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BANG FOR THE BITE
It can get pricey, and goats aren't as quick as weed-whackers, but getting a goat to do the weeding is about as eco-friendly as landscaping gets.
COCKTAIL FACT
NYer Ashrita Furman holds the world record for the longest time yodeling (27 hr).
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home › tip library › Goat Rentals
What's more annoying than a 100-decible yodel?
The Bite
The sound of a gas-powered lawnmower. So skip the mowers and get your goat. The scrub-grass we loathe is like French fries to billies, so rent a few four-legged lawnmowers for pesticide-free weed-clearing.The Benefits
- Goats eat it all, including typically hard-to-weed blackberries, poison ivy and oak, and thistles.
- It's yodel-ay-he-healthier. Of the 30 most commonly used lawn pesticides, 19 have been linked to cancer.
- Quiet as a yodeler with laryngitis. Unlike weed-whackers, goats hardly make any noise at all.
Personally Speaking
For a Halloween party one year, Jen's mom went all out. She dressed up as Heidi and rented a goat. Everyone was totally into it...until they realized why the floor was so sticky.Wanna Try?
- Goatfinder - goat-rental directory with listings in 11 states. Also: a breeders' directory if you're in the market for a new pet (about $100-$200/acre).
Mar 13,2008
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Dream Goat
If you come anywhere near the Bite offices, you're bound to hear about when exactly Jen will be rescuing another dog from the pound, the just-born chicks in her backyard coop, or how she recently got new boots 'cuz horseshow season's coming up.
Her latest obsession? Getting a goat. As someone who's been to her place in Bozeman, I can tell you she probably has room next to the chicken coop for a little corral, but if she wants to think about getting even one more Cricket-sized dog after that, girl's gonna need a bigger yard.
-Toshio...off to wonder how, with 11 animals, Jen's ever gonna get a date...
Her latest obsession? Getting a goat. As someone who's been to her place in Bozeman, I can tell you she probably has room next to the chicken coop for a little corral, but if she wants to think about getting even one more Cricket-sized dog after that, girl's gonna need a bigger yard.
-Toshio...off to wonder how, with 11 animals, Jen's ever gonna get a date...
Biter Comments...
What's the goat poo coefficient on this whole idea? I mean, you get your lawn grazed and then you need to clean up after them?
And why the heck do we have lawns anyway???
I LOVE the idea of having a goat mow the lawn! Unfortunately, more than half of the links I tried on the GoatFinder website (the link in the Tip) were dead or pointing to pages that were so old, they were of no use. :-(
Good luck making space for that goat, Jen!
They only rent goats in 11 states. Its a wonderful idea, but there are those of us who don't want to take care of an animal. If you do tips like these, please have some options for the rest of the country that doesn't live in these 11 states. Are there other ways of finding people who rent goats or sheep? Its also my impression that sheep are better. Apparently, while goats can eat anything, sometimes they don't, and some they eat down to the roots. Sheep actually create more of a 'lawn' (which is how the lawn look came about, from the village greens in England, where the sheep would graze)
This isn't a very useful tip. People aren't really going to go out and rent a goat to do their lawn mowing. I could see this being funny as an April fools issue, but it's only March 13th!! I hope you aren't running out of actual useful ideas. . . .
Just wanted to mention www.petfinder.com as a great way to find a goat to rescue. I'm surprised that adopting a rescued goat wasn't mentioned in this tip.
I found this tip quite useful, myself. We're (hopefully) about to buy a 12-acre land parcel that has been neglected and will need clearing. We want to keep goats on the property but don't feel like we're ready to make that leap just yet, so a rented goat or two seems like just the ticket to me. And I sympathize with Jen - we are TOTAL suckers. We presently live on a tiny city lot, in a 950 square foot house and we have seven animals (not to mention about eight fish). I'd have a goat and some chickens right now if the city would allow it!
I do own a goat and he has no interest in our "lawn" . He does enjoy the neighbor's garden, house plants and anything with leaves. He can also clear a standard fence by several feet. However, if anyone is interested in renting him, we'll give you a deal. Sheep are better mowers but need constant protection against seemingly friendly dogs.
My mom rented a goat, woke up the next morning and found the poor thing~~dead. Seems that it ate some rhododendren, which was poisonous to it. Opps! So be careful what's within the critter's reach.
