I had no idea that if you didn’t give goats grain ‘feed’ every day–they’d mow! (BTW, I’ve already gone back and changed the goat feeding post to reflect my corrected understanding…I’ve been wrong a lot lately, huh?) Apparently, as long as there’s plenty of GREENERY around, they make do.
Here’s the drill:
1. They suck up all the fallen leaves. (Raking!)
2. Then they pull down all the ones above their noses. (Pruning up the willow! Obviously to keep the fronds from dragging the ground and getting diseases. How considerate!)
3. Then they climb any available structure to get the out-of-reach leaves. (More ‘pruning’. Such over-achievers.)
4. Once the leaves are under control, they edge.
5. Finally, once the edges are clean, they mow.
Don’t think that goat mowing is anything like sheep mowing. Sheep bite the blades. Goats yank. (No top teeth, remember?) so that works fine for me who has tons of bermuda that’s all vine-y and will quickly cover any spots where they get too enthusiastic. but for you yard enthusiasts, this is not the manicured look you’re used to.
Ivory
There is a township near us that bought dwarf goats this year to mow their park grasses. They said that even with housing and supplemental feed, they are cheaper than having human employees do the work!
They are so cute! And by the looks of the houses so close next door to you, you really ARE in the suburbs! Hmm…I wonder if I can have goats? Probably not…since my husband is still getting used to the idea of having chickens!
The chickens in the background are so cute!
So cuuuuuute!!!!
My sheep were purchased for the same reasons…
And the CHICKENS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You really have to consider moving next to my house in Manati, Puerto Rico…I could use an empathic neighbor…hehe
Wish I could post pictures of my sheep during their landscaping duties…
😎
I do hope you don’t have fragrant herbs around. My aunt keeps a goat to do her yardwork too. Claims she’s going for the rustic look. But she wasn’t so please when her goat glomped on her lavender plot.
Cuuute…I’ve always heard, though (from goat owners and others), that goats are browsers and don’t always eat what you want them to eat. A friend who has goats and a vendetta against ironweed curses her goats for not eating said weeds. :>
What do you do with the hens and goats when you go away for vacation?
Look at those cute pudgy bellies! I’m telling you, goats are the best thing to happen here. We have a couple of roosters who think they’re quite capable of going in the coop whever they please, but the goats are so sweet to chase them in for me! Who needs a dog? We lean a very large board up against the coop door to keep it closed, and those goats are CONVINCED at we did it for them to slide on. They take turns running up and sliding down. So silly. Glad to see your goats are doing so well!
SO CUTE! And such bad influences you two are… we’ve now changed our home buying strategy and are looking to buy a few acres to have goats, chickens, rabbits, for sure, plus maybe bee hives and aquaponic tank to raise tilapia and produce together. My husband says I won’t be happy until I have him in a straw hat and overalls. 😉
Oh, they’re growing up! They are beautiful! I have TONS of English Ivy and I’ve heard that they will mow that down. Boy, do I need goat help!
These are adorable. I remember my little Gussie used to love to eat the spent roses in my flower beds and the ones I have growing in old whiskey barrels. Now that I don’t have him anymore, I have to remember to do that myself.
Thanks so much for sharing…(O:
@Olyveoil Awwww…sad! In other random thoughts…are you named after Popeye’s girlfriend?
@Becky You in West TN? You can borrow my gals. They are THE BEST on random brush.
@HeatherAnne “plus maybe bee hives and aquaponic tank to raise tilapia” I am SO thinking about digging a tilapia pond. ARE YOU MY TWIN???? Email me so we can be crazy together!!!
@Lindsay Goats are the best dogs I ever had!!! Tell the truth, do you smooch them on the snout? I do!
@Corinne Great question! My coop is actually built for them to LIVE in there, but they don’t. However, when I go on vacation I put a a ton of water and food in there and lock them in. They poop on the eggs, but that’s the only downside. The goats have to be fed every other day or so by someone.
@Teresa True that. They eat what they want. That is, until that’s what’s left. My goat only ate leaves from branches until they’d eaten them all. Now they eat a lot of grass. They never touched it before the leaves were gone.
@acv2 Sheep are WAY better at yard work than goats. They have top teeth! The really MOW. And I so want to live next you in Puerto Rico. Will you cook for me?
@Jin###### Thank you! I love a fluffy chicken booty!
@Kelsey That is totally true!!! I wish all town would figure that out. Goats RULE!
@Michelle Check your town codes and see. They are the BEST dogs. Not so much for the guarding, but for the snuggly sweet non-biting thing. And no poop management!
You forgot that they also fertilise the yard as they go for more green grass. A complete yard care machine. LOL
so cool….I think I would worry too much about them eating my washing though!
I DID forget that!!!
Hi
I just bought a 9 week old Fainting goat and a 4 week old 1/2 boer and 1/2 fainting goat. I keep them in my backyard, (I live in Wisconsin) so they only get yard grass. They are not getting forage. I give them hay each day. I have some 18% Goat Feed (pellet shaped) should i be giving them this, if so how much? Is it the same thing as when people refer to grain? I have had them for 1 week and the 4 week old refuses the bottle I have tried 6 times minimum a day every day and she just does not want it. I am putting fresh goat milk in the bottle. She is eating the grass and hay fine and seems to be ok.
Thanks Rhonda
Goat feed is optional when there’s plenty of grass and hay. And, yes, “feed” and “grain” are used interchangeably. I don’t know much about baby goats *needing* milk after a certain point. find fiascofarm on google. they know everything goat
hey! I was thinking either of getting a nigerian dwarf goat, or a pygmy goat..and i want it as a baby!! I live in michigan and was wondering where you would even get a goat?! And another question: aren’t you supposed to milk goats too? 🙂