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I do appreciate all the valuable advice that's been given, and will continue to think about it while I clear brush in 100-degree weather. I tend to research things to death before getting anything new.

5 acres, steep with rocky outcrops. The requirement is 100' of clearance to a height of 6'. My dream is to create defensible space for everything upwind of the house (about 2 acres). If I can clear the entire property of brush that would be great, but not an imminent need. I've accepted that...

True... I started this thread out of frustration and stress. Probably not the best time to be acquiring new livestock. Will probably revisit the idea once wildfire season is over, and I am of sound mind. BTW, I came into this thinking I would get a pair of animals, or 3 little ones at most. The...

No, he won't go for that. The whole conversation started out with me asking if I could rent his goats, and when he said no I asked why he didn't at least put them to work on his own property (They're pets 🙄). Goats are nearly free around here... it's the "put up the netting, move it around...

OH YEAH, that's a good point. I'll be moving them around, and a bunch of little goats will probably be like herding cats. That would be awesome if true! I'm not sure if they're easily available in my area (or if they would do well in a hot desert climate). We do have a lot of weedy/grassy areas...

What if I get twice as many mini goats? Or are they not strong enough to chew through dense brush?

I passed on these two, but I hesitate to completely dismiss the minis and dwarves. Seems convenient to be able to load one in a dog crate and take it to the vet. I assume larger goats need a livestock trailer (which I don't have). IIRC there was an episode of Top Gear where they tried to...

Thank you for your generous offer, but I see some listed on ebay. Let them be the ones to get in trouble.

I mean... do we really need a dozen? If the goats receive no supplemental feed, they'll eventually clear the weeds, right? My neighbor's goats are pets, so he's probably unwilling to withhold food. Incidentally, I mentioned the goat idea to another neighbor who instantly offered me 2 free mini...

I can probably find it at some of the smaller hardware stores. These herbicides were only banned in 2020, so I bet some places still have leftover stock. This is a photo of the type of stuff I am dealing with... being on a slope, the trees don't grow perpendicular to the ground. The light-green...

Thank you to everyone for all the good information. I think the next step is to set up some tall fence panels and see if I can rent/borrow a couple of local goats to test on a small area and see how they do. I chatted briefly with a neighbor yesterday who is in the same situation as me (steep...

No, I haven't entered any address. They geofenced my location based on my IP address.

Where do you see it available? All the sites I'm looking at refuse to ship to Calif...

Fascinating info, thank you. I had no idea that goats could be trained to come home to roost. I could run several hotwires around an acre at a time. Would that be enough to keep them contained during the day, with a secure dog kennel or shed to sleep in at night? Just curious... is there a...

Now now, I am a law-abiding citizen and would never transport an illegal substance across state lines wink wink cough cough Seriously though, it sounds like animals are not going to lessen the workload? And I should just suck it up and deal with the poison oak, mano a mano?

Of course, useful stuff like that is banned in California. Sigh!

That's the goal, but it's tough. The tree service that I hire cuts it down to the ground, and then pours Roundup (?) on the stump. It creeps back from surrounding areas. We really have a lot... Ah yes, that's what I was afraid of. I am living here daily, but I want less work, not more (ie, if...

I am certainly considering goats! I do have a portable electric fence and solar charger. But I thought goats need a bit more fencing than that?

Predators are coyotes and bobcats. That's why I'm considering donkeys.. Running higih fence through all that poison oak is a daunting prospect (both financially and physically). I'm not opposed to it, but it seems as much work as removing all the brush by hand. Spray is not an option on most...