Just Browsing...

Directly behind our 5 acres is a little patch of overgrown woods with live oaks, willow, China Berry and Chinese Tallow trees.  It's also filled with privet.  Even though this land is not ours, I have to keep it in check as the invasive trees want to take over our fence line.  I do pray each day that this land stays "wild," though.  I like it even though it harbors more than its fair share of possums, minks, squirrels, rabbits and numerous other wildlife.

The hard freezes this week finally killed any grasses that were growing in the pasture and the animals are living off of hay that we have stockpiled.  This jungle behind us contains something that the goats simply love - privet.  Privet spreads like an infectious disease and it grows so fast, you can almost watch it put on new branches and leaves.  Fortunately, our goats can eat it almost as fast as it grows.

The wild jungle behind us

To harvest the privet I use some heavy duty pruners like you see below.  It has to be big, as some of the privet is about two inches in diameter.

Woody shrubs like privet is called browse, and goats simply LOVE browsing.  I clip the privet, throw it over the fence and the goats clip the leaves off the branches quicker than you could imagine.  This gives them a little variety in their diets and it also keeps the wild woods somewhat tamed.  In just a short while the woods will be teeming with dewberries that we'll harvest.  Cleaning up the woods will make dew berry picking easier, allowing grass to grow, and discourage varmints from wandering into our property.

Every once in a while I have to gather up the privet branches that have been denuded by the ravenous goats.  I stack the "bones" up in a big pile to eventually decay in the same woods where they grew.  I call 'em bones because they resemble the plate of bones after you've eaten your fill at a rib joint.

There's plenty more privet where that came from, and I'll gladly keep clipping it and throwing over the fence to keep those old goats happy.

One housekeeping item before I sign off tonight: We'll be going 'radio silent' until Sunday night, February 8th when I'll post again as we are spending some good family time together.  See ya Sunday!

A Discovery Just Past the Fence

Just over our fence to the south is a piece of property that is undeveloped, unruly, and unkempt.  You know what?  We like it that way.  It is a wild little patch of woods.  The owners are absentee and never mow.  The only problem with this is the critters.  The woods are full of rats, possums, snakes and other varmints.  Those spill over to our land and we have to deal with them.

One very positive part of that wild little patch of woods is the overgrowth of bushes.  As it turns out goats love to eat this "browse."  I mean, they tear it up.  As it threatens to encroach our perimeter fence, I chop it down with a machete and throw it over to the goats to munch on.  Lately, we've taken a tie-down for a dog and clipped one of the goats to it and put them over the fence and allowed them to eat on the browse.

Agnes eating in the woods

We stood there and watched her eat non-stop.  She drifted into the woods and the undergrowth almost engulfed her.

I glanced just to the west of where she was eating and something caught my eye.  It was a plant with different leaves than we're accustomed to seeing in the woods.  I immediately recognized what it was by its leaves - A Mulberry Tree!  Where did it come from?

About four years ago, IN THIS POST I talked about a friend who gave me some mulberries to plant.  In that post, I talk about scattering out the mulberries in the woods behind the house.  Well, lo and behold, we have success!  I can remember as a kid I would eat mulberries right off the tree at my grandmother's house.  The berries were sweet and they would stain your hands purple!  We loved them.  The birds loved them.

The problem that this small mulberry tree will encounter is competition.  It is growing beneath the canopy of privet, Chinese Tallow, and China berry tree - all invasive imports from China.  Sound familiar?

The Canopy

I have to chop down some of that canopy to allow some sunshine to reach the tree.  This will allow it to grow.  It will reach upward and outward and its limbs will bear fruit that we'll enjoy.  For that to happen, I have to get my machete and start chopping.  The goats in the pasture will enjoy eating it.

In no time, I had cleared away a lot of the overgrowth and the mulberry tree was free from some of the competition.

The mulberry tree was actually getting some sunshine on its leaves.  I will keep it cleaned up around the tree and will also spread some chicken litter around the base to give it some 'food' to boost its growth.

I'm so excited that we have had success in our own "Johnny Appleseed" project.  We will report when we have our first mulberry harvest.

Browse for Goats and a Surprise

Tricia told me that yesterday she went out in the afternoon to milk Nellie, our goat, and she hardly got any milk at all.  Her production has been going down somewhat which is a natural occurrence once a goat gets several months past giving birth, but this was such a drastic reduction that it was troubling to us.  What was going on with our milk?

We've had Annie (Nellie's little kid) separated in a temporary pen made with cattle panels in order to wean her.  Since she's no longer on her momma's milk, we move her temporary pen (that is 16 feet by 16 feet) every other day so that she can be on fresh grass.  But goats are naturally browsers.  They like to eat leafy vegetation from trees and shrubs.  I have been giving Nellie and Annie some browse to eat.

First thing i n the morning and last thing in the afternoon, I've been getting my ladder and some trimmers and clipping some leafy stuff to the goats to eat on.

Tools of the trade

The trimmers are on a long pole which enables me to reach up high to get some branches that need trimming anyway.  They have a saw on the end and also some spring loaded clippers which enable you to put limbs in the cutting channel and pull a rope that pulls a sharp blade across the channel to cut the limb.

Saw/Clipper Combo

Here's an example of a larger branch that I sawed off and the goats will make quick work of it.  Doing this provides a dual benefit.  It allows me to trim our trees that need trimming AND provides a tasty meal for Nellie and Annie.

A big branch for the goats to eat on

Once I cut the branches I'll throw a few in Annie's pen and the rest into the pasture for Nellie to eat.  They waste no time in eating all the leaves off and then the following day I haul the leafless branches to the burning pile.

Yummy

After I tossed the branches over, I stood and watched them eat.  Nellie nibbled a bit on hers but then craned her neck through the panel and began eating on Annie's leaves.  Hmmmm.

Aha

And then it hit me.  Just as Nellie figured out how to get her neck through the panel to eat leaves, Annie figured out how to get her neck through the panel to nurse on her momma.

Busted!

What to do?  Well, Google is our friend.  Believe it or not, there is a contraption called a "Goat Bra" that will fit over Nellie so that Annie can't get to the OUR milk.  Here's a prototype we found on Homesteading Today:

Photo Credit

All I can say is, "Wow!"  Tricia will be getting out her sewing machine and will be sewing a bra for Nellie. This is going to be something to see.  We'll be sure to have a fashion show once it is complete!