I want to plant some veggies in our pasture while we are letting it grow for our goats. I have three milkers ready to kid that are corraled for now while the pasture grows up, but I thought it would be nice when we let them out if they could find "treats" out there too. What would make a good "goat garden" or is this just a silly idea?
Growing a "goat garden"
I have seen very little that a goat does NOT think is a treat. If you have bare spots where you could scratch up the soil, you could plant just about anything like beets, carrots, beans, peas and spinach or lettuce. If there is grass all over, it would be hard for the seeds to "take" before they are crowded out.
oh, lets see, mine really like the raspberry vines and the sweet pea vines!
Hey TF
I know how it is with goats and raspberry bushes. My billy gets loose(imagine that LOL) and heads straight for them. I really don't know how they do it, but they also love the blackberries. They munch the whole vine to the ground. I put them on leads and attach to concrete blocks and move them around to "untidy" areas and in a few days it looks like a manicured lawn. I have very little grass areas being in the woods and I only had to mow once last year. The goats did the rest. I think any veggie plant would work great as "treats". Buy the least expensive seed/plants and plant away. The only thing I would stay away from is tomatoes. Even though mine made it to my vines and finished them in one day. I thought for sure it would do them in, but they never skiped a beat. There was also a mature poke plant in there and they demolished it too. I'm not sure what they wouldn't eat.
George
P.S. Mine are pygmies, maybe there's a difference.
True, those pygmys will eat anything. Mr. Pickles, my pygmy, ate my Easter lilley one year and it didn't phase him at all! As a matter of fact, Mr. Pickles ate all my flowers AND weeds!
This message was edited Mar 14, 2008 8:11 AM
My goats must be wierd. They won't eat weeds or grass. They love tree leaves. Are we feeding them to much? The concrete block is a good idea. Thanks
OM, of course a concret block would work so much better than the garden hose i tried one day!
i forgot to mention fruit tree limbs, evergreen [esp blue spruce], and LILACS!
i would think chaste trees would be great for them. i used to have a book about goo dthings to grow for goats.
would they like beet greens and turnips?
Hey, TF, are you saying if you like beet greens and turnips, you might be a goat? All I can say to that is AH-AH-AH (goat talk for M-M-GOOD)
Keep 'em away from your car or they'll climb on top of it and use your antennae for a good scratch between the horns, lol!
Thanks everybody for your ideas!
well, my new dairy goat loves jumping up in the wheelbarrow, just to show she can. but needs help getting out!
i have found they love whatever is at it's peak. wildflowers, yucca, mesquite, thistle, daisies. when i pruned the peach trees, they got the branches, ate peaches, pits and all!
...not found anything they won't try LOL
My goats loved pumpkins!