Fix my paddock please!

[Mark Lewis]

I have a small paddock that in the past has been vegtable plot and more recent just left. When I moved in the grass was knee deep and a mess. I've cut it down and now have ropey grass and lumps and bumps (the sit on mover bottoms out all over the place as a result)

The plan is to use it for a few goats.......so.....leave as it is, goats don't care......or do something to fix the undulations/dips first? I'm assuming a fix would be a LOT of work and wasted on goats - but want to be sure before I chuck a couple of massive farm animals in my Peugot 2008 and bring them home!

[LimmerickLad]

Goats won't mind how bumpy the ground is but they won't eat much of the grass although they will just about eat everything else, bark fromm trees, hedges, shrubs etc they are also excellent escape artists so make sure your fencing is up to it.

[S100HP]

Would have thought a local farmer with a roller will be your best bet. Probably wait for it to dry a little first tho.

[Evanivitch]

If you're planning goats then put all time and effort into fencing.

They won't care for bumps, if anything they'd prefer some more stuff to climb and jump off.

You could stick down some fodder crops now, or plant some trees with robust protection around them.

[Mark Lewis]

Fencing is sorted - I'm installing that soon.

[LimmerickLad]

Mark Lewis said:

Fencing is sorted - I'm installing that soon.

We've had then standing on each others backs to use as a launch pad to jump over fences

[Mark Lewis]

LimmerickLad said:

Goats won't mind how bumpy the ground is but they won't eat much of the grass although they will just about eat everything else, bark fromm trees, hedges, shrubs etc they are also excellent escape artists so make sure your fencing is up to it.

So I'd still need to cut the grass? And the sit on mower is wrecking it due to the ground. I wonder if I could rotate my sheep/goats so the grass is dealt with by the sheep every few weeks?

Although would need to research the health issues of that with goats picking up bugs from the sheep, etc

[welshjon81]

Please keep us updated on how this turns out.

[netherfield]

Goats are more likely to eat the weeds and leave the grass alone.

Then get rid of the goats and stick a couple of sows in there, once they've ploughed up you can level it out.

[LimmerickLad]

Mark Lewis said:

LimmerickLad said:

Goats won't mind how bumpy the ground is but they won't eat much of the grass although they will just about eat everything else, bark fromm trees, hedges, shrubs etc they are also excellent escape artists so make sure your fencing is up to it.

So I'd still need to cut the grass? And the sit on mower is wrecking it due to the ground. I wonder if I could rotate my sheep/goats so the grass is dealt with by the sheep every few weeks?

Although would need to research the health issues of that with goats picking up bugs from the sheep, etc

Don't know about goats but do we rotate our Shetland sheep with the ponies as they eat each others worm Larvae so act as a natural way of cleaning the paddock preventing worms.

[Mark Lewis]

welshjon81 said:

Please keep us updated on how this turns out.

All on YouTube - Mark Lewis

[Evanivitch]

Mark Lewis said:

Fencing is sorted - I'm installing that soon.

If you fence off a small, wet corner you can quickly plant Willow and Hazel that will coppice nicely and give the goats something different to chew on.

Or break the field into quadrants and rotate them round with fodder crops. Not sure goats are too bothered on the normal stuff. Pumpkins, sunflowers!

[smifffymoto]

If you want grass mow it.
Goats don’t eat grass but they will eat your hedgerows and brambles.They also hate wind and cold and get sick very easily.
If you don’t want anything for a year ,put a couple of pigs on it and rotate them around with an electric fence until they have churned up the bits you want churning up.
Get pigs slaughtered and butchered.
Scott Rea has a good pig butchering vid on Youtube if you fancy doing it yourself.

Edited by smifffymoto on Monday 10th March 15:33

[DE1975]

On the subject of keeping goats, I'm reminded of when I watched an episode of Sarah Beeney's building a mansion in the country and she was all for getting a couple of cute goats, which would be nice wouldn't it? That was until she spoke to someone who had a few themselves who told her they'd take an hour a day to be milked (or something like that, I don't remember exactly but they certainly weren't the carefree country lifestyle animals she thought they'd be). They didn't get goats after that.

[Mark Lewis]

DE1975 said:

On the subject of keeping goats, I'm reminded of when I watched an episode of Sarah Beeney's building a mansion in the country and she was all for getting a couple of cute goats, which would be nice wouldn't it? That was until she spoke to someone who had a few themselves who told her they'd take an hour a day to be milked (or something like that, I don't remember exactly but they certainly weren't the carefree country lifestyle animals she thought they'd be). They didn't get goats after that.

Vegan. So no milking going on

[Evanivitch]

DE1975 said:

On the subject of keeping goats, I'm reminded of when I watched an episode of Sarah Beeney's building a mansion in the country and she was all for getting a couple of cute goats, which would be nice wouldn't it? That was until she spoke to someone who had a few themselves who told her they'd take an hour a day to be milked (or something like that, I don't remember exactly but they certainly weren't the carefree country lifestyle animals she thought they'd be). They didn't get goats after that.

It's a choice to raise them for milk...

[Evanivitch]

Mark Lewis said:

Vegan. So no milking going on

Isn't it contradictory to have them as pets as a vegan?

Why not just rewild it instead?

[LimmerickLad]

Why not Shetland sheep they are almost almost a Sheep x goat. They eat the same stuff as goats as well as grass..most of our ground is 'rough' like yours and ours thrive on it and a very hardy so no fancy shelters etc needed just a bit of cover in the worst of weathers.

https://www.hawthornhillfarm.com/2021/09/14/shetla...

[C Lee Farquar]

I have a couple of goats. They do graze the grass from late Autumn until the grass really gets going in the Spring.

I usually mow their pen a couple of times a year and that keeps it quite tidy.

[bobtail4x4]

I was about to post that goats eat almost everything including grass,

they prefer to browse instead of graze,