Planting my paddock (flowers)

[Vkp23]

So we just bought new property and are working on getting everything set up. I’m working on what to plant in my paddocks for my goats. I have a couple goats I know LOVE to eat flowers but I’m trying to decide what the best to plant are. My goal is to have 3 paddocks. One will have flowers planted along with the green goat friendly forage seed I have bought. I want to plant perennials so that hopefully, if I move the goats around paddocks right, there will be enough flowers left for them to come back year after year. If they eat them all I’ll just make up a flower mix I can plant every spring. Either way, I want to plant flowers because they are pretty and the goats love to eat them. So yes, they are specifically for the goats to eat. Anyway, I could really use help finding flowers that are safe for them. I have found and bought clover (of dif varieties), dandelion, sunflower, echinacea, marigolds, cosmos, zinnia and alyssum. Any other flowers? I’d like to find some more blues if possible. Maybe some orange. And come to think of it, perennials or annuals will work. Replanting won’t be too hard.

 

[Mini Horses]

Dandelions and clover are good for them! But they can kill them out . Clover usually comes back well if you get it established....I have pulled the puffs to reseed dandelions some years. Also sow vetch. IF it gets to mature, tiny purple flowers but a high protein legume type forage, grows well. Any trees around?

You probably have some brassicas in your seed mix. I buy a few bags of the "deer plot" seeds when they go on sale and toss over the grass areas for variety.

How large are the paddocks going to be? How many goats? We love pictures.

 

[Baymule]

I bet that will be pretty until the goats eat it. LOL What kinda of grasses are in your paddocks?

 

[Finnie]

Watching!

I hope you will post photos of the paddocks in their different stages of growth.

 

[Vkp23]

Dandelions and clover are good for them! But they can kill them out . Clover usually comes back well if you get it established....I have pulled the puffs to reseed dandelions some years. Also sow vetch. IF it gets to mature, tiny purple flowers but a high protein legume type forage, grows well. Any trees around?

You probably have some brassicas in your seed mix. I buy a few bags of the "deer plot" seeds when they go on sale and toss over the grass areas for variety.

How large are the paddocks going to be? How many goats? We love pictures.

it’s probably about 2 acres worth that I will section off into three paddocks. I’ll have other areas I’ll be able to browse them, but these will be the main three. The one closest to the house will be their primary “living quarters“ which will have their house, some toys, thinking of building a goat swing and there is what we call “goat mountain”. Lol. It’s a big pile of massive rocks we had the construction guys pile up for the goats to climb on. The middle paddock will grow just this deer food plot seed we found mixed with some goat food plot seed. The last one near the road is where I want to grow some flowers. I’ll be using some of the deer food plot, the rest of the goat food plot, this other food plot seeds that has a bunch of the same things you were talking about. The vetch you spoke of, a bunch of dif types of clover, flax, millet….a bunch of other more “premium“ plants. Lol. I’ll be mixing any of my other flower seeds in that mix.

we have a ton of trees on the property. Mostly sweet gum, oak, maple and privet. Though, they love the privet so I don’t see it surviving too long. Lol. We still need to clear like 90% of all that area and plan to take out a TON of those trees because there’s just so many of them. They are all no more than 2-3 years old So they aren’t all that big. But we are still going to leave a good many for shade and becuse we do still like trees. Just not nothing but trees. Lol

currently we have 7 does (two are about to kid) and 2 bucks. The bucks will have their own smaller paddocks but might not have as many flowers. the boys are Frederick Douglas and Lincoln. The girls are Dixie, Giddy, Daisy duke, Susan b Anthony, Cadence, Liberty and Justice. Notice our theme? . We didn’t name Giddy though. Lol. Since we were only able to breed two of our does this year (it was Dixie and Giddy, the others were too small/young and the only other one who was big enough miscarried due to getting pneumonia) we plan to keep all the babies. Dixie was bred to a buck from show lines and Giddy IS from show lines. After I was jilted by a breeder who tried to screw me over with doelings with extra teats, I don’t buy anything less than show lines from good serious Breeders Anymore. I want to eventually get into showing and because the gene pool is pretty shallow in my area, I‘ve been getting my stock from as far out as I can. Anyway…here is some goat tax!

 

[Vkp23]

Watching!

I hope you will post photos of the paddocks in their different stages of growth.

I might actually make a thread for my paddock development project. that wouldn’t be a bad idea. Perhaps other folks could learn from it.

 

[canesisters]

I'm planning something similar for my chickens. A set of 2 paddocks I can plant, grow, & rotate them into and out of.

 

[Baymule]

I have a pasture thread, from my old farm. It was fun to go back and see how far we had come. Now I have a new farm and I’m making a fence thread.

 

[Mini Horses]

Love the pics! Goats are Sooo fun! I have dairy and meat groups. Yes, I milk them. And use a lot, milk, cream, butter, yogurt, cheese and soaps; also sell milk and milk trained does. Yes, meat herd is to sell for butcher -- it's a farm, gotta pay for feed.

They will clear that wooded/ brush area like a park

 

[Finnie]

it’s probably about 2 acres worth that I will section off into three paddocks. I’ll have other areas I’ll be able to browse them, but these will be the main three. The one closest to the house will be their primary “living quarters“ which will have their house, some toys, thinking of building a goat swing and there is what we call “goat mountain”. Lol. It’s a big pile of massive rocks we had the construction guys pile up for the goats to climb on. The middle paddock will grow just this deer food plot seed we found mixed with some goat food plot seed. The last one near the road is where I want to grow some flowers. I’ll be using some of the deer food plot, the rest of the goat food plot, this other food plot seeds that has a bunch of the same things you were talking about. The vetch you spoke of, a bunch of dif types of clover, flax, millet….a bunch of other more “premium“ plants. Lol. I’ll be mixing any of my other flower seeds in that mix.

we have a ton of trees on the property. Mostly sweet gum, oak, maple and privet. Though, they love the privet so I don’t see it surviving too long. Lol. We still need to clear like 90% of all that area and plan to take out a TON of those trees because there’s just so many of them. They are all no more than 2-3 years old So they aren’t all that big. But we are still going to leave a good many for shade and becuse we do still like trees. Just not nothing but trees. Lol

currently we have 7 does (two are about to kid) and 2 bucks. The bucks will have their own smaller paddocks but might not have as many flowers. the boys are Frederick Douglas and Lincoln. The girls are Dixie, Giddy, Daisy duke, Susan b Anthony, Cadence, Liberty and Justice. Notice our theme? . We didn’t name Giddy though. Lol. Since we were only able to breed two of our does this year (it was Dixie and Giddy, the others were too small/young and the only other one who was big enough miscarried due to getting pneumonia) we plan to keep all the babies. Dixie was bred to a buck from show lines and Giddy IS from show lines. After I was jilted by a breeder who tried to screw me over with doelings with extra teats, I don’t buy anything less than show lines from good serious Breeders Anymore. I want to eventually get into showing and because the gene pool is pretty shallow in my area, I‘ve been getting my stock from as far out as I can. Anyway…here is some goat tax!

Ha ha I wanted to hit the button on this lots of times!!