Using Goats to Control Invasive Plants
by Cherrie Nolden – Febuary 2015
“Brush and invasive species management is challenging. Chemical, Mechanical, Fire and Biological control tools are used, with goats serving as a biological control tool. Timing, intensity, frequency, duration and targeting of goat application to brush/invasives are key to controlling them, just as with other control tools. Goats are a feasible alternative to chemical or physical control of invasive vegetation (Distel and Provenza, 1991). Livestock for prescriptive grazing was first published in the USA in the 1930s (Mosley, 1996).
Time of year, stage of plant maturity, and region affects consumption of browse by goats (Mitchell, 1996). According to Perryman et al. (1995) plant damage by livestock occurs primarily through duration and intensity, rather than timing of grazing applications. Repeated brush defoliation depletes stored energy reserves, weakening/killing brush (Gipson, 2005). Stripping of bark by goats will kill the tops of woody vegetation >7 feet tall (Mitchell, 1996), but repeated defoliations within each season and over 3-5 years is required to kill some brush (Hart, 2006).”
Bits of Wisdom:
- Woody, brush vegetation off the ground is the ideal feed for goats.
- 0.2 to 0.4lbs weight gain per day off of woody forage with no additional grain supplementation.
- She hasn’t seen much compaction of the soil in the paddocks where they are browsing.
- Goats are can be susceptible to parasites when browsing close to the ground.
- Goats will respect electric fences. Keep the fence hot – Over 2KV.
- Potential business opportunities using goats to control different plant species on the land. Contracted grazing.
- Find a mentor in your area who is doing this. They will be a wealth of knowledge.
- “If animals are not managed to maintain vegetation, they are going to destroy the vegetation.”
Goats as Restorative Catalysts. Managing Goats for Environmental Regeneration, Not Degeneration. (PVP105)