5 ms·

So you want me to pay you to feed your goats?

gwbas1c 4y ago
Uhm, goats are by far the cheapest way to clear out certain kinds of brush and noxious plants. They're also cute and act like dogs. Pesticides are dangerous and still leave a dead plant, machines jam (and lop off fingers,) doing it by hand takes a long time and can risk major rashes from poison ivy or cuts from thorns. Part of my back yard is impenetrable from the kinds of plants goats eat.
- strickman 4y ago
  I think he has a point there. If he did not pay for, it may be an even trade. You'd just have to compare the cost per acre per month of machine maintenance vs the cost to maintain a well fed flock for a month; including land costs and property taxes if you own the land.
  - happyopossum 4y ago
    > I think he has a point there. If he did not pay for, it may be an even trade. Not really - the cost of food for goats is fairly marginal all things considered. For this kind of service you have to account for transport, setup (usually fencing of some sort has to be put up), etc. as well as ongoing medical and shelter costs for when they aren’t working.
- bobthepanda 4y ago
  Also, goats deal really well with sloped areas that machines and people struggle with. Where I live they get used a lot on highway embankments.
  - jaimex2 4y ago
    Electric mowers and brush cutters solved that years ago. They weigh nothing.
    - bobthepanda 4y ago
      You still need to operate one with a human, and goats don’t have a minimum wage. (Also, because their method of destruction is eating, they also go for root systems and clear them whole; this is a very important feature in my area, as they’re used to kill blackberry, which does not die if you leave the roots.)
    - kennend3 4y ago
      So... You prefer two stroke gasoline engines (Very environmentally unfriendly) vs goats because??? I've never seen city employees using "electric mowers"??? Probably because the battery life is simply useless for anything beyond a small yard? On top of this, you prefer to pay unionized city worker wages to remove weeds instead of an environmentally friendly goat do it for almost nothing? I saw 2 city workers trying to clear an area the other day. 3 hours later they were still there, gasoline burning trimmers screaming away. I'd say they had at lest a day of work left. Two workers, there all day - probably a few tanks of gas as well... Personally, i'd prefer they had Goats as an option.. but that is just me.
- jaimex2 4y ago
  There's going to be poop everywhere and potential damage if they aren't confined. They'll climb and gnaw on everything and anything. The goats will be spreading the weed seeds. I'm not saying they are bad, I'm just saying you're being a schmuck if you pay someone to have their goats graze on your land. Get your own grazers or let them do it for free.

Uhm, goats are by far the cheapest way to clear out certain kinds of brush and noxious plants. They're also cute and act like dogs. Pesticides are dangerous and still leave a dead plant, machines jam (and lop off fingers,) doing it by hand takes a long time and can risk major rashes from poison ivy or cuts from thorns. Part of my back yard is impenetrable from the kinds of plants goats eat.

strickman 4y ago
I think he has a point there. If he did not pay for, it may be an even trade. You'd just have to compare the cost per acre per month of machine maintenance vs the cost to maintain a well fed flock for a month; including land costs and property taxes if you own the land.
- happyopossum 4y ago
  > I think he has a point there. If he did not pay for, it may be an even trade. Not really - the cost of food for goats is fairly marginal all things considered. For this kind of service you have to account for transport, setup (usually fencing of some sort has to be put up), etc. as well as ongoing medical and shelter costs for when they aren’t working.
bobthepanda 4y ago
Also, goats deal really well with sloped areas that machines and people struggle with. Where I live they get used a lot on highway embankments.
- jaimex2 4y ago
  Electric mowers and brush cutters solved that years ago. They weigh nothing.
  - bobthepanda 4y ago
    You still need to operate one with a human, and goats don’t have a minimum wage. (Also, because their method of destruction is eating, they also go for root systems and clear them whole; this is a very important feature in my area, as they’re used to kill blackberry, which does not die if you leave the roots.)
  - kennend3 4y ago
    So... You prefer two stroke gasoline engines (Very environmentally unfriendly) vs goats because??? I've never seen city employees using "electric mowers"??? Probably because the battery life is simply useless for anything beyond a small yard? On top of this, you prefer to pay unionized city worker wages to remove weeds instead of an environmentally friendly goat do it for almost nothing? I saw 2 city workers trying to clear an area the other day. 3 hours later they were still there, gasoline burning trimmers screaming away. I'd say they had at lest a day of work left. Two workers, there all day - probably a few tanks of gas as well... Personally, i'd prefer they had Goats as an option.. but that is just me.
jaimex2 4y ago
There's going to be poop everywhere and potential damage if they aren't confined. They'll climb and gnaw on everything and anything. The goats will be spreading the weed seeds. I'm not saying they are bad, I'm just saying you're being a schmuck if you pay someone to have their goats graze on your land. Get your own grazers or let them do it for free.