You won't be able to enjoy having a goat if you live in any city limit, even if you have space. Darn!
Mowing the lawn with a reel mower is OK if you have a lawn that's only the size of the proverbial postage stamp, but I have about an acre or two to mow, so a reel mower isn't practical for me, even though I do have one. Also, reel mowers are good only if you have the time and/or the inclination to mow often because they don't work well if the grass is more than, say, a couple of inches high.
As for using goats for lawn mowing, goats, like deer, are foragers, so they're better at eating twigs and shrubbery, as deer are. As Niki said, sheep are the better lawn mowers, but they do need protection from dogs. (Historical Note: During the Wilson Administration, Mrs. Wilson kept a flock of sheep on the White House lawn for wool production and manpower conservation.)
A few words from an ol' goat herder and always a goat aficionado.
1 lone goat is trouble. Goats are herd animals and need buddies. This is why they sometimes keep them with race horses as companions.
A lonely goat IS noisy, because it spends time calling for its missing friends.
Goat poo is wonderful! Like deer, they have little round, hard "goat berries" that are no problem on the ground and is one of the very best manures for your garden.
Goats are browsers. This means they PREFER roses, fruit tress, and many ornamentals to grass, so as a landscape lawn mower... I am not so sure. But if you have poison oak/ivy or berry brambles to clear they are the best method there is. To clean up a vacant lot or area - they are amazing.
Sheep are same as goats in many ways, except they prefer grass and mow like angels - except for the occasional rose bush.
Both will happily eat your poisonous ornamentals - so will your children. Know your plants. Rhodies, Castor Bean, these are poisonous and so are some others. Some houseplants as well.
This is the dumbest bite you've come up with so far. First, renting goats requires the goats to be transported to the lawn which will likely use more fuel and create more CO2 than a typical lawnmower. Secondly, all of this transport is going to be extremely stressful on these poor animals. What is wrong with using a push mower and leaving your clippings on the lawn. We have used a push mower for three years and our lawn is as green as our neighbor's who pour chemicals all over the lawn and uses a power mower. Plus, mowing with a push mower is quieter and more enjoyable than a power mower and maintenance is a breeze.
They don't rent goats where I live but my minature horse does an awesome job. I have even loaned him to neighbors to do their lawns. Minis have small poo also so just one chicken to scratch it and you yard is perfect with no outside help. I think this is a great tip anyone who had a "worry free" yard for a few weeks would be hooked.
Seriously? I appreciate the lighthearted approach you try to take with what can otherwise be a very DRY subject matter but this suggestion is just nonsense. It seriously undermines any credibility that you have and is leading me to unsubscribe.
Glad you are spreading the word and hope the majority of your readers don't find this as moronic as I do.
We bought goats to clean up our 50 acre farm in the KY hills. After eating all the bark off of our heirloom apple trees (which killed the trees) they decided that our fences would not keep them from feasting in our neighbor's hay fields. We finally had to sell them.
Goats won't merely graze the grass, they'll eventually eat it all, leaving you with no lawn to worry about. They'll also eat your vegetable and flower gardens. They're mighty cute, but no very practical.
With all of the unwanted animals today I cannot believe that you are saying to go out and get an animal that can be sometimes (very) difficult to care for, keep inside an enclosure, and can sometimes be aggressive to small children. I love my animals and I have had goats my entire life and would not recommend that someone get an animal for the purpose of WEEDING YOUR YARD! Animals deserve to be loved, cared for and respected! So if it doesn't work out just drop it off at the Humane Society? I recommend getting a "knee saver" pad and doing the job yourself! Be your own goat!
I had to laugh when I read about Jen's mother at the Halloween party with the goat.... I was at that party! It was at my sister's house. I'll never forget that.
Robyn, you apparently missed my earlier post in this thread in which I mentioned mowing with a reel (non-motorized) mower. That method isn't practical for everyone. Mowing with a reel mower makes sense only if you have a very small of lawn, and if you have the time and/or the inclination to mow often because reel mowers don't cut well if the grass is more than, say, about two inches high.
Who needs a date when you have 11 loves-of-your-life? :)
PHOTO ALBUMS
Posted by: Becky Heiland | March 13, 2008 at 06:49 AM