# Will goats damage my large trees?



## piper (Feb 16, 2013)

I'm planning on two Kiko doe's in an area of about two acres . I have lots of brush and vines in the area and also some large oak and hickory trees . My question is will the goats eat the bark off the big trees and kill them ? If this is the case then I have some other locations that are more pasture then forest that I would put them in . I have a lot of predators in the area so the wood lot is closer to my house .  I haven't figured out how to attached a picture yet but when i do I will add some photo's of the proposed areas Thanks !


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## Pearce Pastures (Feb 16, 2013)

Yeah, they might do that.  They will go after the other stuff first but bark is super tasty.  You can wrap it in wire and that helps.


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## Southern by choice (Feb 16, 2013)

I partner with another person on my farm...he has Kiko's...yes they do go for the bark... usually the smaller scrub trees but they will go after the pine bark especially. It is better for the kiko's to have those woods as opposed to grass pasture. The super large trees like oaks etc are pretty safe. It is the young stuff that will get killed. You can wrap trees that you don't want them on.


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## Straw Hat Kikos (Feb 16, 2013)

They will kill anything small for sure but larger trees they won't kill.


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## CrazyCatNChickenLady (Feb 16, 2013)

They *can and will* kill the larger stuff. It might not happen right away but stripping bark opens the tree up for bugs and disease to get in. They mainly like the cedar bark here but they will go after any tree if penned up long enough with them. We have a smaller cedar in my small pen we wanted to keep. I got plastic poultry netting (1/2 inch) and wrapped the tree and zip tied it. I put my 4 week old lamanchas in there before I covered the tree and they went straight for it.  Stripping bark WILL kill a tree no matter the size.


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## Southern by choice (Feb 16, 2013)

CrazyCatNChickenLady said:
			
		

> They *can and will* kill the larger stuff. It might not happen right away but stripping bark opens the tree up for bugs and disease to get in. They mainly like the cedar bark here but they will go after any tree if penned up long enough with them. We have a smaller cedar in my small pen we wanted to keep. I got plastic poultry netting (1/2 inch) and wrapped the tree and zip tied it. I put my 4 week old lamanchas in there before I covered the tree and they went straight for it.  Stripping bark WILL kill a tree no matter the size.


I agree if they are in a small yard..like dry lotting. Ours (Kikos) have a great deal of space and are rotated over many acres so no problems here.
If a small yard with trees they will do a number on your trees. 

What size area are you considering?  Also tree stripping is usually when there is not enough nutrition in their feed/hay. Pines help with parasite resistance. In one area my ND's and Lamancha are kept full time...not rotated. They have free choice hay at all times, a flake of alfalfa 3x a week and 1 cup of Bartlett Goat feed. They do not touch the bark on the trees. This is not more than 3/4 of an acre. One half treed the other grass. Mine are not big grass eaters but love the leaves and vines. We have no parasite issues.


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## Straw Hat Kikos (Feb 16, 2013)

CrazyCatNChickenLady said:
			
		

> They *can and will* kill the larger stuff. It might not happen right away but stripping bark opens the tree up for bugs and disease to get in. They mainly like the cedar bark here but they will go after any tree if penned up long enough with them. We have a smaller cedar in my small pen we wanted to keep. I got plastic poultry netting (1/2 inch) and wrapped the tree and zip tied it. I put my 4 week old lamanchas in there before I covered the tree and they went straight for it.  Stripping bark WILL kill a tree no matter the size.


Yes but as you said you have your goats in a pen. I think we're talking about a larger area than that. I have Kikos that LOVE tree bark and they don't kill the large trees. The will kill and destroy the smaller stuff but not he large ones.


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## ThornyRidgeII (Feb 17, 2013)

I had 3 nigerian bucks kill a very large (trunk was about 14-16 inches in diameter) maple tree that was at least 50-60 feet tall.. they stripped most of the bark off where they could reach and within a year it was dead.. we just had horrific wind storm and it snapped it off.. thankfully only fell on fence and not barn!  so yes  goats any size will and do kill anything.. they also will "rub" bark off trees.. this too will do damage and eventually kill them when bark goes, tree goes!!!  I have fenced off trees.. or wrap trunk in that plastic orange snow fence a couple times.. will keep the goats from getting at the trunk too much!!!


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## piper (Feb 17, 2013)

Thanks for the reply's , Based on most of the feedback I'm going to limit there access to the large trees . Many of my tress are black walnut are are veneer quality so i don't want them damaged .


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## 20kidsonhill (Feb 17, 2013)

I didn't read all the comments, but we are running 20 adults on 6 acres and the trees are slowly dying out, they even some of the larger trees.  but we have had goats on that property for 15 years now, there are still a quite a few trees left.  
You woudl neet to wrap them or fence them some how to protect assure that they are safe.


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## Mossy Stone Farm (Feb 19, 2013)

My grls killed a huge cedar tree  one of the bigger trees we had, it took them about 3 yrs..... of course they only worked one side of it and by the time i noticed it ..it was to late..... :/  Now i wrap must of my trees to keep them from doing that!

But they really have cleared out the under brush..


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## flylo (Feb 20, 2013)

What you may want to do is plan to pen them in a small corral during the night and turn them out during the day. They'll forage first on the things that are easier to eat, low brush, briar, fenceline stuff. If they have access to hay while drylotted, they shouldn't be so anxious to climb on the bark and graze your older trees. Goats like to graze into the wind so you may want to put a bell on their collars to alert you about their whereabouts at all times.

flylo


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