Has anyone rented goats to clear a pen? What have been your experiences? We have about 200 trees in the pen, half pine and half hardwoods. Do they eat pine needles? Will they harm any of the trees? The pen has been left as is for over 25 years and the pine straw is deep and, of course, we have weeds growing back there. I have a sewer easement and that part is cleared around two sides of the pen. I’d like to plant some fescue. Thanks in advance!
I have had goats for years and have never seen them eat pine needles. They do occasionally eat bark off of trees though and will eat some weeds. As far as renting goes I’m not sure, but our pygmy goats and horses get along great so buying may be the easier option.
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Eldest Gruff loves to eat the pine needles off the trees but will not eat the brown ones that have fallen off the trees. I think a controlled burn might be best to remove them. Gruff does seem to like some of the weeds and stuff the horses won’t touch. He also eats the bark off shrubs and small trees but won’t touch mature trees.
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We called the Fire Department and they won’t do a burn for anything less than 10 acres. Unfortunately, we don’t qualify. We’ll probably go with the raking into a pile and then burning. Thanks everyone for the help!
I rented goats. They eat everything green and leave the rest. Still had to hire someone to clear out all the brambles. Didn’t work for what I needed…
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