# Best animal to keep land clear



## dablack (Jul 21, 2011)

Ok guys. I will freely admit and I'm a complete newb (green horn). WE are looking at land right now and most of the places we are looking at are mixed fields and woods. The fields are pretty big and to mow it would take a while (even with a tractor). What would be the best animal to keep the fields down. I'm talking about 15 acres. I've never had animals so I'm hoping it will be something easy. I hear goats are hard to keep in. What about sheep? Anything else? I think cows would be too big for me to mess with. 

Thoughts?


----------



## Ravenlost (Jul 20, 2004)

Our four horses do pretty good, only they don't eat weeds! Goats eat weeds, give milk and meat...none of which horses do. All the horses give us is fertilizer!

I'd go with a few goats...I want some myself!


----------



## TroutRiver (Nov 26, 2010)

Cows are big but they are VERY easy to fence in, much easier than sheep or goats. Goats prefer to eat brush and roughage over grass, so if your land is mostly grass pasture, sheep are a better bet than goats, but just as hard, if not harder to fence. 

Cows are MUCH easier to fence in, a single strand of electric wire will hold most cows back, as long as there's a good bite to it. If you don't want to deal with dairy, beef is a good option with a broad market 

For sheep, you would likely need a solid woven wire fence, or at least 5 strands of electric wire.


----------



## DaniR1968 (May 24, 2008)

Go with the tractor. This is said from someone that would keep animals to keep on it. :0 But, animals do take care and in winter will need supplimental feeding. Even with keeping animals on it, you will need to mow now and again anyway.


----------



## LoneStrChic23 (Jul 30, 2010)

Goats by nature are browsers.....prefering shrubs, leaves, trees.....They are a bit hard on fences & prone to escaping. 

Sheep are grazers & would be a better option for a pasture/field. If you go with sheep you'd need to research breeds......wool sheep would need to be sheared yearly....hair sheep would be lower maintenance than wool sheep. Family up the road from us has barbado sheep...they have basic field fencing & in the almost 5 years I've been here, they've never escaped, though I'm positive if my goats were in that fence they'd have escaped numerous times.

Cattle don't need as good of fencing, but they CAN escape if they decide to......I've had to help my father in law (he raises Brangus) round up escaped cattle on more than one occasion.....not fun. If a cow does escape, it may be a bit more intimidating to round up for a novice than a sheep or goat.

You could look into smaller cattle like Dexters.....The breeder I got some of my goats from has them & they were small & sweet natured, and according to their owner, hardy, easy keepers.....

Do you have any other plans for these animals besides living lawn mowers (perhaps milk, meat, wool...) ?


----------



## Minelson (Oct 16, 2007)

What area do you live in? A few good pasture horses would do good on fields. I would make into 3 pastures with a rotational grazing plan. Keep in mind whatever you get they will need access to water.


----------



## jaredI (Aug 6, 2011)

Where I'm from 15 acres would only feed 1 cow/calf pair a year. I can raise 10 goats on the same acreage, and 10 goats will provide you with about half again as much profit, plus you can afford to lose a kid and not suffer a big hit, whereas you lose the cows calf and you lost all your income. Goats are very easy to keep in. ELECTRIC fence, and 15 acres would take all of a few hours to fence in. With goats you would have a higher concern about possible predators, namely the dog/coyote type, possibly hawks/eagles when you are kidding. If I were you I'd seriously investigate the goat and/or sheep option.
One might give some consideration to the mini farm animals out there as well, more of a novelty item, but sometimes they command a decent cash flow.


----------



## mommathea (May 27, 2009)

Around here most have 2-3 kinds of animals in a pasture together. A few head of beef cattle, a horse, or a couple of donkeys (for some reason donkeys are really popular around here) and goats.


----------



## mrpink (Jun 29, 2008)

given what you said I would get some goats and some sheep. having had both I have had little trouble keeping either fenced in. as has been said goats eat more browse (leaves, twigs). sheep eat more grass then browse. both will eat either of them. goats will stand up on there hind legs to eat leaves and will even walk down a small tree, sheep will not.


