very newbie question

[okiegirl]

I'm in the beginning stages of researching having goats. I'd like 3-4 milk goats for, well milk, to drink and make soap. I'm thinking nubian.

anyway, my question is about the area I'm considering for the pen.

We have about an acre that would be the pen. It's chainlinked but lots of brush, shurbs, wild berries ect. is all over the chain link. There are about 5 pecan trees and 3 or 4 black walnut trees. some wild poke, honeysuckle and wild grapes. also there are several pine trees along the primeter.

I'm mostly concerned about any posionous plants that the goats may eat.

what should I be on the look out for to make sure they little guys are safe?

thanks,
-Angela

 

[lilhill]

http://www.ansci.cornell.edu/plants/goatlist.html

Hope this helps.

 

[okiegirl]

thanks for the post.

well, it looks like we won't be able to have goats.

We have pine trees, wild poke, johnson grass and ivy. There is no way I can get rid of it all, so I guess I'll just stick to my chickens.

-Angela

 

[cmjust0]

That's the same list that shows alfalfa and clover as being poisonous to goats...

:/

Lots of people allow their goats to be around pine... Johnson grass has a few caveats, where it's only dangerous under certain specific instances (immediately after a killing frost, for instance)... Ivy -- never heard of a problem with a goat eating ivy.. Poke, yeah, but I think goats generally avoid it.. Plus, if you're only talking about removing the Poke and leaving everything else, the whole situation probably just got a lot more manageable.

Here's another list for ya to browse... Thing is, you'll find all kinds of different plants on all kinds of different lists.

My experience has been that goats don't really need a list when they're browsing.. Bull nettle and jimsonweed, for instance, are two bad things we have around here. Our goats won't eat either one. If I see jimsonweed growing in the goats' enclosure, I'll pull it, but bull nettle is everywhere.. You can watch the goats graze and browse along until they come to some bull nettle, though, and they just sniff it and move on. They know better.. I dunno how, but they do.

That's not to say it's a good idea to leave them enclosed with a bunch of toxic plants, of course...I'm just saying that they're pretty good at figuring out what's OK and what's not, and they eat in such a manner as to not really consume a lot of any one thing to begin with..

 

[lupinfarm]

milkweed... i freakin' hate the stuff, its popped up in the goat pasture.

 

[freemotion]

A lot of animals won't eat certain plants unless they are starving. I have a lilac in my pasture that my goats don't touch. I do search for and pull wild azalea and yew (pasture scourge in the suburbs with all the yew as foundation plantings...it pops up in my pasture every spring. Very deadly.) I don't worry about other plants, like cherry, poke, red maple....they just won't eat it in quantities that are harmful, especially since I have a large and lush pasture.

So do a bit more research, then get those goaties!

 

[cadman68]

My goats eat ivy all the time and have not had any problems at all. I think a lot of plants on "the" list are considered toxic if they are consumed in very large quantities. I mean if you are feeding your goats bales of dried cherry tree leaves then i would say yes you are going to have a problem actually dried cherry tree leaves are not toxic it's only when they are wilted prior to drying that they are toxic.....

 

[warthog]

I am rather new to goats. I have several acres of bush for them to roam in.

I am a Brit living in Belize and not yet familiar with all the plants toxic or not, the locals don't even know most of the plants.

I know I have lots of milkweed and that is said to be toxic, my goats don't go near it. There are lots of plants that the goats wont touch.

Others they will only eat when fresh, some they will only eat when dried and shrivelled. I think goats are a lot cleverer than we sometimes give them credit for. lol

Just my experience and opinion.

 

[freemotion]

I bring pine branches in from the xmas tree farm for my goats to much on in the winter. No ill effects. I have wild black cherry and oaks and red maple and clover and pokeweed and many other things on that first list, and no ill effects. One year when there was a bumper crop of acorns, one goat gorged on them and was slightly off. That was the first year and my pasture was not yet well-established. The grass is now lush under that particuar oak, and she's not had a problem since.

Know your plants and how toxic they are. Just remove the "one bite=death" plants and you will do fine. Observe your individuals and just be sure they are not overly fond of something that is iffy.

I have two acres fenced and walk it regularly. I bring snips of any plant I don't recognize right over to my computer and search until I find out what it is. I also will seed my pasture with "weeds" that are good for them. I pick the seeds from the biggest, lushest dandelions, for example, and scatter them in the bare spots. I planted some comfrey, and was pleased to see nettles growing in a couple of areas. Variety is the key. I have lots of grass and clover, and have stopped trying to eradicate the goldenrod. They top it all summer, and I just help them by mowing it once or twice to encourage new growth.

 

[okiegirl]

thank you so much for the encouragement.

I met a lady from craigslist that had goats. I fell and love and started researching. got a big bummed on the list. ya'll gave great responses and now I'm encouraged again. Then today I met another lady from craigslist (boy, I shop alot) and she has goats too. It's like a sign or something.

ok, now I'm getting excited again.