# Goats, Land Clearing and asphalt shingles



## PinkFox (Nov 16, 2011)

just bought 4 1/2 acres in tn, of which its primarily privet and other twiggy undergrowth...
i want nubian goats...
i figured goats and brush go together quite nicely and the plan was to buld a temporary pen out of cattle pannels, and slowly move the pen through the woods untill the entire property is cleared ready for other uses...(like veggies and a small orchard) eventually planning fo give 2 acres to 3-4 nubian girls (planning on 2 girls to start with brush clearing)

the problem im finding now is the area which i plan to use them to clear last (as its where their perminent paddock will be) has aparently been used as the place roofing materials go to die...
there are PILES about 4ft across and anythign from 2-4ft deep of asphalt roofing shingles...
the big problem here being 1, i cant get to them to haul them out due to the mass of undergrowth and shrubbery and even trees that have grown up around and on these things...
2 even if i could get to them unless i can get someone to come in here with a hauler and a couple big dozers and dumpsters, (which money being an issue isnt going to happen) its going to take YEARS to clear them out...
in order to get to them to start clearing them out pile by pile by hand i need the brush removed...
but goats eat pretty much anythign right?!

would it be safe to allow the goats aces to the piles of asphalt shingles in order to eat the shrubbery and brush and such that have grown up around and in these thigns...
the piles are incredibly solid and secure so im not worries about structural intergrity...
but instead the goats standing on and potentially knawing on them...

thoughts? imput?!

im looking into asphalt shingle recycling programs trying to get some info and see if a company might be interested in hauling them being that there are so many it would make a good recycling project...(theres THOUSANDS + back there...)

but even heavy machinery isnt getting to them safely untill the brush has been cleared...
ideas!? thoughts?


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## Queen Mum (Nov 16, 2011)

Heavy equipment could make short work of those shingles even with the brush there.  I wouldn't worry about that.  I have actually been down that road.  

See if you can find a recycling program first.  Then after that, your biggest worry is nails.   Goat hooves are very tender on the bottom and if they step on a nail the things will go right up into the goats hoof and could cause some serious problems.  You can go in there with a big magnet and check for loose nails  which would help a lot.


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## PinkFox (Nov 16, 2011)

the biggest problem with heavy equiptment is the cost, im on a fixed very limited income and can imagine that costing a small fortune, probably more than i even paid for the house lol
im hopign a recycling program would be willing to come out and get them

the good news in im in no real rush the girls will have 3 1/2 other acres to get working on lol while i get this figured out...

odly enough thus far the only nails ive found are in strips...many of the shingles are (or at least were) BRAND NEW in plastic when dumped...but defintalty will be on the magnet hunt for nails.


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## marlowmanor (Nov 16, 2011)

Couldn't you possibly offer them for free or a low fee on Craigslist. The ones that are new in plastic you could sell for a low price and I'm sure there would be people willing to come take them off your hands. Even the used ones people would probably get if you listed them for free. That give you free labor, gets them off the property, helps others, and puts a little money in your pocket. A win all the way around!


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## PinkFox (Nov 16, 2011)

never thought about seeing if anyone wanted them...
theyve been there a LONG time (at least 5 years) even the "new" ones have been exposed to the elements.

the BIG piles though are all pile sof tear off jobs...hmm, wonder if anyone would want them! good idea!


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## marlowmanor (Nov 16, 2011)

people use old shingles for all kinds of projects. Dog houses, storage buildings, animal shelters, etc. I'm always on CL, you'd be amazed some of the stuff people sell or give away for free!

ETA: Another option may be seeing if ou have a local freecycle group.


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## Queen Mum (Nov 16, 2011)

Well, the top ones have had the most exposure, but the ones below might be in pretty good shape.  You should explore to see if any are salvageable for your "barn" of the future.  And it's up to the people picking them up to get what they want.


