Pygmy goats and brush clearing?

[chicamama]

Quote:
Yep, that's a buck thing. Mine also like to lick/drink their own and spray their faces. Such nice manners lol

Oh yes, I fogot that part. No, no boyz thank you.

 

[GwenFarms]

I've had billies that didn't really cause problems in the smaller breeds, but those larger ones can stink up the place. You can always get whethers, which are really the nicest of all if you don't want to breed. If you aren't planning on breeding you should just buy standard brush goats, which are what we call small mixed breed goats. They are half, or less the price of pure bred pygmies. Of course, alot of folks around here call brush goats pygmies. They just don't know the difference. They think any small goat is a pygmy. If you want a bigger goat ask for a briar goat. Thats what we call larger mixed breed goats. Atleast in this area anyway.

Its odd how things are called by different names in different areas. Around here the only goat I've heard called a spanish goat would be a la mancha dairy goat.

 

[Daniart]

We have 2 Pygmy goats. Now that the snow is partially melting, they love to eat on more of the "woody" type trees & bushes. I read that if you want grazers for grass, you're better off w/ sheep. Goats like more rough stuff.

Good Luck - oh, our "babies" are 6 months old.

 

[itsazoo]

Chickens and Dogs and Goats... Oh my.

I've got 2 pygmy/alpines- a neutered male and his sister. I have managed to keep them in their pen more often than not by stringing a line of electric fence wire inside the pen at about nose height. I use one of the garden fencers which are pretty low current. Now mind you, if the electric is off for 2 seconds or if there's a stick on the line or something reducing the electricity- they're out of that pen before you can blink.

Mine seem to have endless stomach space and they do love to eat bark and anything I've planted (the more expensive the better!) While they won't eat grass or even standing hay they love fresh cut grass and bale hay. *shrugs* When out of their pen they prefer to hang out along my woods eating most leafy plants (unless someone is outside working on something and then they prefer to be underfoot "helping").

They do clear brush pretty well and fast if penned in an area. If left to wander around they'll nibble on this and that while looking for your flowers to eat. Don't leave them penned in one place too long though or they'll eat all the bark off the trees as high as they can reach and then you'll have dead trees. I've contemplated stringing temporary fence with a solar fencer in areas of my woods to clean up the underbrush a bit but haven't gotten to it yet.

FORTUNATELY the "get on the car" gene seems to have skipped both of my goats although they may be the only goats I've encountered that are missing it.

 

[Skyesrocket]

"They do clear brush pretty well and fast if penned in an area. If left to wander around they'll nibble on this and that while looking for your flowers to eat."

That's so true. If left to find browse on their own it's like a trip to the buffet for them. They will spend all day only nibbling on their favorites. To do a good brush cleaning they need to be kept in the same area for a while.

 

[showme31]

We are using our pygmies to clear a fairly large area of heavy undergrowth. They are quick to get what they can reach.

This is how heavy the undergrowth is that the goats are working on. This will be the next area they will be turned into.

They had this area pretty much eatten down in 3 weeks. We've been cutting brush and putting in their pen until we can get the fence posts run for the next area.

This is an area that we had them on last year. They weren't here long before winter set in. We just had a small amount of cleanup to do.

As you can see they can do a great job, as long as they are contained to an area. I use 4 strands of hot wire. They are spaced about 6" apart. Only took a bit of learning before they stayed put.

We are also lucky, they don't get on our vehicles. Don't know if it's because we both drive full size trucks or simply dumb luck. Of course our luck fell short with the landscaping, seems the more expensive the plant the yummier it must be. LOL!

Smiles
Jul

 

[dixygirl]

Do you know how much you would have to pay workers to do that type of job?


The pygmies and brush goats sound like great field hands!

Then plant some grass seed and you've enhanced the land!

How much milk do brush goats produce please?
Is it about the same as a Pygmy?
What type of moveable fence do you use Helmstead please?
Does it need boards across the bottom to keep fhem from crawling out or is it ok to skimp those?

Thanks so much!

 

[Southerngirl]

We stake our pygmies out with dog collars and leads and move them around the woods and pasture every day. This works very well and then they are put up for the night in their pen which is surrounded by an electric fence for small animals. This is a must in keeping goats contained!

 

[Coco]

PLEASE be careful if you get Pygmy goats to help with brush clearing!! Just a warning, here's my story....

I have 2 Pygmy goats that I got for free from a friend, for that very purpose...to help with brush clearing, dead leaves, etc. I was told that they loved this stuff more than anything. So we get them, the vet comes out...updates their shots, etc. They are 2 female sisters, adults.

Then one morning this past spring i come out to find one of them laying on her side...convulsing, her neck arched and bloated. She's moaning and screaming like you wouldnt believe. I called the vet right away, he tells me it doesnt sound good, he's too far away to make it over to my place...it's going to be hours before he can get there and she's in a ton of pain. So he advises me to call another vet he knows that's closer by. So I do, they dont have a vet to send out to me either but say if we can get her there, to bring her immediately. So my mom and I jump in the car with her, she's in my arms still convulsing and screaming, I swear I actually felt her stop breathing on the way there. We get her there, the poke her side w/a needle to get out the excess air/gas to help the bloat go down and start her on IV's right away. We're thinking she's definately not going to make it.

Long story short, she was there for 3 days...had IV's, etc the entire time. Somehow, she made it but was blind, she eventually regained her sight w/in several weeks of coming home. The Vet comes to the conclusion she was poisioned by Cyinide. He tells me it's not too common but he's seen it before in the Spring time...there had been a freeze the night before this happened, he said she had eaten some kind of plant (possibly timothy grass) and the freeze brought the natural Cyinide in it, out in a major way. Which ended up posioning her. She had been only given grass from the horse pasture, the horses had been there too. The Vet advised me to NOT give either goat ANYTHING else but hay and a little grain from this day forward. And believe me, from my experience now, I have listened to the vet and wont give the goats anything but hay/grain from this day forward.

There's my story, to each their own. But just think about it before you decide...it may end up causing you to spend big bucks in the Vet's office and a major headache in the long run!

 

[karen71]

We have 2 pygmies one doe and one whether
they have a 50x50 permament pen and then I bought a portable electric mesh fence and move them all aroung the woods. They eat brush and leaves and some grasse but do not graze like a cow- they are browsers eat a little here and there .
They do clear out the area they are in with a few types of plants left that the must not like .
I like my goats very cute.