----------



## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

> goats will *stand up on there hind legs to eat leaves *and will even *walk down a small tree*, sheep will not.


No one told my sheep they can't do that


----------



## dablack (Jul 21, 2011)

We are in East TX (Lufkin area).

We are looking in some very hilly areas and it would be pretty easy to build a pond. There are lots of natural pond areas on the property we are looking at right now. 

I would love for the animals to give me more than just a break on the mowing. Meat is my favorite! :cowboy:

With all that said, I would have to find some other East Texas sheep / goat people so I could see their set ups and talk to them about it, because I have zero idea what that is like. Growing up we almost always had an acre or two as a garden but we never had any kind of animals. Wife and I have been living in Houston for the past 10 years. We are finally out of Houston and are really looking forward to having more land than .23 acres. Plus we have four kids and when we go visit land, they go nuts!

thanks
Austin


----------



## Catalytic (Sep 15, 2010)

Couple of Dexters cows/steers/bulls, raise babies for meat, milk them if you want to.

A few goats, meat and dairy, for milk and meat.

I'm running 5 horses (they aren't mine) in most of my woods, and goats and a Dexter cow in the rest. My goats and cow did a heck of a lot better job clearing than the horses dream of doing. (They had most of the woods before the horses came along, we were just moving them around in section of electric fence)


----------



## Catalytic (Sep 15, 2010)

Oh and Dexter cows are small, 450-700lbs.


----------



## VA Shepherd (Dec 26, 2010)

There are several Texan shepherds here, you should post in the sheep forum and see who's near you. 

Pigs do very well in wooded areas, but they are hard on pasture. You might want to consider a blend: one cow, and a few sheep, a few chickens perhaps. They copasture well, and it's healthier for them and the pasture to have more than one species. I'd be cautious about mixing pigs with sheep or goats, though, there are some horror stories about pigs and lambs, and pigs carry bacteria that some breeds of sheep are susceptible to.

Sheep provide meat, milk, and wool (depending on the breed/cross), which is one of the reasons I love them. And they are easier to manage than cattle (size-wise) but not smelly like goats. They do need predator protection, fencing for sheep is more about keeping things out than keeping them in; a six strand high tensile fence is what I'm using now, but poultry netting does the trick to start with if you can keep the grass out of it. 

And lamb burgers are delicious....


----------



## siberian (Aug 23, 2011)

dexters and highlanders are great (opinion of course)


----------



## Tracy Rimmer (May 9, 2002)

Goats prefer shrubs/trees/greenery to pasture. They'll turn their nose up at pasture grasses except as a last resort. They much prefer browse -- such as leafy branches and newly planted berry bushes :flame: , and will try to escape to get them. A goat-proof fence can be nothing more than a jury-rigged wire mesh 4 feet high, they're good about staying contained if they've got plenty to interest them inside the fence. Of course, your idea of "plenty" and their idea of "plenty" might differ, but we've seldom had problems with them escaping. Pigs now... pigs like to escape 

For pasturage, most people might consider sheep. I wouldn't because I, personally, despise sheep. They're the dumbest animals on the planet, and I refuse to have anything to do with them. YMMV.

If it's fenced, I'd probably find a milk cow and calf and put them on it.


----------



## Big Dave (Feb 5, 2006)

If you come back to this I would suggest Llamas. They eat it all and clear out stuff really well. Yep you can eat em. I don't but you can. You can also sell their fleece.


----------



## naturelover (Jun 6, 2006)

dablack said:


> I would love for the animals to give me more than just a break on the mowing. Meat is my favorite! :cowboy:


This may seem like a dumb question to you but if the main reason you want to have animals is to keep the fields down - WHY do you want to keep the fields down? Is there some law there that requires owners of acreage to keep their fields mowed down?

.


----------



## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

> WHY do you want to keep the fields down?


If you don't keep them maintained, within a few years they will start to revert back to forest with lots of brushy plants .

You won't be able to use them for crops or pasture without expensive major clearing 

It's a "use it or lose it" sort of thing


----------



## dablack (Jul 21, 2011)

What BFF said.

