permaculture

[woodyw@juno.com]

From: woodyw
To: permawest@olywa.net
Date: Fri, 3 Oct 1997 17:32:13 -0400
Subject: Re: goat forage
Message-ID: <19971003.174408.11646.5.woodyw@juno.com>

Goat Person:

Having been confused, bemused, abused, and misused by goats any number of
times in a long career on the farm, I shall venture the following:

Goats are smarter than we are...they are more determined and prideful
than we are, and they will get their way...

In the present instance, your goats are psychically attuned to your
distress about the young nut trees and they are browsing upon them in
order to hurt you for, you write:

<< I would like to put these animals to work>>  HA!  Goats cannot abide
this kind of thinking.    

If you could genuinely manage to transfer your affections to a prickly
pear cactus planting on the other side of a 40 foot high chain link fence
and an active lava flow, your goats would go eat those and leave your
trees alone.

Woody


On Sun, 28 Sep 1997 04:31:05 -0700 "Permaculture West"
<permawest@olywa.net> writes:
>       The farm I am caretaking has three rascally goats that are 
>never content
>with what they are being fed or where they are being ranged 
>(apparently
>typical for goats).  I would like to put these animals to work as 
>pasture
>management agents around my newly planted nut trees.  I have tried a 
>number
>of caging devices to protect my trees but the goats have defied all my
>defenses and continue to ravage the young trees. This happens despite 
>the
>fact that they have abundant woody browse within their range.  Has 
>anyone
>stumbled across a clever way to protect their saplings from rampaging
>goats?  Is there such a thing as a goat proof cage for trees?  I get 
>the
>feeling the common answer will be, "don't range your goats with your 
>young
>trees."  However, unfortunately the two are already committed to 
>eachother
>due to lack of space. 
>       Along those lines...has anyone experimented with an 
>intentionally designed
>goat forage system?  Perhaps I could distract these ruminants from my 
>nut
>trees by providing them with their favorite yummies.  Does anyone have 
>any
>plant species suggestions for the Pacific NW?
>
>                                               permawest@olywa.net
>