indianabuckman
Member
I never been around goats so I was told that they will eat briars so will they eat thistles?
- Thread starter indianabuckman
- Start date
DoubleO7
Well-known Member
- Location
- Crystal River, FL
If they are starving.
Dennis(IA)
Member
I dont know if they do. I have a one acre field with a few Canada Thistle and they are a SOB. I cant wait for the answer to this question.
Yes. Sheep will also. But they will not chew it down so it cant go to seed unless the grass is all gone. If only a few plants they will but not if its lots.
I turned my sheep into a corn field about a week. On the one side I emptied the drill of oats and peas, on the other end is an old hay yard with wild millet and thistle. They still have not gone and eaten any corn, oats, or peas. They have chewed on millet and thistle. Of course the millet is still 1-2 ft tall. If you turned cows out in the corn like that they would trample the whole field in a week and eat almost none. Kind of surprised me. If you mow the thistles whole raining it will kill most if not all.
I turned my sheep into a corn field about a week. On the one side I emptied the drill of oats and peas, on the other end is an old hay yard with wild millet and thistle. They still have not gone and eaten any corn, oats, or peas. They have chewed on millet and thistle. Of course the millet is still 1-2 ft tall. If you turned cows out in the corn like that they would trample the whole field in a week and eat almost none. Kind of surprised me. If you mow the thistles whole raining it will kill most if not all.
Traditional Farmer
Well-known Member
- Location
- Virginia
My goats like thistle never see one in the goat fields but may be because I feed a very good mineral to them which in turn mineralizes the ground.A lot of thistle mean the mineral are out of balance in the soil, usually lack of Calcium.
stoughtonfarmboy
Member
We had goats 35+ years ago for son's 4-H project. I recall they ate thistles if the plants were very small. As in first thing in the Spring. I also chopped them off with a pointed shovel if they got larger. After 3 years the small pasture was free of thistles.
Ken
Ken
Northvale PA
Member
We have sheep and a couple goats. They will nip off the buds of Canada thistle so it wont seed. However they will not eat the plant much and it seems to spread by breaking up the roots so it doesnt go away entirely. Neither will touch bull thistle but you can uproot those easily.
My cattle will eat them when tender, younger plants. The trouble is they keep them down some, but they dont eliminate them. The plants and root mass keeps growing.
Spray at the right time with the right chemical and you really knock them down.
Promote a healthy thick grass pasture and you choke them out.
Paul
Spray at the right time with the right chemical and you really knock them down.
Promote a healthy thick grass pasture and you choke them out.
Paul
gene bender
Well-known Member
why not just spray them easy to kill
Timmycornpicker
Member
- Location
- Almost Pennsylvania, New Jersey.
Pigs will continually root them up to eat and they will eventually give up. You get tillage and fertilizer at the same time. Who really wants to deal with a field full of smelly, ornery pigs though?
caterpillar guy
Well-known Member
Spray them in the fall before the go dormant for the winter. They are sucking down nutrients for winter and spraying then will kill them. Or you can spray them a few times with 24D during the summer.
indianabuckman
Member
I just sprayed. mine but was wonder if they will come back next year?
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