The land I'm looking at right now is 15 acres of "grass" and 15 acres of woods (dry creek bottom). At one point it was all forest and the owner cleared out the non-creek bottom areas but left some nice big pines scattered around. I don't think the newly cleared areas got seeded with anything so it is growing up thorny brush and other junk. It looks like it gets cleared about twice a year with a brush hog. The brush hog left everything about 4" tall (including the thorny stuff and other junk). I'm not looking for lawn quality pasture but I would like it more grassy and less thorny/brushy. I was thinking if I seeded and then kept it brush hogged well to less the grass take over, then some sort of animal could take it from there. I'm also wanting to put in a small orchard, garden, and vinyard. 

My main gripe is right now, in the open areas, you have to march around in stead of walking because of all the brushy stuff. 

thanks
Austin


----------



## Esteban29304 (Apr 29, 2003)

While I am more of a " city slicker, " I do have some past experience with a pasture. I bought a small tract of land which had a big building on it that I wanted. The pasture behind it meant nothing to me, though. It had besutiful grass so it started growing quickly that first Summer. A local guy came to me & wanted to " rent "m the pasture to keep a cow & calf in. We worked out a trade where I didn't ask for any rent money,, but he took care of the pasture & fencing. He bush-hogged , fertilized, repired the fence, install a new gate, etc., etc. He , also let me use his tractor to plow a garden , turning under some " cow-chips " as well. Whenever he lsaughtered a cow, he gave me some of the meat as well. It worked out great for both of us for many years.
Note; I am now living in Florida & many people keep a donkey in their pastures to be " guard " animals " for their livestock. They will protect the herd from Coyote's, etc.


----------



## Windy in Kansas (Jun 16, 2002)

I'd say horses as you rarely see horse pastures that aren't tromped to bare ground. Then again it could be that horse owners just like to overgraze a particular area. Have read however how destructive their hooves are in national forests on trails, etc. though and that might be a contributing factor.


----------



## idigbeets (Sep 3, 2011)

Cattle would be my vote.


----------



## BarbadosSheep (Jun 27, 2011)

Sheep would be great, except for the fencing requirments. With any small stock you have to not only consider what will keep them in, but what will keep predators (coyotes, dogs, etc) out. It's easier to keep sheep in than coyotes out. So if predators are living in your area and you are not in a position to erect GOOD fencing with electricity to deter predators, consider getting a cow in there. Or even a donkey will work (they HATE dogs).


----------



## SCRancher (Jan 11, 2011)

Cattle get my vote. 15 acres - how many cows depends upon where you live and what the environment is like - my environment 1 - 3 cows and I would not expect to have to do much supplemental feed. Remember cows are social animals so if you only get 1 plan on spending some time with it - it will also make handling them much easier if you hand feed them treats.

A picture of what cows are capable of - this is after a single month in the wooded area - first time it's ever been grazed - was about 40 acres with 10 cows. Follow the link for pictures.
http://www.homesteadingtoday.com/showthread.php?t=286704&page=57


----------



## secretcreek (Jan 24, 2010)

No one mentioned donkeys. I have goats and yes they require a very good fence, and they eat scrub not grass unless that's all there is. They will debark trees also, but they are not hard on the land as far as tearing it up. My mini donkeys on the otherhand eat scrub and grass. They are easier to keep contained and eat grass down to mower level. 

The two mini donks are quickly denuding/mowing a nice size pasture even though I am feeding hay 2x's a day. AND...they are intelligent and gentle like dairy goats, unlike sheep and boer goats.

-scrt crk


----------



## dablack (Jul 21, 2011)

thanks everyone, they liked our offer so we close in a month.


----------



## gracie88 (May 29, 2007)

Goats can turn scrubby brush into lush grass faster than any other livestock I've had. They aren't impossible to keep in, especially if you start with a decent fence with electric wire to keep them from climbing. If they get the notion early on that there are ways through the fence, they try harder. We just eat the troublemakers. The drawback is, they tend to start in on your trees once they've finished the brush. Sheep are good, they graze the grass, browse the weeds, don't get creative. I'm not sure they have enough brain cells to walk and breathe at the same time. They don't clear brush as well as goats though. 

