# Rent a goat for weed control



## RPoling13 (Dec 16, 2014)

I have been hearing a lot about goats for weed control and have even been approached by people wanting to rent some. I am concerned with the goats' well being, liability etc. Does anyone do this? How did you get started? What advice can you offer? It seems like a good job for wethers. I would love to hear all your ideas!


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## Lstein (Oct 2, 2014)

Would love to hear more on this also. I just don't think I could trust someone else with them is my problem.....


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## RPoling13 (Dec 16, 2014)

Same here.


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## TDG-Farms (Jul 12, 2013)

The people who do this dont care much for or care the kind of goats they use. Usually a boer cross of some kind. Now not saying they are all like this but here is the deal. They are clearing land. And all though possibly checked out first, could contain poisonous plants, predators / dogs, or an of a number of hazards. Its just part of the risks involved. So if you have beloved pet goats, this would be a bad idea unless you or someone is there to watch over them and have check the property well in advance.


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## RPoling13 (Dec 16, 2014)

That is what exactly went through my mind.


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## SeventeenFarms (Dec 10, 2013)

TDG-Farms said:


> So if you have beloved pet goats, this would be a bad idea unless you or someone is there to watch over them and have check the property well in advance.


this is how I got goats in the first place - to rent them to clear poison ivy, etc at the place I worked. But the problem was that I and my family bonded with them, and so renting them, even though I was on property with them and could check on them , became too much of a worry. Anything can happen - poisonous plants, predators, people who taunt and tease, theft, injury, and on and on. I gave it up for those types of worries and keep them home on our small farm, where they basically do the same job, but without the worries. I think to be successful at it, you'll need to be somewhat detached, yet be able take care of them.


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## RPoling13 (Dec 16, 2014)

I could never do detached. Ever. I am even attached to my chickens. I guess this venture is just not a good fit for me.


Rachel
Stone Lakes Farm, WV
StoneLakesFarm.weebly.com


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## BlaqueUnicornAdventures (May 14, 2014)

I'm pretty fortunate that way, I have a couple of botanical gardens that I rent mine out to to clear the land. In my case the land is already fenced and only predator to worry on are wild boar (that don't really mess with them far past the weaning stage) because of the tropical climate here certain plants grow our of control quickly (Haole Koa, Albezia, and Guinea and HilaHila Grass primarily, all of which are good for the goats and the goats attack them like kids do presents under the Xmas tree!) so about once a month they spend a few days clearing out the rapid overgrowth at the garden and the gardens pay me a very small fee for the goats services. It's a win win. But I only do it because its the right situation.


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## alyssa (Jan 10, 2013)

The people a couple streets over from me did this for about a month with a large herd of Boer crosses, made me nervous every day when I drove by. They did have a lazy old LGD in with them, but no person on the property. They were not given anything other than the weeds to eat (which they hardly did, mostly just tore the low hanging trees to shreds!) and I saw no visible source of water throughout their whole stay. People would dump trash and spoiled food over the fence, I drove by one time and saw a doe with a broken horn bleeding profusely, and another day there was a large hole in the chain link fence, which I patched in fear of the herd waltzing right on out and into traffic.


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## Goats4Milk (Jan 2, 2015)

I could never do it. The liability is huge for livestock around here. If your animal escapes and does any damage, including a car hitting it or eating a neighbor's prized rose bush... you have to pay for it(do you know how much a 100 year old rose bush is valued as? Yeah, neither did my insurance company until it was past the $500 deductible). 

Then there is the investment in moveable fencing. I've seen this pretty successful in electric netting fencing, except when they get knocked over since there's only 6 inches in the ground.

Then you have to worry about feed, water, predators(human and animal) and profit margin.


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## SeventeenFarms (Dec 10, 2013)

Goats4Milk said:


> I could never do it. The liability is huge for livestock around here. If your animal escapes and does any damage, including a car hitting it or eating a neighbor's prized rose bush... you have to pay for it(do you know how much a 100 year old rose bush is valued as? Yeah, neither did my insurance company until it was past the $500 deductible).


That must have been quite a rose bush!

I too had a bit of a problem with trash - I often found cans in the pen when I did this. I figured someone or some people wanted to see the goats eat a tin can so would throw a few in the pen. My goats must have disappointed them...


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## Lstein (Oct 2, 2014)

SeventeenFarms said:


> That must have been quite a rose bush!
> 
> I too had a bit of a problem with trash - I often found cans in the pen when I did this. I figured someone or some people wanted to see the goats eat a tin can so would throw a few in the pen. My goats must have disappointed them...


 So thankful I live out in the middle of nowhere, where it's too much of an effort/drive, for people to do this.......


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## Goats4Milk (Jan 2, 2015)

SeventeenFarms said:


> That must have been quite a rose bush!
> 
> I too had a bit of a problem with trash - I often found cans in the pen when I did this. I figured someone or some people wanted to see the goats eat a tin can so would throw a few in the pen. My goats must have disappointed them...


It was a gnarly little thing(I don't think anyone knew how to raise roses there). Her great grandmother planted it though and I felt awful. This 70 year old southern woman was outright bawling with huge undignified snot tears. They had pictures of the rose bush being planted when the house was built and pictures of it with family standing in front of it for generations.

I dumped a bucket of chum around the roots and it grew back to twice it's height within a few months and had blooms before the end of the year. They were happy it was saved and the insurance company still wrote them a check. They didn't care about the money. They were just happy I knew how to save it. Good thing the roots were well established. Lesson learned on fencing. If they escape then double up and then double up again.


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## mountaingoatlady (Jun 6, 2015)

*need help locating goats for rent*

I'm a previous goat owner, now having a problem with kudzu. I live in Dahlonega (North Georgia). Can anyone help me locate goats to rent in my area? Thank you.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Have you looked up goat farms in your area?


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## DogGoat (Jan 9, 2016)

I am also considering this. I cant really be detached but I am trying to remedy my concerns... I was thinking of A) keeping my larger dogs with them, B) staying with them or visiting regularly during the days, C) Double fencing with 1-2 feet between them, and D) try to find regular jobs like the local properties that are not yet built upon but still need to be cleared do to fire regulations. Under these circumstances, do you think it might work? Or am I missing another consideration?


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## Steampunked (Mar 23, 2015)

We are looking at this in our area, however our situation is that we have people with back gardens completely full of weeds, and fenced in - I'm in a suburb area where the plants easily grow up over head height in a season. Our local predators are limited to dogs that get aggressive, though those are a worry.

As far as anything else goes, there are always venomous snakes, but there are snakes everywhere, regardless - there will be snakes on my property just as much as anyone else's, and we live with them pretty harmoniously. The goats would be in someone's back garden away from the road, and of course they would have to not have dogs, though dogs are much rarer here than cats.

(I also know people with pigs who use them to uproot old stumps in hard-to-reach areas - they drill a small hole down under the root ball and pack it with corn, then use electric fencing to keep the pigs close to the area.)


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