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  • From: "Rich Blaha" <rich@mossbackfarm.com>
  • To: permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [permaculture] Goats herding
  • Date: Wed, 20 Apr 2005 16:43:53 -0800

Hi Lisa

It's actually pretty natural for most ungulates to be gender-separated for
the non-breeding season. It reduces confilict and death of the young ones
when the testosterone poisoning gets too much for the big males. Plus, as
you said, it keeps chastity in place

In nature, I know Elk separate off into cow herds (with young) and male
herds...I think the females chase off the males in those situations. Some of
the central asian species of goats do the same, if I remember right.

We've had a ram kill a young male lamb that got a little too playful, so our
sheep herd gets gender separated once the wee ones are born. The ram gets a
little lonely (lacking a herd of other males to hang out with), but dealing
with 2 rams sounds like way more work than it's worth at this point. Perhaps
we'll raise a wether one of these years...

(sheep & goats are biologically very similar in both physical and social
structure, which is why I use them here as an example.)

I guess you can't call me anti-goat, but at the moment I don't have room in
my young permaculture system for an animal that will mow all of my young
trees down to nothing. The deer will do that for me.

Cheers

Rich
www.mossbackfarm.com/journal

>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 2
> Date: Wed, 20 Apr 2005 08:05:41 -0700 (PDT)
> From: Lisa in Oregon <lisamaciver8@yahoo.com>
> Subject: [permaculture] Goats herding
> To: permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org
> Message-ID: <20050420150541.93259.qmail@web20428.mail.yahoo.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
>
> I doubt this list contains many goat herders, what with Mollison
> being kind of anti-goat, but just in case: we separate the buck as
> everyone does. We have a new buck and he's lonely. It would be
> nice to have a more natural herd with the buck living with the does,
> but how would one avoid having very young does bred? Anyone here
> raise goats permaculturally?
>
> Lisa in Ashland Oregon
>
>
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> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 3
> Date: Wed, 20 Apr 2005 11:20:15 -0400
> From: "David Siripoonsup" <DSIRIP01@shepherd.edu>
> Subject: Re: [permaculture] Goats herding
> To: permaculture <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
> Message-ID: <200504201120.AA2047017182@mail.shepherd.edu>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
>
> Whats wrong with goats? just wondering.
>
>
>




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