# Shade trees for goats?



## Wolf Flower (Dec 21, 2005)

Hi there, it's been a long time since I posted here! How is everyone? I have a question. We're thinking about fencing off part of our goat pen so that we can get some shade trees established. We are hoping that we can find a type of tree that: 

Grows fast
Provides maximum shade in the shortest amount of time
Can resist being killed by goats once mature
Not poisonous to goats, ie, they can feast on the leaves when they drop
Relatively drought-resistant once established

If there is no such tree that has all these properties, then we'd like to go for something that is cheap and abundant, that might be considered a "weed", like Privet.

We've thought about eucalyptus, privet, fruit trees, oak, etc. We'd consider evergreen trees, but deciduous gives us a bonus of free goat food in the fall, and we don't need the shade during winter anyway. We live in Northern California, zone 8/9. We only need to plant three or four.

Thanks all!


----------



## marusempai (Sep 16, 2007)

We have black walnut trees in our pastures. The goats don't seem to eat the fallen leaves from them, but they get great snacks from when the branches are low weighed down with nuts. I think the secret to a tree surviving goats is tight bark, and being big enough. Other than that they are all the same!


----------



## Clovers_Clan (Jul 17, 2012)

Mulberries are really tough AND edible. Anything you plant will have to be fenced off until it reaches at least twice as tall as the goats can reach with enough bark to withstand chewing. Depending on where you live, some oaks can take hold within 2-3 years if you keep them fenced off. If you have room OUTSIDE the pen, my recommendation would be to get a variety of native trees started. Dig them up and move them into the pen as large saplings and put a fence around it until its big enough to let them loose. If one doesn't make it you've got replacements. If you plant the sapling close to the fence line, you could protect it with a cattle panel (think half-circle) tied into the fence. Easy to remove and reuse the cattle panel.


----------



## Clovers_Clan (Jul 17, 2012)

Oh, just thought I'd mention. Steer clear of anything in the cherry family (cherry, plum, peach, etc. stone fruit). The wilted leaves can cause serious poisoning.


----------



## Woolieface (Feb 17, 2015)

I have black walnuts too. They like the leaves and often stand on their hind legs to get to them or think they've hit the jackpot if a few fall. I haven't seen them mess with the walnuts themselves. Perhaps they do when I'm not looking but I saw the dog grab one and spit it out like it was the nastiest thing she ever tried.


----------



## KareninPA (Jan 7, 2010)

http://www.arborday.org/trees/treeguide/TreeDetail.cfm?ItemID=805

Awesome tree - if you can get it where you are. You would definitely have to protect it until it's mature - Our goats LOVE the huge heart-shaped leaves and suck them down like crazy! Our tree is big so we have to pick the leaves off for them. They bloom heaven-scented orchidlike blossoms that attract the hummingbirds, then grow these long bean pods that look really cool!

Ours shades the chicken coop completely, and in a rainshower you can stand under it and not get wet. We love it!!!


----------



## Wolf Flower (Dec 21, 2005)

KareninPA, those Catalpa trees look really cool! I wonder how they would do in this climate--where I'm thinking of planting them, they would get full sun all day, and it gets hot here during the summer--often over 100 degrees. Any idea if it could hold up in those conditions? 

Do the goats eat the seed pods after they fall?


----------



## Wolf Flower (Dec 21, 2005)

Clovers Clan, I used to have a mulberry tree at my old house, and I liked the tree, but when it would drop its berries it created quite a mess--I'm assuming the goats and chickens would take care of that, though. I knew about the toxicity of stone fruit trees; we are already surrounded by almonds as we live in the middle of a commercial almond orchard, and I tend to worry when they drop their leaves in the fall, but so far, the goats don't seem to show any ill effects eating them. There actually used to be a couple of almond trees in the goat pen, but of course, the goats murdered them within a couple years.


----------



## Caprice Acres (Mar 6, 2005)

Some poplars and willows grow really fast IIRC.


