This is probably going to be a very long post and I apologize for it in advance. I managed to stumble upon this site while looking into raising goats and I thought, since there is a forum, I might post and get an idea of whether or not raising goats would be a feasible idea for my situation.
I’m currently running a 90 acre farm with about 40 acres of pasture land. The farm itself is located between three mountains in Kentucky and much of the terrain is very hilly. Until about three years ago, we had been running poled Hereford cattle accompanied by an Old English Sheepdog for herding and protection. Since their departure, the farm has become a bit woolly from the growth of blackberries, clover and an assortment of wildflowers. The orchard, and many of the hillside areas have also grown up with a fair bit of brush and weeds. These areas are not exactly ideal for brush removal by machine and I have been told that it’s simply “too steep” for a bush hog to clean. We’ve kept up with having a decent garden, and acquired a license to sell organic produce, but I am looking to expand the gardening area, clean up all the overgrowth and give my sweet OES something to do other than skitter over to neighboring farms and herd the livestock of other farmers. It was cute the first time he did this. The 20th time? Not so much. With that in mind, we’ve also been considering milking and possibly raising goats in the future if everything more or less works out.
So, with this information, I guess I’m wondering a few things.
Would goats be a good option for clearing the farm?
If I’m starting out, and looking to clear land over milking/breeding, how many goats would I need?
How different really are goats from cattle?
Would I need to retrain my OES for goat herding purposes?
Is there anything, specifically, that I should take into consideration before getting goats?
