quality woven wire to put up all cost figured in.I run them with cattle so calves can't get thru the fence either which is a big plus for me.Also around my area 'cheap' goats are now $2/lb and up to $3/lb you can can pay for a pretty good fence in a hurry with those prices.I average
about 1.6 kids a year off each doe.Also if you're where Coyotes are you'll need a Livestock Guard Dog NOT a herding dog to protect them.

Sheep will do a good job as well, find some local producers. You can probably get someone to bring in their own livestock for free.

Neighbor, I have raised several over the years BUT IF FENCE IS MARGINAL GOOD LUCK KEEPING THEM IN. I found that ONCE they get out there's no holding them after that. Yes electric can work once they get accustomed to it. They are BROWSWER not GRAZERS so will clean a place up and yes they will come when called (once accustomed) to feed and shelter not a problem.

John T

Goats will clean up the woods pretty good and will come to food if taught that it will be there. But you need to have a fence that twill hold water or they will be out 10 minutes after you let them in the area. I have had goats for decades and do move them around to clean up areas.

My ex-neighbor had goats for about six months. Once in a while they went home, but the occasion was rare. I couldn't keep them in with GOOD electric fence, but by the time I tried to contain them, they were used to roaming the neighborhood at will. All livestock will get out occasionally - everyone who owns stock will get their turn. Occasionally is ok - constantly is unacceptable - I finally offered an ultimatum - you ship them or I will. They were gone the next day. Marginal fences make bad neighbors.

I thought I had tight fence till we got goats. I got tired of traffic stopping to tell me I had goats out near the highway, so I built a smaller enclosure with hog panels and that kept them in pretty well. I would let them out in the afternoon to feed around in the yard then would put them back up with grain. We eventually got rid of them because one of my kids was allergic to them.

There is no longer any such thing as a cheap goat, even a nasty old Billy or a shell of a nanny. They are all worth tall cash. My wife just sold several at $5/lb hanging weight,

If you have marginal fences, you are toast. Mow some lames and use one of the electrified net fences to hold them. They hate electricity.

and of course for every rule there's an exception. In this case MY goats.

I've got a way overkill sized charger, three grounding rods - all done right. It'll zap the living daylights out of even my draft horses.

But the goats figured out not to touch it with their faces - they can just duck under it and slide right through, the hair being a good enough insulator to keep from getting too painfully shocked.

They'll still get a good jolt, but they just don't care - they'll do A-N-Y-T-H-I-N-G to be on the OTHER side of a fence. And if ONE of them gets through - the others would rather DIE than be left behind. Once they figured out how to minimize the shock, it was all over - the usual comedy show of me going around to the neighbors apologizing and offering money for all the decorative and garden plants the goats ate. They will ALWAYS go for the expensive stuff first - it's not even murphy's law - it's a universal, cosmic goat truth - THAT is what they like to eat, a well kept rich green shrub or deliciously fertilized garden plant is totally irresistible.

I wouldn't use the electric netting, I can too easily picture them getting their horns stuck in it - and dying a pretty cruel and unusual death.

As others have said - 16' cattle/hog panels - 4' high. You can get some at tractor supply for about $20 per panel - a great buy. Mount those tightly to solidly planted posts every 8'. I've got pygmies and dwarfs - so that's tall enough to contain them. If you have bigger goats, you might need to add something for more height.

As others have said - you just can not over-stress the importance of SOLID fencing.

Those heavy panels are also strong enough to keep the goats from wrecking them over time by rubbing on them. With weaker fence, like weld-wire, they rub and rub every day until the fence bows out and finally splits.

Give them a big enough area - cover to get out of sun/rain - keep them well fed and watered, and all that will reduce (not eliminate) their desire to escape. They seem to prefer to be at the top of a hill, so if that's an option, that's where you want to locate them.

Feed them nightly with grain or table scraps and they will learn to come to you for food when you have a bucket (often the only way to catch the inevitable escapee).

By the way - coyotes WILL take a goat, so keeping them protected is even more work - you really should have a goat house you can lock them up in nightly - but that can be a pain in the butt.

Lol! Was going to add my 2 cents worth about "marginal" fences for goats, but the subject has been covered adequately. If out and about, they will devastate gardens, shrubbery and small orchard trees.

Why, why? I would not have a damned goat on the place. I would let 1,000 acres grow up in brush before I would own a goat.

What is wrong with it growing up? Wildlife like brush. The woolier the better for wildlife. Leave well enough alonge.

Do you get the impression that I hate goats?

Gene

So why have them at all?