Can a goat and some hens clear an overgrown allotment?

RacyRed

Ahhh, thanks for the link.

No benefit claiming goats then, wouldn't want to find it's photo splashed all over the Sun with some lurid headline.

Mind you, surely one of THESE would have a valid disability claim?

Blackpool_Saver

RacyRed wrote: »

Ahhh, thanks for the link.

No benefit claiming goats then, wouldn't want to find it's photo splashed all over the Sun with some lurid headline.

Mind you, surely one of THESE would have a valid disability claim?

well, they do look like they have extra care needs........

Lotus-eater

RacyRed wrote: »

If I choose an allotment that is fairly close to a protective belt of trees might that help or make things worse?

Well if the trees shelter your site, then it will make it much better, but if they are too close, then they will rob moisture and nutrients from the ground.

What you really need is an expert on local fruit trees, much like finding a crock of gold these days.
You could try ringing all the local nurseries and hoping to hit gold.

RacyRed

Lotus-eater wrote: »

Well if the trees shelter your site, then it will make it much better, but if they are too close, then they will rob moisture and nutrients from the ground.

What you really need is an expert on local fruit trees, much like finding a crock of gold these days.
You could try ringing all the local nurseries and hoping to hit gold.

Darn it - I need my Grandad for advice on this one - sadly he is no longer around for me to ask. There is a really good nursery locally, I'll start with them Good suggestion, thanks :T

JillS_2

RacyRed wrote: »

Redsam, bees! Now there's a good idea! That would work really well with fruit trees and chooks!

Trust me, bees would be hopeless. I have loads in my garden and I don't think they've rooted up a single weed - they just buzz round having sex with them instead.

RacyRed

JillS wrote: »

Trust me, bees would be hopeless. I have loads in my garden and I don't think they've rooted up a single weed - they just buzz round having sex with them instead.

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl: Love it!

RacyRed

:j:j:j:j

OKAY! I 've got the allotment (went for a half sized one for now) and a neighbour's goat (she lives on the allotment next door to mine) has started work on the weeds.

Mrs goat has been hungrily eyeing up the weeds on my plot so is very happy to have ben given the job. :rotfl::rotfl:

The allotment slopes downhill (north facing) but is sheltered from the prevailing winds. There is a brick foundation from an old green house which might do nicely for the foundations of the hen house and shed. Wood-worker brother is being bribed and bullied to assist in this little task.

Hens, fruit trees and bees, here I come.

zarazara

racyred wrote: »

:j:j:j:j

okay! I 've got the allotment (went for a half sized one for now) and a neighbour's goat (she lives on the allotment next door to mine) has started work on the weeds.

Mrs goat has been hungrily eyeing up the weeds on my plot so is very happy to have ben given the job. :rotfl::rotfl:

The allotment slopes downhill (north facing) but is sheltered from the prevailing winds. There is a brick foundation from an old green house which might do nicely for the foundations of the hen house and shed. Wood-worker brother is being bribed and bullied to assist in this little task.

Hens, fruit trees and bees, here i come. :d :d :d

yippeeeeeeee:t:t:t

thorsoak

In our previous life we kept goats and bees ....until OH had a bad reaction to a bee sting and finished up in hospital !

The goats were wonderful ....but they were hard work ...we walked them daily so that they could browse on the hedgerows ...looked really funny - two toggenburgs, two labradors, a couple of cats, a couple of chldren and us going for a walk in the evenings! They are sociable creatures and extremely nosy - as well as being able to walk out of most paddocks unless you have goat-proof bolts on the gates. Occasional tethering is fine - provided that the tether is moved two or three times a day - and water has to be provided within reach of the tether - so that has to be moved as well - and its best to have a large bucket inside a tyre as they are rather fond of kicking the bucket over! You can't leave them out in the wet or cold - they become ill - and an ill goat is a seriously sick animal - they're even worse than men with man flu!

Can I suggest you read Katie Threar - see http://www.poultry.allotment.org.uk/livestock/goats/index.php - she's really knowledgeable.

Oh - and be careful, don't keep paper money in your back pocket - OH was milking one of ours - and I caught her nuzzling his back pocket, finding a fiver and she'd almost eaten it before I managed to grab it back!!

RacyRed

Thank you so much thorsoak. That site is really interesting

Mrs Goat is also a toggenburg and ended up with her current owners because she escaped from her original home as a kid. She is going to make an interesting next door neighbour - I'm glad I'd not been planning to grow vegetables on the plot. With luck, once the fruit trees are established, any unplanned excursions she makes through the fence from her allotment into mine will not cause any major problems. I've been advised to always carry a packet of mints, just in case she needs tempting back to her own home. :rotfl:

Mrs Goat has a goat friend in another close-by allotment and the pair of them are well known for their ability to get themselves (and 2 geese) out of their enclosures and set off wandering around the village, or taking themselves off up the fields to visit their special friends, the huge cart horses.

For now, part of the fence between her enclosure and my allotment has been removed so she can come and go as she wishes.