North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Stephen Sadler" <Docshiva@Docshiva.org>]

I'll add that goats seem especially fond of trees.  They seem to like
leaning their front feet up on something and getting to eat.  They'll also
eat straw hats, btw.  I don't think this can really be trained out of them.
They are generally penned away from any plants you don't want them to eat.

Stephen 

-----Original Message-----
From: nafex-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org
[mailto:nafex-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Thomas Olenio
Sent: Tuesday, July 11, 2006 8:21 AM
To: North American Fruit Explorers
Subject: Re: [NAFEX] Fruit Tree and goat care



Hello,

Rule #1:  Fruit/veggies and livestock NEVER co-mingle
        
                (well if you live in a grass hut in
                Africa, maybe) [smile]

Rule #2:  Goats will eat anything, anytime

                (That is why the old joke of goats eating
                tin cans hangs on and on.)

Tom

On Tue, 11 Jul 2006 10:41:42 -0400, Richard Moyer <ramoyer@gmail.com>  
wrote:

> Advice requested:
> We just bought 2 Nigerian Dwarf does, who are meeting our fresh milk  
> needs.
>
> One went from the milking stand this morning to eating some weeds and
> hanging grapeleaves, which is what we like.
>
> When I looked up again, she had just pulled 2 big hunks of bark (4-5"  
> long)
> from a 3" persimmon sapling, which we had recently topworked.  That tree  
> and
> two others like it are on my to do list to protect today, with 2"x4"
> fencing--somehow she knew!  (She, so far, had avoided debarking all other
> saplings in their woodlot.)
>
> I put the goats in their fence, wrapped the persimmon trunk in parafilm  
> and
> shaded it with cardboard.
> Any other advice on care of this trunk?  1/3-1/2 of the bark is gone in 2
> spots on the south side.
>
> Second question, for those with goat experience:
> Do we assume that goats will strip bark, anytime, any season, on any  
> tree?
> If there an age/size of fruit tree that is ever avoided when plenty of  
> other
> browse and concentrate is around?  Or do I assume that any fruit tree,  
> any
> size, may be debarked at anytime, thereby always fencing them out?
>
> Thanks,
> Richard Moyer
> East TN