Eats in the Spring

Top photo: a pregnant Bea Bea.

This has been a very windy, wet late winter, early spring for us. I feel a little sorry for our new goat members because they really don't like rain or wind. We are making some improvements on the goat shed to make it more draft free. Still our goatie girls have been taken on a walk and I have been bringing them a bucket full of various weeds from around the farm every few days (storms permitting). They love the wild oat grasses the best by far. They will eat mustard and wild lettuce, hawk weed, turnip, vetch and other stuff but they love love the oats. These oats are at least 2-3 feet tall, thick stemmed and have no heads on them yet. When the goats dig into a bunch of them they sound super crunchy.

I did lots of research on goats prior to getting them because 1.) I am obsessive that way and 2.) I was concerned that because we have mostly grassland they would be unhappy here. But after reading tons of stuff I am confident they will do fine. Goats are labeled browsers and you will come across this statement everywhere. But actually they are better labeled mixed feeders. They like leaves, and the top bits of a variety of plants but they really love tall grass as well. They don't much like short stubbly grass like sheep do. However goats shine in a mixed browse environment. They are extremely adaptable and thrifty. They can reach down to eat or up to eat (they really have quite long necks!). Reaching down close to the ground is not ideal due to worm loads, but they can and they will if it is something yummy. Case in point, they love the thick grasses I have been feeding them, more than the other tasty stuff. They also love roses and blackberries which can be a big help in certain situations.

When I bring them stuff from around the farm it is at least two feet tall. I try to keep the soil off the plants and the cut stuff off the ground. I had to transition these goats from the hay from their former place to our hay. The stuff they were used to and loved was pretty rough. But it was good and diverse. It had all sort of things in it to chew. The breeder had none for sale and I could not find any like it around here. Our hay, while outstanding for nutrients due to the alfalfa and mountain grass, is finer and less... fun. So for a day or so they refused to eat it. I decided to not bring them their bucket of goodies until they started eating their hay again. They need the roughage for good rumen digestion and I need them to eat it. Sure enough they started to eat the hay last night and I brought them their beloved oat grass this morning.
Once we get the electric fence set up we will be moving them to different paddocks. We have no mature trees or shrubs to speak of on our farm near our house. The mature blue oaks we have are so valued that they will remain left alone. I would be heartbroken if my "improvements" damaged them. But over time our farm will have trees and shrubs and herbs and more diverse pasture. It will just take a while to build the whole thing up. Goats will help accelerate this process and in turn be happier for it.
The flowers and budding new leaves of Grandfather Oak. He is starting his spring glow.


Lupines, not in focus but still a pretty sight. Some years we get lots of these and some years not so many. This year is medium.