tiny pasture, what to plant?

[muddipuppy]

hi, urban farmer here. my 2 very small (moms are about 18") nigerian babies will be coming at the end of july and i'd like to sow some seeds in their very small grazing area. any suggestions of what to plant? also, will a picket fence suffice for keeping the two of them where i want them?

 

[tiffanyh]

They will probably end up chewing on the picket fence and chew up the wood, at least my nigerians would. As my husband say, what else do they have to do with their time! 8 hours of day-Plenty of time to plot an escape!

I used welded wire and after about 3 or 4 years they pulled it apart and I have to replace it with livestock/goat fence that is woven wire. My girlfriend used electric for their goats and they walked through it....

I have a small about 100x25ft paddock area also and I made it into two areas, one to grow hay/grass so they could graze once a week or so, and the other half turned into dirt. I dont think you can keep green in a place that goat live if its not a large area.

 

[aggieterpkatie]

Where are you located? It's really not a good time to start grass seed right now because it's so hot. You'll have to water religiously or wait until the fall to get a good stand. If the area is really that small, I'd go with bermuda grass. Bermuda grass is a really tough grass that spreads and forms a mat of cover over the ground. The goats might not think it's the tastiest grass there is, but that's a good thing so they won't eat it all. Plus, bermuda grass can stand really close grazing and bounce back pretty easily. It's good for heavy use areas, like near waterers, gates, feeders, etc. Many people are starting to use it now for vegetative sacrifice areas.

 

[freemotion]

How about throwing a few peas in there? You can get something in the grocery store to plant. I threw black-eyed peas in one year and will do it again if I ever get organized enough in the spring......

 

[babsbag]

I can't help with the planting, but as far as fencing. I would go with woven, no climb wire. And a hot wire on the inside to keep them off the fence. I have 7 goats, togg/alpine. They respect my hot wire. They don't lean on my fence, they don't test the fence, they don't jump the fence. You just have to make sure that you have a fence controller that puts out enough voltage so that the goats feel it. And mine only felt it once. At TSC they have a display that shows clearly which controllers will work with which animals. I love my hot wire.

 

[mully]

With regard to electric fencing it needs to be hot...very hot. I use a 50 mile fencer on 2 acres, 6 wire at about 5000 volts and have not had any problem for years. I do keep a backup fencer because a bad storm can knock it out. People who have problems do not have the fence hot enough or are using braided wire, HT solid wire works the best

 

[Ariel301]

What to plant depends really on your climate. Alfalfa is a good goat feed, and generally grows fast and takes over an area, but it won't grow in a burning hot, dry desert like I live in. Bermuda grass, however, will. (It goes wild in my garden!) A little clover could be nice too.

 

[apdan]

I use woven wire for mine with a strand of hot wire on top, otherwise they jump it, and my steer smashes it.