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Barnyard Buddies:  What is the best "natural lawn mower"  |
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StrawHouseRanch
True Blue Farmgirl
1044 Posts
Paula
Holt
Missouri
USA
1044 Posts |
 Posted - Apr 23 2012 : 07:57:38 AM
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What is the best critter that you would recommend for keeping a couple of acres mowed that we do not use. It is a south facing sloping, heavily terraced section of land. Because the terraces are so steep themselves it is nearly impossible to keep them mowed and have grown up into mostly Missouri weeds. There are a few grapevines along the terraces planted there by the previous owner, but they keep getting overrun with grass and weeds every year. It would be nice to fill in the rest of the terraces with grapevines, but not with the kind of maintenance that would be necessary to mow or trim by hand. Our local winery has incorporated sheep as their mowers. I am beginning to research "sheep-keeping" and am wondering if they are the best option, how many sheep to acre are needed, and how demanding are their needs in winter. In addition they would obviously need protection from the numerous coyotes we have in the area. I'm just wondering if there is not another creature that mows and weeds as well as sheep.
Paula
Farmgirl Sister #3090
Yesterday is History, Tomorrow is a Mystery, and Today is a Gift.
"Look deep into Nature, and then you will understand everything better."--Albert Einstein
"A meal of bread, cheese and beer constitutes the perfect food." --Queen Elizabeth I
http://www.etsy.com/shop/StrawHouseDesigns |
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YakLady
True Blue Farmgirl
652 Posts
Natalie
Montana
USA
652 Posts |
Posted - Apr 23 2012 : 08:45:40 AM
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A yak. Seriously. They keep my backyard golf course short. It's great :) You could run two year-round on a few acres if you have decent growth. They will graze and also browse.
Scrub goats are another option, but don't get them from someone who hays them in the good months, or you'll have a heck of a time getting them to go fend for themselves (learned this the hard way).
~Natalie~ Just a farmgirl in Western Montana. http://mtnme.blogspot.com
Starting a family and raising Tibetan Yaks, Highland cattle, Laying hens, Muscovy ducks, Silver Fox rabbits, and a few dogs. |
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oldbittyhen
True Blue Farmgirl
1511 Posts
tina
quartz hill
ca
USA
1511 Posts |
Posted - Apr 23 2012 : 08:47:39 AM
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here in California, there is a company that uses goats to clear brush and weeds in steep, rocky, etc areas, they are natural abatement workers. The city of Oakland and San Francisco (among others) have a yearly contract with the flock owners, cities have wildfire brush control and the owners have free grazing. and with goats , you have less chance of them eating something that is bad for them...
"Knowlege is knowing that a tomato is a fruit, Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad" |
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StrawHouseRanch
True Blue Farmgirl
1044 Posts
Paula
Holt
Missouri
USA
1044 Posts |
Posted - Apr 23 2012 : 11:04:41 AM
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Natalie,
The yaks intrique me.  How big do your yaks get? I can't see the photos from your blog at work, because they are blocked, so all I can find online is information about tibetan yaks, that look really big.
Do you harvest the fiber from your yaks?
Do they eat brushy stuff or just grass?
Paula
Farmgirl Sister #3090
Yesterday is History, Tomorrow is a Mystery, and Today is a Gift.
"Look deep into Nature, and then you will understand everything better."--Albert Einstein
"A meal of bread, cheese and beer constitutes the perfect food." --Queen Elizabeth I
http://www.etsy.com/shop/StrawHouseDesigns |
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Rosemary
True Blue Farmgirl
1825 Posts
Virginia
USA
1825 Posts |
Posted - Apr 23 2012 : 11:05:07 AM
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Yep. Goats. Tina, I've heard of those roaming goat owners and have been tempted. I understand they do quite a job on poison ivy!
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crittergranny
True Blue Farmgirl
1096 Posts
Laura
Lindrith
NM
USA
1096 Posts |
Posted - Apr 23 2012 : 11:50:01 AM
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I would think that the yaks would be easier to contain. However I have never owned a yak. I have had cattle and goats and I would think that yaks are closer to cattle when one is considering containment. The problem with goats is that they eat everything and go where they can and you would have to have high fencing and no small places where they can go under either. Sheep mostly eat grass and goats eat mostly weeds but will mow the grass also. One only needs a barbed wire fence to contain most cattle but not all. If you use goats then if you put one with the herd that knows how to graze then the others will learn to follow suit. The only problem I have ever had with goats grazing is one year I leased a buck and he showed my goats to eat the bark off of a bunch of my cedar trees and it killed quite a few trees in the acre pen they were in, and they had then learned it too. If it is a small area a flock of geese might do the trick. But even if you use professional services for goat clearing then you will still have to fence them off unless they are going to stay with them or tether them. Coyotes probably wont bother the goats if they are sort of close to your house. Coyotes that like to come in close like that usually go for smaller stuff when they are close to a house. I would be more concerned about any roaming dogs that might be around.
