Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
feeding. Many goat owners maintain a few fenced pastures. Goats benefit from the exercise
and the mental stimulation of exploring a pasture.
Ideal pastures are soil-tested, fertilized to compensate for deficiencies, planted with specific
desirable grasses and plants, and managed to prevent overgrazing. Weeds that are particularly
suitable for goat pasture include yarrow, daisy, chicory, dandelion, plantain, nettle, thistle, and
wild roses, such as multiflora.
Goats can clear a pasture of all growth in an amazingly short time (sometimes a day or two
per acre). They eat their preferred forage first before moving on to less appealing plants, and
they can end up eradicating their favorite plants entirely. The solution is to limit their time in
the pasture or rotate the goats through several enclosures, or paddocks, to give plants time to
regrow. This is best done using movable fences within a large pasture enclosure with a secure,
permanent fence. Because fewer of their favorite plants are available inside the smaller area,
the goats finish them off and move on to other, less desirable plants. Goats also can be
tethered and moved from one area to another. Tethered goats should be kept under close ob-
servation because their grazing habits make it easy for them to become tangled up in the teth-
er and even hung on tree branches.
Pasture land must be monitored closely and frequently for the presence of toxic weeds. Toxic
weeds can make your goats ill, do permanent damage to their nervous systems, and even can
be deadly. Goats tend to avoid many poisonous weeds, and they nibble here and there, never
eating a whole lot of anything at one time, so a few toxic weeds in a pasture should not be a
problem. It is not true, however, that goats avoid eating toxic plants. They browse the best of
what is available; if the good stuff is scarce or gone, they will turn to the toxic options. They
accidentally may ingest toxic weeds while eating something else, such as new spring grass in
a low-lying area.
POISONOUS PLANTS
Countless plants contain material toxic to goats if enough of it is eaten. Some of these plants
are well known, some are rare, some are poisonous only under certain circumstances or
only if specific parts of them are eaten, and some are common garden ornamentals. You can
find numerous lists of plants toxic to goats on the Internet (see the list maintained on the Fi-
as Co Farm website: http://fiascofarm.com/goats/poisonousplants.htm and the U.S. De-
partment of Agriculture website: www.ars.usda.gov/Main/docs.htm?docid=10086 .
Some common pasture plants that are toxic to goats include the following:
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