Although goats are commonly considered to be tough and able to eat almost anything, in fact they are fussy eaters and require a high degree of care, and company, to live a healthy and happy life in a domestic situation.
Many people see goats as an easy and inexpensive way to keep their verge or nature strip tidy; leading to miserable lives for the majority of tethered goats, who suffer from such problems as cold, thirst, dogs, vehicles and vandals.
Goats’ wool is not greasy like sheep, nor do they have a layer of fat under their skin, so they need good shelter from cold or wet weather. A weather proof hut should be provided and cleaned regularly.
Goats also experience loneliness; they are intelligent, sociable creatures who require frequent company, preferable that of other goats. Hand-reared goats are very tame and need a lot of attention.
Goats should be moved daily as they require fresh pastures for grazing and don’t take to soiled food such as roadside grass, which can be dusty, oily and rank. They must also have a clean water supply, especially in dry conditions, which cannot be accidentally tipped over.
Tethering goats also makes them vulnerable - to attacks by dog and vandals, to traffic accidents, to inhaling dust stirred up by traffic, especially on unmade roads, and also to strangulation through becoming tangled in their own tether.
In short, a motor mower may be a safer – and kinder – bet :-)
Goats’ wool is not greasy like sheep, nor do they have a layer of fat under their skin, so they need good shelter from cold or wet weather. A weather proof hut should be provided and cleaned regularly.
Goats also experience loneliness; they are intelligent, sociable creatures who require frequent company, preferable that of other goats. Hand-reared goats are very tame and need a lot of attention.
Goats should be moved daily as they require fresh pastures for grazing and don’t take to soiled food such as roadside grass, which can be dusty, oily and rank. They must also have a clean water supply, especially in dry conditions, which cannot be accidentally tipped over.
Tethering goats also makes them vulnerable - to attacks by dog and vandals, to traffic accidents, to inhaling dust stirred up by traffic, especially on unmade roads, and also to strangulation through becoming tangled in their own tether.
In short, a motor mower may be a safer – and kinder – bet :-)