Laura
Horse poor in the boonies.
www.nmbarrelhorses.com |
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StrawHouseRanch
True Blue Farmgirl
1044 Posts
Paula
Holt
Missouri
USA
1044 Posts |
Posted - Apr 23 2012 : 12:20:14 PM
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I found an amazing article about using goats for scrub clearance. We use electric fencing for all of our animals, although we don't even have a charger hooked up to the fence netting that contains our dogs anymore, and they respect it...long memories!
Both Yaks and Cashmere goats offer fiber potential as well...multi-purpose animals, that can clear the land and earn their keep too! I'm just afraid that if I have a yak in my backyard, people will catch a glimpse through the trees and think that there is a Sasquatch wandering around in Missouri. I'm also not sure about their grazing practices, if they eat scrub or just graze on grass, of which we have both in that particular part of our property.
Paula
Farmgirl Sister #3090
Yesterday is History, Tomorrow is a Mystery, and Today is a Gift.
"Look deep into Nature, and then you will understand everything better."--Albert Einstein
"A meal of bread, cheese and beer constitutes the perfect food." --Queen Elizabeth I
http://www.etsy.com/shop/StrawHouseDesigns |
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YakLady
True Blue Farmgirl
652 Posts
Natalie
Montana
USA
652 Posts |
Posted - Apr 23 2012 : 12:42:13 PM
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Paula- The cows top out around 6-800 lbs, so they aren't huge. The wild yaks are ginormous, but the domestic ones are much smaller than even Angus :)
They browse, so they will eat brush. Mine have eaten buck brush, pine needles, thistle, and knap weed that I've witnessed. I'm sure they eat more, too.
It's nice because they don't need a barn in the winter, they love the snow, and yes, you can use their fiber in the Spring. They can cross with 'normal' cattle (Bos taurus), too- so you could have a cow that you breed for a calf to raise for meat. They're delicious.
They're also easy on fences. Mine stay in 47" woven field fence with a barbed topper 4-6" above that I used for my goats.
~Natalie~ Just a farmgirl in Western Montana. http://mtnme.blogspot.com
Starting a family and raising Tibetan Yaks, Highland cattle, Laying hens, Muscovy ducks, Silver Fox rabbits, and a few dogs. |
Edited by - YakLady on Apr 23 2012 12:43:02 PM |
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batznthebelfry
True Blue Farmgirl
1257 Posts
Michele
Athol
Ma
USA
1257 Posts |
Posted - Apr 23 2012 : 12:52:06 PM
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Paula since you live in my old neck of the woods I would recommend a couple of pigmy goats....they can deal with the heat & humidity of Missouri....they don't pull the grass up by the roots like a cow or sheep will so you don't have the whole yard/acreage down to its dirt...they are good for eating invasive plants/vines & even small bushes you want gone but they tend to eat everything so if you have something you want left alone you have to fence in so they can't get to it....they are very low maintance, have few healthy problems & live a good long time & if the time comes you can butcher them or breed them....One nice thing is if you get them super young you can train them on a lead so you can actually tether them to areas you want cleared & then go get them to bring them in at night......
They deal alright with the snow but like most animals in areas that might get ice storms they do need some sort of shelter to get out of the nasty weather......
I know down near Branson someone has buffalo that is another good natural yard/field clearer but I think they are like cows & eat even the roots...but that animal can handle snow, ice & rain without shelter....
Michele'
Chickens RULE!
hen #2622
theoldbatzfarm.blogspot.com |
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crittergranny
True Blue Farmgirl
1096 Posts
Laura
Lindrith
NM
USA
1096 Posts |
Posted - Apr 23 2012 : 2:31:55 PM
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Yes pigmys would be easier to manage cause they don't jump as high. Also Nigerian dwarfs are small dairy goats but they are more geared for milking. Of course some weeds make the milk taste funny sometimes. One thing to be careful of if you do decide to get goats is to not let them out on something lush all at once if they aren't used to it or they could bloat. Just 30 minutes a day to begin with and then work up from there.
Laura
Horse poor in the boonies.
www.nmbarrelhorses.com |
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prariehawk
True Blue Farmgirl
2914 Posts
Cindy
2914 Posts |
Posted - Apr 23 2012 : 3:19:36 PM
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I live near St. Louis and I know that kudzu vines can be a big problem in parts of Missouri. Is it safe for goats or yaks to eat kudzu? Also, I know someone who wants to get yaks but she's afraid the summers here would be too hot and humid for them. I hope you find something that works. Also, I've heard of a business in this area called Rent-A-Goat. Seriously. They use goats to maintain the few remaining hill prairies on the bluffs around here.