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## Jackson62 (Nov 16, 2011)

So sorry, I hope your property was reasonably priced. Were you allowed to look at the property before purchasing?


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## mek (Nov 16, 2011)

is privet goat friendly browse?


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## cmjust0 (Nov 17, 2011)

I don't see a goat eating shingles.. Mouthing on them, or using their mouth to play with them, sure...but not *eating* them.  Goats mouth on all kinds of stuff..  If there are any nails out there, could be a problem for hooves as someone else mentioned, but otherwise I wouldn't think letting them near a brush pile around old shingles would be a big problem.  My own goats have "discovered" lots of things in brush piles that I might not otherwise have let them near...like, huge piles of ancient fence wire that looked for all the world like briar thickets, etc..  

And yeah, the shingles that are still new in the plastic are almost certainly big inseperable lumps of shingle by now.  Worthless.

Also, no, goat's won't eat just anything.  I think you'll come to find that they're quite picky, actually, once you really get to know their habits.


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## cmjust0 (Nov 17, 2011)

Also, just BTW...I sincerely doubt you're gonna get any takers on removing a huge pile of shingles by offering to let them keep the shingles.  Brand new shingles really aren't *that* expensive, and I can't think of a single use for a huge quantity of used (or "old new") shingles.  If we were talking about a pile of old steel equipment scrap or something, yeah...but not shingles.

Sorry..


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## PinkFox (Nov 17, 2011)

i didnt think id find any takers on craiglist, lol.  im hoping some of the "new" ones if i leave em out in the sun might be able to be seperated for my own use..., but there are places that are recycling asphalt shingles for road patch and stuff, theres certinaly enough to make it worth it for a big operation with the right equiptment to actually come out here...but dont know if they would...the closest company that i know recycles shingles is in nashville, almost 3 hours away.

i did get the place for a song though and the rest of the acreage is heavily brushed but doesnt seem to have been extensivly used for a dumping ground by the previous owners.  i bought this place early fall and the brush was so thick that you simply couldnt get back there to even check it out...plain and simple,it was just a wall of leaves and brush.  now the leaves are starting to drop you can see though and make pathways to get back there...
i bought the place for the space but the house itself was well worth it and the rest of the acreage while heavily brushed isnt acessable by vehicle, so much less likely to be so heavily dumped in...
, and ill be starting the goats off on the None so dumping ground areas and working towards this mass of WTF? lol.

most of the piles are so large and heavily stck together that moving them by hand is going to be dang neer impossible.


im told that goats will eat privet...theres a woman in this area using her cashmere goats as privet control, rents them out and privet is aparently a favorite...
i sure hope so because i have plenty of it lol.
i actually like privet whenits kept, but this has been left for so long its just leggy and out of control

once the privet starts to decrease theres a bunch of small trees that can start to come out too and itll be a whole different place...
especially if i can get those singles hauled away somehow...heck that alone would make one heck of a difference.

its realy kinda sad though, the parents of the pervious owner and the family beofre that aparently kept it as a lovely little homestead, then the son and his wife took it over and "didnt have time" and it turned into a mass of overgrown privet, weeds and greasses, and JUNK...
i mean theres a mini barn back there (about 10x10) thats got a date plaque on it stating its almost 60 years old...and suprisingly its in ok condition, the floor needs replacing inside and the metal roof would probably need changing out along with a few of the wall boards...but its SOLID, no rot in any of the structural beams that i can see and instead of maintaining it they just let it get swalowed up by masses of brush.


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## 77Herford (Nov 17, 2011)

Don't know how long the shingles have been sitting  out there but from the description its been sometime.  Many may no be in good condition but some maybe salvagable.  Then like the others said you have the nails problem, which will take some time to get rid of most of them as I had pasture on an old barn site that burnt down and cleared it good but still find nails years later.  In Tennessee I would be concerned about Rattle snakes and Cotton mouths under the stacks.  Those piles would make perfect homes so be careful while clearing.


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