# Tree Protection



## eric5899 (Feb 25, 2012)

I extended my pasture and it now includes quite a few trees. Most are 10-15' with 6" trunks. I'm going to work on protecting them this weekend. The goats have only nibbled so far but I don't want them to get used to it. They are spaced far enough apart that I have to protect them individually. I've searched the site and found a few references to wrapping with chicken wire. I was thinking about going to something heavier like 4"x4" hole goat field fence (4' height) so that I could create free standing cylinders around the trees rather than wrapping them. Maybe a t-post to keep them centered. I'm thinking that would last a lot longer than chicken wire. Has anyone tried this? What's the downside to using the heavier fencing? All input is greatly appreciated!


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## eric5899 (Feb 25, 2012)

This is the type of fence I am considering: http://www.ruralking.com/1348-4-12-5-square-deal-100.html


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## KW Farms (Jun 21, 2008)

You could take t-posts and hog or cattle panels...or a small wire fence and give maybe four feet or so around each side of the tree and fence off a circle or square so they can't eat off the bark. I would probably want to go with something a bit sturdier than the chicken wire like the panels or some kind of field fence. If you just wanted to wrap the trunks so they can't chew on it...the chicken wire would work well for that.


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## J.O.Y. Farm (Jan 10, 2012)

I agree with Kylee!


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## jaycee (Aug 3, 2011)

I would worry that if you just wrap it with chicken wire, the tree bark will just grow through it over the summer and then you'll have a mess that you cant even remove (and is very dangerous if you ever decide to cut the tree).

Also my girls chew right through chicken wire when they are bored. I had a pen I had originally set up for chickens with wood fences and chicken wire stapled inside the boards. The goats ate right through it eheh.


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## jaycee (Aug 3, 2011)

You could make like tomato cages out of field fence wrapped in circles around the trees and they cant get to the trunk to destroy the bark. Bang a tpost on each side to hold them in place. They will still climb their front feet on them and eat the lower branches, but that shouldnt hurt the tree unless its less than 10 feet tall.

My problem is keeping them out of my grape vines that stretch all along one fence...


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## KW Farms (Jun 21, 2008)

As the tree grows...you're going to need to make the wire protector bigger every couple months or so depending on how fast it grows. It's pretty easy.


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## Willow (Jun 12, 2011)

I like the panel idea because they dont collapse when climbed on. i would worry about the goats getting cut on the chicken wire they were trying to remove.

I just bought cattle panels to keep goats away from the grapes and also out of the rose garden. [They destroyed the welded wire fencing iput up last year.] Some how I want to still have the garden look pretty. Are there any flowers to plant near the edge that are not poisonous or interesting to goats?


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## KW Farms (Jun 21, 2008)

Willow said:


> I like the panel idea because they dont collapse when climbed on.


I do too...they're tough...easy to move...and can easily be cut down to make a square or bent into a circle around the tree(s).


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## jaycee (Aug 3, 2011)

KW Farms said:


> As the tree grows...you're going to need to make the wire protector bigger every couple months or so depending on how fast it grows. It's pretty easy.


True but if the wire is wrapped on the bark I dont think it will dissuade them from chewing based on my experience. My goats seem to have a fascination with chewing on wire fences. If you made a space between the tree and the fence as you had suggested with panels or the fence he provided a link to, that I think would be a better protector.


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## jaycee (Aug 3, 2011)

Willow said:


> I like the panel idea because they dont collapse when climbed on. i would worry about the goats getting cut on the chicken wire they were trying to remove.
> 
> I just bought cattle panels to keep goats away from the grapes and also out of the rose garden. [They destroyed the welded wire fencing iput up last year.] Some how I want to still have the garden look pretty. Are there any flowers to plant near the edge that are not poisonous or interesting to goats?


Hahaha flowers that arent interesting to goats??? I would love to know that too. I suspect its the fountain of youth

How far away from from the grapevines did you have to place the cattle panels to keep the little suckers from stretching their heads through and eating the leaves?


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## KW Farms (Jun 21, 2008)

Here's a pic of kind of what i'm thinking jaycee...though I would continue it further up the tree and maybe wrap it one or two more times. As long as the goats are well fed and not lacking in minerals...they shouldn't do really any damage at all. I do get what you're saying though. My goats might just not be as inclined to chew on it than yours are. :shrug: :laugh:

But I do like the panel idea better.


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## jaycee (Aug 3, 2011)

Yes I see what you mean Kylee. Now my new question is... does chewing on wire fences indicate some sort of mineral deficiency? I have two goats in particular who Ive noticed doing this. One little goat chewed holes in the chicken wire just to stick her head through (even though she can walk right through the gate 2 feet away to the other side)... another 2 year old goat I have likes to sit there and grind her teeth on the field fence outside her pen. She takes the heavier gauge wire in her mouth like a bit and grinds her back teeth on it making a noise. I had assumed these behaviors were just done out of boredom. They all have access to free choice purina goat specific loose minerals at all times... but they never touch them...


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## KW Farms (Jun 21, 2008)

Chewing on strange things frequently like fencing...wood...tree bark...can be a sign of a deficiency. Sometimes it's more than just boredom and they are trying to get a mineral they need. The Purina loose goat minerals I won't use on it's own. If you look at the ingredients...it's mostly salt...which really...they don't need that much salt. I had the same problems when I fed it...the goats wouldn't eat them. I ended up switching over to Sweetlix meat maker minerals, mix it now with kelp, and just like one bag of Purina brand mineral to every 4 of Sweetlix...and my goats eat it right up and are doing great on it. It was a big improvement over the Purina mineral alone.

If you can try a different mineral...I'd definately see if that makes a difference. I would hate to see them have some of that wire get caught in their mouth or swallowed. :thumb:


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## apachedowns (Mar 14, 2010)

I put a few trees in my goat pastures a few years back and put 4 t-posts in about 6-10 inches from the tree and wrapped 4 ft no climb horse fence around it...they have not touched the trees because they cant reach the trunks...they will get some of the low lying branches but that is all.


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## jaycee (Aug 3, 2011)

Thanks Kylee, thats very good advice. I'll look at my feed store and the farm store but they dont have many goat specific products. Most things here are geared towards horses and beef cattle. Perhaps the tractor supply has something...


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## jaycee (Aug 3, 2011)

TS website lists this "Manna Pro Goat Mineral Supplement"... has anyone had experience using it?

http://www.tractorsupply.com/manna-pro- ... b--5099436


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## freedomstarfarm (Mar 25, 2011)

Jaycee I have used and liked that mineral. I only found it in the tiny bag and with as many goats as I have it was not economical.


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## jaycee (Aug 3, 2011)

Thanks Logan... I just have 7 goats so 8 lbs of mineral shouldnt go too fast I wouldnt think...


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## Maggie (Nov 5, 2010)

I have used the manna pro minerals when we had ran out of our regular stuff, my goats wouldn't even touch it.


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## pennyspasture (Dec 22, 2011)

I use the manna pro minerals and my girls love it, but I also only have 3 goats. I agree it wouldn't be very economical if you have a lot of goats.


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## Mandara Farm (Sep 12, 2010)

We wrapped a tree in the goat pen with chicken wire -- did a really thorough job of it (or so we thought, haha). It became a game to the goats: how to get through/under/over/around that chicken wire to get to the tree bark. By the time we got it wrapped so they absolutely could not get to it, it looked like it was in the middle of a tornado of wire. Good grief... LOL. If I ever have a tree in a pen again (we've moved the pen so the tree isnt in it any more) I'll use panels.


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