Cindy
"Vast floods can't quench love, no matter what love did/ Rivers can't drown love, no matter where love's hid"--Sinead O'Connor
"In many ways, you don't just live in the country, it lives inside you"--Ellen Eilers
Visit my blog at http://www.farmerinthebelle.blogspot.com/ |
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YakLady
True Blue Farmgirl
652 Posts
Natalie
Montana
USA
652 Posts |
Posted - Apr 23 2012 : 5:28:05 PM
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It gets to 100 degrees here in the summer for a few days. 90s are very common. I have a pond for my yaks, and when it's warm, they will stand up to their bellies in the water. As long as they have a way to keep cool, they stay content. In the warmer months, they run and play at night instead of the day time. The days are spent lying in the shade or swimming :)
I would not recommend American bison to anyone who doesn't like mending fences.
~Natalie~ Just a farmgirl in Western Montana. http://mtnme.blogspot.com
Starting a family and raising Tibetan Yaks, Highland cattle, Laying hens, Muscovy ducks, Silver Fox rabbits, and a few dogs. |
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Bonnie Ellis
True Blue Farmgirl
2474 Posts
Bonnie
Minneapolis
Minnesota
USA
2474 Posts |
Posted - Apr 23 2012 : 8:41:22 PM
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We use sheep for that purpose. They're awesome.
grandmother and orphan farmgirl |
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batznthebelfry
True Blue Farmgirl
1257 Posts
Michele
Athol
Ma
USA
1257 Posts |
Posted - Apr 23 2012 : 10:59:56 PM
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yes kudzu is a safe plant for the animals to eat...it was actually brought here from the orients as a green feed for cattle...they can eat it all the way up...roots & all with no problems........the root is actually peeled, dried & ground up to use as a starch in foods for a thickener......When we moved up here from Georgia I brought some small vines with me hoping to grow a bit of it for making starch but the winters are too cold here so it died off....Michele'
Chickens RULE!
hen #2622
theoldbatzfarm.blogspot.com |
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StrawHouseRanch
True Blue Farmgirl
1044 Posts
Paula
Holt
Missouri
USA
1044 Posts |
Posted - Apr 24 2012 : 05:54:41 AM
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Well, it looks like I have many options here! I wonder if anyone breeds miniature yaks...now that would be cute!!
I definitely will continue to research my options. It seems like each alternative has its own positive and negative aspects. And then I have to think about the additional amount of time needed to properly care for two more creatures...something I've been meditating on while I'm up at 4:30 a.m. taking care of the ones I already have!
Still welcoming more suggestions and discussion...thanks ladies!!
Paula
Farmgirl Sister #3090
Yesterday is History, Tomorrow is a Mystery, and Today is a Gift.
"Look deep into Nature, and then you will understand everything better."--Albert Einstein
"A meal of bread, cheese and beer constitutes the perfect food." --Queen Elizabeth I
http://www.etsy.com/shop/StrawHouseDesigns |
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Dusky Beauty
True Blue Farmgirl
1108 Posts
Jen
Tonopah
AZ
USA
1108 Posts |
Posted - Apr 24 2012 : 07:13:32 AM
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I would consider two species in tandem, goats (dairy or meat, not just pets so you're converting your graze into something) and geese. Geese are fantastic weeders and will chew down weeds and grass efficiently. Especially if you get them as goslings and "train them" on specific plants by providing your target weeds as "treats" in the brooder. The birds develop a taste for it and zap any of that plant they can reach.
I have 2 Chilean Mesquite trees in my yard that drop seed pods like no one's business... my first couple years here I had the little saplings growing up like weeds in every corner-- I even "weeded" a hundred of them 16" high out of the porch flowerbed and found full rose bushes under them....
Then I got ducklings and trained them to eat the mesquite leaves. No more saplings. I trained my goslings on a different weed and now they are working on THAT plant.
As far as Kudzu goes, I did my research on it. There is NO excuse for anyone to lack for fresh greens with that stuff around. You can make salad with it, tea with it, and it makes great nutritious forage.
Here are a couple Kudzu recipes for fun sake:
http://www.southernangel.com/food/kudzurcp.html
~*~ http://silverstarfamilyfarm.blogspot.com/ ~*~
“When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, 'I used everything you gave me.”
~Erma Bombeck |
Edited by - Dusky Beauty on Apr 24 2012 07:23:46 AM |
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Barnyard Buddies: What is the best "natural lawn mower" |
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What is the best "natural lawn mower"
