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Goat Rental – Hire Goats

hiregoats.com

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Re: Goat Rental – Hire Goats

#31

Post by bobthepanda »

gwbas1c wrote: post #24
jaimex2 wrote: post #19

So you want me to pay you to feed your goats?

Uhm, goats are by far the cheapest way to clear out certain kinds of brush and noxious plants. They're also cute and act like dogs. Pesticides are dangerous and still leave a dead plant, machines jam (and lop off fingers,) doing it by hand takes a long time and can risk major rashes from poison ivy or cuts from thorns. Part of my back yard is impenetrable from the kinds of plants goats eat.

Also, goats deal really well with sloped areas that machines and people struggle with.

Where I live they get used a lot on highway embankments.

Re: Goat Rental – Hire Goats

#34

Post by a_t48 »

I looked into this for my yard. Unfortunately given how bad of a shape it is, it still would cost multiple thousands to clear with goats. Fortunately, it only costs a few hundred to buy some goats and do it over a longer time, with the bonus of making my niece happy.

Re: Goat Rental – Hire Goats

#35

Post by frob »

rootw0rm wrote: post #17

I have property in a pretty rural area (Anza, CA) and every goat owner I know says that they're actually picky eaters. But these articles I see pop up now and then pretty much prove the opposite...

I have goats. They are picky eaters. They know what they want and what they don't. They will strip most trees and bushes to the branch. They will eat most grass, but not if it's too tall or has gone to seed or is too dried out. And they'll only eat it down to about 3-4 inches from the ground. There are certain plants I dig out of my pasture because the goats just won't eat them and I don't want them spreading and taking up more space.

There's truth that goats will put most things in their mouths. Almost every time I bring something new into their pen, they check to see if it's food. They'll even check me every now and then just to be sure I haven't become food in the past week. So, sure, you might see a goat pick up a tin can for a brief moment, but you'll also see it spit it out 5 seconds later.

Re: Goat Rental – Hire Goats

#36

Post by happyopossum »

strickman wrote: post #28
gwbas1c wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Uhm, goats are by far the cheapest way to clear out certain kinds of brush and noxious plants. They're also cute and act like dogs. Pesticides are dangerous and still leave a dead plant, machines jam (and lop off fingers,) doing it by hand takes a long time and can risk major rashes from poison ivy or cuts from thorns. Part of my back yard is impenetrable from the kinds of plants goats eat.

I think he has a point there. If he did not pay for, it may be an even trade. You'd just have to compare the cost per acre per month of machine maintenance vs the cost to maintain a well fed flock for a month; including land costs and property taxes if you own the land.

> I think he has a point there. If he did not pay for, it may be an even trade.

Not really - the cost of food for goats is fairly marginal all things considered. For this kind of service you have to account for transport, setup (usually fencing of some sort has to be put up), etc. as well as ongoing medical and shelter costs for when they aren’t working.

Re: Goat Rental – Hire Goats

#37

Post by semi-extrinsic »

dlgeek wrote: post #27

I looked into this a couple of times for an urban-ish lot with an overgrown backyard. (I don't have a green thumb!). There were several services in my area, including the awesomely-named Rent-a-ruminant. Unfortunately, for smaller lots, it just isn't feasible - the way the pricing is structured, the setup fees get you. They are really for multi-acre lots where they set up significant fencing and leave the goats for s…

Here in Northern Europe they just use GPS-enabled electric collars on the goats, and do literal geofencing with that. Then you don't have any cost of setting up physical fences. Of course you have to accept that the fence position has an inaccuracy 5-6 meters, so it only makes sense for large areas where there is nothing that will kill the goat if it strays a little outside the fence.

Re: Goat Rental – Hire Goats

#39

Post by toast0 »

rootw0rm wrote: post #17

I have property in a pretty rural area (Anza, CA) and every goat owner I know says that they're actually picky eaters. But these articles I see pop up now and then pretty much prove the opposite...

I've got three goats. They're picky, but mine have a pretty good amount of space and a variety of stuff to eat. They've each got their favorites, but crunchy dry cottonwood leaves and our dominant dandelion-alike are at the top of each list.

If you're using goats to clear land, you put more goats per space than the land can sustain, but just for a few days or weeks. The goats will eat their favorite things first, but then also other paletteable stuff. They'll also trample things down pretty good.

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