----------



## Clovers_Clan (Jul 17, 2012)

Wolf Flower-

I read something a while back about an agriculture project in arid central america using goats and mesquite trees to reclaim land ruined from poor agricultural practices. Basically the land had become uninhabitable from deforestation. They gave farmers goats and fed them mesquite leaves and mesquite pods. The goats roamed, spreading manure and mesquite seeds. They followed a one year rotation plan. Each area received a two year break after grazing/browsing. After that time the mesquite trees were big enough to withstand the pressure of monthly rotation. The trees became large enough to provide shade and conserve moisture allowing other plant species to take hold. The system was self sustaining after 5 years. Farmers were able to raise their goats without other feed inputs and other wildlife species returned to what had been a wasteland.

Sounds like you are in the perfect area for that kind of experiment.


----------



## luckyinkentucky (Feb 15, 2013)

My goats love our catalpa trees, although the trees are not in their pen. They do have persimmon trees in with them that they love, and it has survived several years with them.


----------



## CedarGait (Apr 22, 2014)

sawtooth oak..... one of the faster growing oaks and oaks are a natural dewomer for goats


----------



## Mike CHS (Apr 3, 2011)

I don't know if it would work for goats but our pasture has very little shade. We planted some fast growing bamboo for shade for sheep in several spots. It has to be protected until it gets started good but sheep eat the lower vegetation and new shoots to keep it under control.


----------



## gila_dog (Jun 17, 2011)

Goats love to eat trees. Anything you put in their pen will eventually be destroyed. But if you plant some trees along the west side of their pen, out of their reach, they will provide shade for the afternoon hours. I wouldn't put trees on the south side because they will shade the pen during the winter, which isn't so good.


----------



## where I want to (Oct 28, 2008)

They leave the bigger redwoods alone but will nibble on the ones under 4 inches or so. And redwoods do grow fast. They are also in a place where there are alders and leave them alone if they are bigger than3 or 4 inches too. They do stand on their hind legs to browse on the leaves of both of them. But leave the bark alone.


----------



## billygoatridge (Feb 12, 2004)

I think privet is poisonous to some or all livestock so not that! Another vote for mulberry . Once they have a little size they are hard to kill and goats love them. Another one I don't remember seeing is weeping willow. Fast growing and has medicinal qualities for sick animals, though you may have to keep a panel around the trunk to keep them from stripping it.


----------



## Clovers_Clan (Jul 17, 2012)

billygoatridge said:


> I think privet is poisonous to some or all livestock so not that! Another vote for mulberry . Once they have a little size they are hard to kill and goats love them. Another one I don't remember seeing is weeping willow. Fast growing and has medicinal qualities for sick animals, though you may have to keep a panel around the trunk to keep them from stripping it.


Goats do eat privet and will eventually kill it. Unfortunately not soon enough! It will grow into a dense thicket, crowding out all else and is a poor food source. It is an invasive species in the south, seeding readily and carried by birds. It is a huge problem and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.


----------



## Wolf Flower (Dec 21, 2005)

I hadn't heard that privet is poisonous--the birds eat the berries and the goats eat the leaves. We have one privet on our property that's grown huge over the past 5 years, and refuses to die despite the goats chewing on it when we let them into that area. We were going to cut it back, but it does provide nice shade, which is what got me thinking about putting some in the goat pen.


----------



## Vivien the goat lady (Aug 1, 2017)

Wolf Flower said:


> KareninPA, those Catalpa trees look really cool! I wonder how they would do in this climate--where I'm thinking of planting them, they would get full sun all day, and it gets hot here during the summer--often over 100 degrees. Any idea if it could hold up in those conditions?
> 
> Do the goats eat the seed pods after they fall?


My goats recently discovered my Catalpa trees because the branches were hanging low. They absolutely LOVE the huge leaves and now they are also chomping on the pods. Have seen no side effects other than happy goats!


----------



## Caprice Acres (Mar 6, 2005)

Vivian, this post is from 2015. Don't expect the same contributors to still be around and/or respond.


----------

