When it comes to eating, goats are more like deer than sheep or cattle, and their smaller mouths and split lips give them the ability to select tasty leaves from amongst thorns, find choice blossoms in what appears to be weeds or brush, and thrive on what would starve a cow. But contrary to the old stereotype, goats will not eat tin cans and people’s red underwear. In reality, they are drawn to the most nutritious plants, including weeds, and the leaves and bark of bushes and trees.
For many of us, the term “pasture” brings to mind rolling grassy fields, but for ideal goat grazing, that picture needs to be amended. You need some good, healthy weeds dotted throughout that picturesque grass!
Kathy Voth, owner of Livestock for Landscapes and the founder and editor of the online grazing magazine On Pasture, has a whole different take on weeds than most people.
“They’re really nutritious and really good for animals,” she says. “The reason animals don’t eat them is because they never have, so why would they start now?”
For goats, Voth’s favorite plant in any pasture is Canada thistle. “As forage, it’s very resilient, propagating from roots and seeds,” she says. “Goats can graze it down, and it’ll come up again. It’s also high in protein, which is a hard thing for animals to get.”
Normally, grasses, weeds and browse should make up 90 to 100% of a goat’s diet. If you’ve got a hillside full of poison ivy, wild honeysuckle, briars and whatnot, your goats will be in heaven.
GOATS ARE PICKIER EATERS THAN YOU’D THINK
Denne historien er fra Goats 101 - 2023-utgaven av Hobby Farms.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra Goats 101 - 2023-utgaven av Hobby Farms.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
The RISE of Opportunist WEEDS
Be prepared to see increasing changes in weeds we fight, such as poison hemlock and poison ivy, and in the crops we grow.
LIVESTOCK Health
Prepare yourself for how to spot symptoms of illness in your farm animals so that you can get them help before it's too late.
CUT FLOWER Farming
If you're considering growing flowers for sale, brush up on these five key things to know before diving in.
WINTER Survival
Keep your land, animals and yourself in good shape this winter with this helpful advice.
COVERAGE CONCERNS
Avoid common insurance mistakes for rural and hobby farm businesses.
FARMER'S GUIDE Berries
Set the stage for tasty strawberries, blueberries and brambles with these soil-boosting garden tips.
Preconditioning CALVES
Follow our step-by-step guide to get more money for your calves.
Soil Conservation
Often, outside of having a specific problem that needs to be addressed, soil conservation isn't something every farmer readily thinks about. Yet conserving the soil should be at or near the top of every farmer owner or manager's list of concerns because absent the prevention of soil erosion, we have the opportunity for another dust bowl.
Year-Round Lettuce & Salad Mixes
It's easy to think of salad greens as just a spring- or fall-garden crop, but it's possible to enjoy freshly harvested lettuces, mustards and more from your own garden year-round.
Barn Improvements
Days are never long enough for a farmer. From dawn to well into the night, tasks arise that often require immediate action. Having to search for tools or equipment is an enormous time waster and incredibly frustrating when you can't find what you need, especially when you know you have it.
