Trees and goats

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Hi all, I'm planning upgrades for the chicken and goat pastures and i want to add some shade trees that goats can eat. I was thinking about a willow tree because i have clay soil so it should stay wet. Im wondering if the grass pasture will still grow well under a large willow or if dwarfing the willow is an option. Any additional suggestions would be appreciated. :)
 
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Yes, i knew about their love of bark. I was planning on using pallets to protect them. I heard fencing didn't always work. I didn't think of mulberry. That's a good suggestion, thank you!
 

flowerbug

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i'm not familiar with either goats or trees other than at a bit of a distance and knowing them as excape artists who liked to show up on my porch because i would feed them carrots. :) then i would call the landlord to come get his goats.

in my readings about people trying to re-establish forest lands and fruit and nut trees on open lands that were over-grazed they would keep the goats in a smaller enclosure and harvest the forage for them instead of letting them free range and this gave the ground a chance to get covered again and for them to grow the fruit and nut trees they wanted. it did mean they had to do some work each day to keep the goats fed.

in planting a mixed tree cover plot they would start with the fastest growing nitrogen fixing trees that would help shade and give forage for the animals, then they could plant vegetables between the trees when the trees were small and then as the trees grew taller they could chop some of them to thin them and let in more light and also the choppings went to the animals.

if they needed to clear a field of overgrowth brush they could use chickens and goats to do that and then start the whole cycle all over again. it is a very good use of land because it keeps it mostly covered and with some shade and protects the topsoil from heavy rains and also keeps some plants around for diversity and feeding the bugs, birds, bees.
 
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i'm not familiar with either goats or trees other than at a bit of a distance and knowing them as excape artists who liked to show up on my porch because i would feed them carrots. :) then i would call the landlord to come get his goats.

in my readings about people trying to re-establish forest lands and fruit and nut trees on open lands that were over-grazed they would keep the goats in a smaller enclosure and harvest the forage for them instead of letting them free range and this gave the ground a chance to get covered again and for them to grow the fruit and nut trees they wanted. it did mean they had to do some work each day to keep the goats fed.

in planting a mixed tree cover plot they would start with the fastest growing nitrogen fixing trees that would help shade and give forage for the animals, then they could plant vegetables between the trees when the trees were small and then as the trees grew taller they could chop some of them to thin them and let in more light and also the choppings went to the animals.

if they needed to clear a field of overgrowth brush they could use chickens and goats to do that and then start the whole cycle all over again. it is a very good use of land because it keeps it mostly covered and with some shade and protects the topsoil from heavy rains and also keeps some plants around for diversity and feeding the bugs, birds, bees.

Thank you, these are all good points. Definitely something to think about, thank you!
 

flowerbug

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Thank you, these are all good points. Definitely something to think about, thank you!

you don't mention how large an area you have to work with or what condition it is in, but if you can work with rotational grazing to keep a deeper ground cover of plants in place then you really help your paddock(s) in a lot of ways.
 
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Ah, that might have been helpful information on my part. I have almost 10 acres. I wanted to do a ground cover of clover and orchard grass.
 
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From my understanding as long you give them a variety they will eat what they need. The seed mix i want to plant has other grasses and clover including alfalfa. I would also give them hay to eat.
 

flowerbug

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are you signed up to BackYardHerds? i'm not there because i don't keep animals (other than worms :) ), but it looks like there are quite a bit of posts there so much more information for you if you need it. :)
 
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