I'd suggest sheep and goats or a couple Dexters and goats. You might find a few local sheep/goat/Dexter (I keep throwing them in because they are more like toys than real cows) breeders in the area to talk to, look at their animals so you can get more of a feel for what you would be interested in having.


----------



## oz in SC V2.0 (Dec 19, 2008)

We must have very well behaved goats...knock on wood.LOL

We have 17 acres,of that,16.5 acres seems to be made up of overgrown pines,brambles and thorny plants.

We got our three little goats about two weeks or so ago and fenced off a small 90x90...ish enclosure with cattle panels and t-posts.
In two weeks it is cleared to the point you can rake up the pine needles and leaves.

Just finished the second paddock,this has even more trees and brush,will see how long it takes them to do that.

The plan(such as it is) is to build these little fields,move goats in,let them eat everything down,build another.
This makes it easier to afford the fencing(especially cattle panels but they are easy to work with when there is only myself) a bit at a time and it would be easy enough to take down if needed.


----------



## VA Shepherd (Dec 26, 2010)

dablack said:


> thanks everyone, they liked our offer so we close in a month.


Congrats! 

I have to wonder, what's with all the "sheep are so dumb" stuff? What breeds have you guys been dealing with? My sheep are a little smarter than I'd like sometimes. So far, I've only found one gate latch that they haven't figured out to open with their noses (yet), and it's one that I have to have two hands for, myself. They've somehow learned how to unscrew the lid of a 55 gallon olive barrel (which contains their grain)-- I really think they sweet-talked a raccoon on that one, it just shouldn't be possible without thumbs. They know that the lawn mower means I'm about to move them to a fresh pasture, that if they work in teams of two they can knock over the (electrified!) cages that protect the new trees, and that the best way to avoid getting a dose of wormer is to refuse to swallow their cud. 

They're easier on fences than goats because they're smart enough to know that life is better on this side!


----------



## oz in SC V2.0 (Dec 19, 2008)

dablack said:


> thanks everyone, they liked our offer so we close in a month.


Great news.


----------



## dbarjacres (Feb 2, 2004)

I would say cattle. If you want easy fencing, cattle. Get a few nice longhorns, have some eye candy, meat and good mowers! We were just in 3 different longhorn pastures this past Friday and all three were cleared out thru the woods, the grass pasture part mowed right down. One of the pastures have a fence dividing it with the neighbors herefords one one side and Tom's longhorns on the other. His swamp/woods area is all cleared out, see right thru it. Not so on the neighbors side.

I mow my goat pasture/paddock, they just don't eat enough and unless you starve (in their eyes - no food unless they eat grass down to roots) them so they HAVE to graze, they are naturally browsers. Same with donkeys. I've had up to 10 donkeys at one time on pasture and have always had some spots 3 ft. tall and others right next down to dirt.


----------



## fordy (Sep 13, 2003)

dablack said:


> Ok guys. I will freely admit and I'm a complete newb (green horn). WE are looking at land right now and most of the places we are looking at are mixed fields and woods. The fields are pretty big and to mow it would take a while (even with a tractor). What would be the best animal to keep the fields down. I'm talking about 15 acres. I've never had animals so I'm hoping it will be something easy. I hear goats are hard to keep in. What about sheep? Anything else? I think cows would be too big for me to mess with.
> 
> Thoughts?



..........................The very first thing you should spend $$$ on is a perimeter fence made of 2x4 heavy gauge wire 4 feet tall with 2 runs of Bwire bringing the top to 5 feet tall . Use 3 inch OD pipe on all corners , H's and T's . Next , install a two wire hot wire system inset about 6 to 8 feet form the perimeter fence to keep ALL critters OFF your new fence and so you can mow with a riding mower . Horses , cows, and goats love a very tight , well constructed fence which allows them too scratch their arses on ; horses will push over a good fence in short order IF you don't install a hot wire too keep them and other critters off your new fence . , fordy


----------



## Sawmill Jim (Dec 5, 2008)

A good animal to start with would be a Cat about D6 size eep:


----------

