Goats per acreage

[Nikki]

Ok, this freaked me out -

"Goats, like all farm animals, are better lightly stocked - 10 goats can be run to the acre, but a great deal of experience and expertise is needed to do it successfully. Two goats to the acre is more realistic; farmers do not realize that the destructiveness of goats is caused by their high mineral requirement."
Natural Goat Care



I can only have 10 goats even with an acre and tons of experience??? Or, need an entire acre for just a couple of goats????

[Clara]

We have a mother and two 10 week old kids and 2.5 acres, no experience. We still have to strim, or get a horse pronto.

Not that I think you´re crazy or anything - but why would you want more than 10 goats? That´s an awful lot of work and an awful lot of milk. I used to live in a house in the Pyrenees where the 20ish goats ran free, but the goats pretty much took up all the time, whether it was milking or cheese making....not enough time to seriously grow our own veggies.

Clara x.

[ohareward]

Hi Nikki, I have seen goats out on the grass edges of country roads. They are tied to a stake and their hut is near so that they can enter when needed. When they have eaten all the grass they get moved. I have never had goats, but I would think that as long as you have good fencing and have your acre sectioned off to allow the grass to recover.
I have just found this site.

www.goatconnection.com/article/publish/article_52.shtml

Robin

[Nikki]

Hi,

I don't particularly want 10 goats. What I was wondering was the number of goats for the size of the land. An entire acre for 2 goats sounds enormous to me. If we raise goats for meat and to sell, then yes, we might want more.

We'll probably want about 4-6 goats, which would mean we needed, optimally, 2-3 acres just for them!

I was wondering if others felt this was necessary. Their welfare is extremely important to me, but it just sounds like such a huge amount of land just for their use. I wondered if t was dependent on the type of land. The book is Australian and perhaps the author was thinking of not so green land?

[Clara]

Yeah I can see that. We live higher up the mountains than many of our friends and in the summer their grass cannot sustain animals that could be kept on our land, which has more water.

As I mentioned we have 2.5 acres, but in truth I would say that only about 1 acre we use to graze the goats - mama on a long tether (which we move everyday), babies running free. Like I said the grass grows far too quickly for her to keep on top of and there is simply some stuff that she will not eat. But it is spring now and everything is growing crazy quick, we´ll see what happens when it gets REALLY hot in summer and the grass dries out a little.

If you´re headed somewhere like montenegro, would this be a big worry? Once you leave the UK you realise that an acre is not that big and not that costly!

Clara x.

[ina]

As with everything, it all depends... I have two goats in the garden (large urban garden size - although I do live in the country!). But then, I buy in hay, straw and barley, which they get fed throughout the year (not a lot); I go out and "forage" for them, i.e. bring in armsful of weeds, prunings etc throughout the summer, and they get a seaweed supplement on a daily basis, too. They also get garden "waste". And they aren't dairy goats, so their requirements aren't as high as they could be.

Don't forget that goats aren't good grazers, they are browsers. Although they will clear a good bit of grass eventually, they much prefer access to shrubs, and a lot of variety in general. So a small bit of proper meadow, plus a larger bit of scrubland, if possible with some rocks or fallen trees to jump on (playground!) will do very nicely for them. If you buy in your winterfodder, you might get away with very little land; if you want to make your own hay, and possibly also bedding, you'll need more.

[Nikki]

Thanks Ina, that's along the lines I was thinking too, without having any experience whatsoever mind. lol

I was thinking that as goats are browsers, if you had 1/2 an acre but tons of shrubs and trees, they'll probably do fantastically, getting all the minerals they needed from shrubs/trees with deep roots, compared to 2 aces of just lots of grass or less. Then add to that ideal anything you bring in, like hay, and it seems you lessen their acreage needs.

I understand they like to roam as well, they're certainly not creatures to be confined and I would love to give mine space to climb rocks and such. But I imagine 6 goats could manage that in 1-2 acres.

Clara - we'll probably end up up a mountain as well.
Although a lot colder than elsewhere on the coast, it's very green and woody/shrubby. So ideal goat land. In fact, I know most farmers/smallholders there own goats so it's goat countryside for sure. Just wondering how much they needed.

I feel less shocked.

[Bonniegirl]

Be very careful what shrubs they have access to, some are deadly.

They won't do your trees much good either, they're likely to ringbark them and then you'll end up replanting them because those trees will die.
Protect the trunks of the trees and allow them to nibble the leaves if you like.

To ensure they are getting adequate vitamins and minerals you may to supplement their diet with either mineral licks or add some vitamins & minerals to their feed.

[CrazyParrot]

what! two per acre! the grass will be up to their necks in weeks! 4-6 goats will be happy on only around one to one and a half acres. I dont have goats but I know some one who does and their goats dont actually eat much grass - they prefer hay and branches.

[ina]

Be very careful what shrubs they have access to, some are deadly.

That's right - you'll have to find out about that locally. Here it's rhododendron we have to keep them away from; in France it was a different shrub - can't remember the name - so there might be something that's not so wholesome in your area, too.

[Bonniegirl]

This is a good site

http://fiascofarm.com/goats/poisonousplants.htm