Looking for a small(ish) goat

[Ingrid Taskin]

Looking for a small(ish) female milk goat to borrow for a while to help eat down the weeds on the fence line on the property... or to keep permanently.. good home will be provided and will be taken care of properly...

I am not looking to purchase one.. I am looking to borrow or adopt free of charge!

Thank you.
Ingrid
D_Road_Ranch@yahoo.com
5613333018

[mnord]

I have goats.  Believe me a weed whacker is cheaper and more efficient!!   

[Ingrid Taskin]

Awww.. that's not what I heard.. of course you have not seen me work a weed whacker either...it's not pretty.....

My neighbor's goats in the back must be trained properly then to clean fence lines...

Ingrid

[polomare]

Totally depends on the goat.  I, too, saw neighbor's goats make fast work of weedy fence lines so like you, I decided to get one.  The goat I got was defective.  She only ate popcorn, the most expensive horse feed, and any spanish moss hanging within reach.  I rather like the spanish moss.  I didn't like the goat.  I sold her to a breeder and she had two kids and lived happily ever after.

I came to the conclusion that the uncomfortable truth of the matter is that if you want the goats to eat the weeds, you pretty much have to starve them.  Most of us horsepeople here just aren't willing to starve them enough to get them to eat the weeds.  We see a hungry pet, we feed it.  That's how we think.  Farmers think different.  You might be able to "rent" (borrow) a herd of farmer's goats for a couple of weeks that might do the job.  But the minute you get an individual goat for yourself, forget it.  The goat becomes your pet and it quickly learns that it can retire from yard work permanently.

Have you tried salting your fence lines, Ingrid?  It's non-toxic and pretty much does the job.  It is some what labor intensive, and requires patience (have to wait and see which weeds you missed and then re-salt).  But it does work.

[grandprix84]

Polo Mare, what kind of salt do you use?

[polomare]

Table salt, of course.  You can get 5lb jugs at BJ's wholesale for . . . I forgot how much, but it was cheap.

[Ingrid Taskin]

Sweet.. will do that.. thank you...

Ingrid

[polomare]

Just be careful of water runoff with all the rains we've been having lately.  If you salt uphill of decorative bushes, or pasture grass you want to keep, you may burn or kill them if it rains right after.

I've always wanted to try a bag of Morton water softener crystals to see if that works, but I've never gotten around to trying it.  The advantage would be that the crystal would stay were you put it . . . but maybe it takes too long to dissolve in the rain so it barely works?  Dunno.  If anybody tries this, come back and let us know how it worked!

[Zazua]

You should ask Jojo if she is looking to rehome or retire any of her goats. Her farm is goodness gracious acres, google it to get her info. She raises goats for milk, soap and cheese.