Monday, as I headed home from the grocery store, I noticed wire fencing along a stretch of the main road I couldn't recall seeing before. I also got a quick glimpse of what I thought were a couple of dogs behind the fence as I sped by. It struck me as odd but my brain quickly moved on to other things and I didn't give it any further thought until the next day as I headed home from a doctor's appointment and once again noticed the fencing. This time the "dogs" I thought I'd seen on Monday came more clearly into focus.
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| Goats! |
Lest you think this is unusual, I can tell you it isn't. Although I haven't seen a herd of goats quite this close to my neighborhood before, they're often used to clear brush on our peninsula, especially in connection with fire prevention efforts. You can find a video of a larger group hard at work in 2021 here.
I went home long enough to pick up my camera before heading back. In retrospect, it would have been smart to have picked up my telephoto lens too but, when parking in this area proved to be a bigger issue than I'd anticipated, I decided it would be best to quickly snap a few shots and be done with it before I got a ticket. Had the weather been cooler, I'd have walked the four miles round trip there and back but yesterday was the first day of what forecasters are predicting may be the worst heatwave of the summer season so that prospect wasn't at all appealing.
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| He looked at me as if saying: "Are you talking to me?" |
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| "What do you want?" |
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| "You're interrupting my chewing." |
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| Losing whatever interest he had in me, he turned back to business |
Two other goats were equally hard at work but the large majority were congregated in the shade at the top of the slope along the fence taking a break.
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| Another industrious goat |
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| This one paid me no attention whatsoever |
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| I believe the fence represents the perimeter of the local middle school. There's a large level area that's been used by utility companies off and on over the years between this area near a public library and the school's entrance, which is a quarter mile or so away, so I'm not sure who's responsible for it. |
There was another group of goats further along the road of roughly equal size but the angle of the sun prevented me from getting a good photo of them. I'd guesstimate that this herd totaled 30-40 individuals. On numerous occasions, I've seen a woman walking a small crew of 4-6 goats, presumably leading them to or from small brush clearing assignments but there are services that hire out the animals en masse to clear larger areas. Fire Grazers is one of the most prominent but I've no idea where these particular goats came from. One source I found claimed that thirty goats can clear a half-acre area within three to four days. The goats will eat all kinds of brush, including poison ivy. Electrified fencing is often used to protect them from predators and prevent them from wandering off, and shepherds and guard dogs are often part of the package.
I hope the goats aren't bothered by the heat! It looks as though it could take them a few more days at least to clear that slope along its entire stretch. I have a couple more trips that will take me along the same route later this week and I'll be sure to check their progress.
All material © 2012-2022 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
I love goats! It's been some years since I first heard of loaning them out to areas that are difficult to mow or otherwise clear vegetation. A bit like renting bee hives to pollinate orchard. Rent-A-Goat is a splendid idea. Fun photos!
ReplyDeletechavli
It's funny but it'd recently occurred to me I hadn't seen the woman out walking with her handful of goats in some months and then, all of a sudden, I caught sight of an entire herd of them practically in my own neighborhood :)
DeleteGreat captures and a great idea!
ReplyDeleteThe goats are perfect partners for our semi-rural, high fire-risk area. The fire department has been conducting assessments of local brush conditions, which may have prompted this action.
DeleteKris, these photos made my day! We have a large herd of brush clearing goats that I can see every year in the same spot from the freeway here in La Mesa, but I've never seen them close up. Love it.
ReplyDeleteThis is the first time I've seen them close up and at work too :)
DeleteMy Billie would love a chance to practice some herding moves on these goats! I did not know goats were used to clear brush in PV -- brilliant! If only you could rent some for your slope!
ReplyDeleteThat very thought occurred to me, although what I really need is someone to get all those ivy and honeysuckle roots out so I could plant something more rewarding. As to Billie, I'm sure she's have the time of her life!
DeleteI have heard of people who rent out goats to clear properties of weeds. I even recall seeing a news story about it. Too funny!
ReplyDeleteIt seems to be most common here on public lands and land under management of nature conservancies, Phillip. The goats are more industrious than many garden services, if not exactly discriminating when it comes to what they "mow" down.
DeleteI just love goats! So much ‘goatitude’ - as reflected in your snaps of them hard at work. What a great job they are doing. So now you know how to clear your back slope if you ever feel so inclined… but you’d want to be sure the electric fencing was up to the task - I suspect your garden would be a culinary paradise to a goat!
ReplyDeleteYes, I understand that goats do not discriminate at all when hard at work consuming everything in sight. Confining a heard of goats - even a small group of 4-5 - would be difficult even on the back slope.
DeleteI think using goats, esp. in fire prone areas is brilliant. They are starting to use them here to clear invasive species, brush and poison ivy. I looked into it and the cost is $300/week but you have to have clear fencing boundaries, which I don't. Plus I would worry about coyotes. They'd definitely need a guard dog around here. Eliza
ReplyDeleteThe coyotes are a concern here too but I understand that the larger rent-a-goat organizations uses electrified fencing, as well as guard dogs and shepherds to protect the goats. You'd be best served by someone like that woman I've seen who brings in just a handful of goats for a day of work ;)
DeleteI love the idea of using goats to control out-of-control and hard-to-access areas. They have been used in Portland as well. I first learned of them as they were grazing the very steep slope behind Portland Public School's headquarters. Just brilliant!
ReplyDeleteAlthough that slope wasn't especially wide, it stood at such a sharp angle I doubt many humans could have effectively managed to clear it. And unlike gardeners bearing weed whackers, the goats were very quiet ;)
DeleteWhat a fun thing to see. I know they are employed around here for the same task but I've not ran into them.
ReplyDeleteI didn't get a chance to check on their progress until 4 days later. At that point, all the goats and virtually every stem of foliage were gone :)
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