Goat fence for Kudzu Control
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missingstexas
Silver Member
That looks an awful lot like a bunch of work... Have fun with that.
SSdoxie
Elite Member
I've been running goats for weed control about 4 years now. Here's my opinions on some of the commets.
First you have to have a breed of brush goat. Meat or milk producing goats like the Boer or Nupians are for finicky eaters not great for brush. I have Pygmys, those little suckers eat anything green.
I found using 6" X 6" field fence like the OP has works good, after the brush has been eaten down somewhat, I run an electric wire about 6" off the ground to keep them from pushing under fence.
For predator control, get yourself a good Great Pyrennes dog or a Jack donkey. I have one of each but I have run into a few people who keep a male & female Great Pyrennes then pick up a little income from selling puppies plus selling off the baby goats.
First you have to have a breed of brush goat. Meat or milk producing goats like the Boer or Nupians are for finicky eaters not great for brush. I have Pygmys, those little suckers eat anything green.
I found using 6" X 6" field fence like the OP has works good, after the brush has been eaten down somewhat, I run an electric wire about 6" off the ground to keep them from pushing under fence.
For predator control, get yourself a good Great Pyrennes dog or a Jack donkey. I have one of each but I have run into a few people who keep a male & female Great Pyrennes then pick up a little income from selling puppies plus selling off the baby goats.
two_bit_score
Super Star Member
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I've been thinking about trying to use goats for underbrush control. Wonder how good they would be on poison ivy mixed in with the brush?
The treated round 6inch x 8ft poles were set as stretch posts. The rule of thumb is 30 yards apart. However, the posts need to be placed as needed given the nature of your terrain. If you have a perfectly flat and square property then the rule of 30 yards works. We used 47 poles over a distance of 3960 feet. The mean distance comes to 28 yards apart. I am placing Steel Posts 12 feet apart. So I will have approximately 4 steel posts between each Stretch post. That works out to 200 steel posts. The cost of the project is comparable to the cost of chemicals needed to be used over 3 years. This approach is meant of offer somthing a bit more at the end of the day: First, 3 years of baby Kiko goats for sale to offset expenses. Second, 25 acres of property with a quality fence that can be used to sperarte and contain livestock for years to come. Finally, 25 acres that can be planted over with 13,000 pine trees.
Don't know a lot about goats...saw one in a pasture with about a 2 ft stick attached to his little horns. Pondered it awhile then figured it was to keep him from sticking his head through the fence and getting stuck:laughing:
BTW I hate kudzu and hate poison ivy even more, wish I could fence in my mountain land and turn a bunch of goats loose to eat the poison ivy, no kudzu, yet...now that I've seen coyote there don't know how long the goats would last though.
BTW I hate kudzu and hate poison ivy even more, wish I could fence in my mountain land and turn a bunch of goats loose to eat the poison ivy, no kudzu, yet...now that I've seen coyote there don't know how long the goats would last though.
I've had goats here and there since I was a kid. Great critters, lots of personality. Not as bad tasting as lamb. When I was young we lost a beautiful nubian buck when his horns got stuck in the fence (field fence as I recall). Dad suspected some kids where shooting him with a pellet rifle or someone was shooting on the hill behind the pens and scared him into trying to get way. With 25 acres and open spaces (no tight chutes) that shouldn't be a problem for you.
I saw a weed control contractor using what looked to me like equine based portable electric fence products to get the goats to focus on select areas. Sounds like a learning curve item to me (part of the experiment).
The only other concern with horns are short kids around the goats. Unintentionally loosing an eye or other facial damage when handling the goats by the kids.
I know of some folks that put a llama in with them. The rejects are often used for this (even friendly llama's are apparently not too nice, so those not handled at all are very protective of there herd). Something to try if the donkeys don't work out. This time of year it ought to be easy to find wethers for next to nothing on craigslist (watch the sale barn auctions too).
As I understand it, there are 3 distinct preferences for goats, based on culture: hispanic, asian, middle-eastern. Different ages. The Muslim and Jewish require the same thing (albeit different faiths): a ministers blessing and ritual killing (I understand it is very similar). Just thoughts when researching your markets.
I saw a weed control contractor using what looked to me like equine based portable electric fence products to get the goats to focus on select areas. Sounds like a learning curve item to me (part of the experiment).
The only other concern with horns are short kids around the goats. Unintentionally loosing an eye or other facial damage when handling the goats by the kids.
I know of some folks that put a llama in with them. The rejects are often used for this (even friendly llama's are apparently not too nice, so those not handled at all are very protective of there herd). Something to try if the donkeys don't work out. This time of year it ought to be easy to find wethers for next to nothing on craigslist (watch the sale barn auctions too).
As I understand it, there are 3 distinct preferences for goats, based on culture: hispanic, asian, middle-eastern. Different ages. The Muslim and Jewish require the same thing (albeit different faiths): a ministers blessing and ritual killing (I understand it is very similar). Just thoughts when researching your markets.
txdon
Super Star Member
Please do not be a bad goat owner. Down the county road goats are constantly getting their heads stuck in the 6"X6" fence and I stop to push their heads back through. The problem is their horns face backwards and once they push their head through they cannot pull out without help. Sometimes I see them in time, sometimes the buzzards are having breakfast, it is a sad, sick site to see.
avc8130
Platinum Member
How is that "no stick fence"?
I have goats. My two large does have horns. We dehorned our two baby does.
One of the big goats will stick her head through anything it will fit through, and even some things it won't. Once the head is through, they are pretty silly about trying to get back out. The best "no stick fence" is one they simply can't get their head through.
ac
I have goats. My two large does have horns. We dehorned our two baby does.
One of the big goats will stick her head through anything it will fit through, and even some things it won't. Once the head is through, they are pretty silly about trying to get back out. The best "no stick fence" is one they simply can't get their head through.
ac
pilot-werx
Gold Member
We have Nigerian dwarfs and I hope what you are getting is not a picky eater like these... They rarely touch the grass and prefer second cut hay, go figure.... For fence, I have found 4x4 to work best and I never leave the horns on. A llama is a beast of a watch animal just be careful I you have a dog!
avc8130
Platinum Member
Awesome!
Do you plan to feed them anything other than just your pasture? Are they does, bucks, whether?
I see you have 25 acres they are roaming? Any shelter? Just 4?
Looks like you have a nice assortment of food for them to chomp. Is there a good water supply?
ac
avc8130 said:
Thanks for the encouragement. The 25 acres is a Kudzu patch within our 160 acre pine tree farm. Within the Kudzu patch there is a large variety of forage including Burmuda grass. Water is provided via Ritchie livestock water fountain that is split between fence-line for goats on one side horses on the other. The water is artesian spring water our whole family drinks the same water straight from the ground. There is 12x20 foot leantoo shelter. Currently I have 8 goats 2 bucks 6 does. The purpose of the goats is to reclaim/eliminate Kudzu in-order to plant over with 13,000 pine trees by 2014. This will add 25 acres in new pine to our existing 40 acres in 20yr old stand set in 10 year CRP, and 50 acres of pines planned for planting this year.
