Message-ID: <v02130501ae4cbaa9cfcf@[150.135.56.71]> Date: Fri, 30 Aug 1996 14:24:53 -0700 From: Katherine Waser <mailto:kwaser@AG.ARIZONA.EDU> Subject: Re: Confining Goats To: Multiple recipients of list DEVEL-L <mailto:DEVEL-L@AMERICAN.EDU>
Don Osborn wrote:>Confining goats is theoretically possible, but I'm not sure if it has ever
>actually been been done in practice. Apparent cases of successful confining
>of goats may in reality be ones where the goats themselves have for one
>reason or another decided it's not worth their effort to get out of (or into)
>someplace. Think in terms of raising the cost/benefit ratio to the goats of
>moving out of the designated area. Goats hate water, so the canal option is
>good, but probably insufficient by itself. Add fencing, etc. and the cost
>rises, but perhaps in direct proportion to a decline in the attractiveness of
>your campus. Eventually some of the goats will still probably decide to get
>out anyway.
What about a living fence? Of course goats are reputed to eat just about anything; but there may be some local, thorny, unpalatable shrub or small tree that could be planted around the area you want to confine the goats to (or keep out of the areas you want to protect). This is of course a longer-term solution since you'd have to wait for the fence to grow--maybe combine it with a canal?
Another possible advantage of a living fence is that you might be able to find a local plant to use that also provides forage/shelter for local wildlife.
I can't suggest any specific species since I live and garden in such a different bioregion (Sonoran Desert), but perhaps someone else on the list might have some ideas. [Around here, living barrier fences are often made with ocotillo (Fouquiera [splendens?]) or prickly pear cactus (Opuntia spp.)]
Katherine Waser
***************************************************************************** Katherine Waser (mailto:kwaser@ag.arizona.edu) Tel: 520-621-8584 Editor/Library Specialist Fax: 520-621-3816 Arid Lands Information Center 1955 E. 6th St. Office of Arid Lands Studies Tucson, AZ 85719-5224 The University of Arizona