Goats and trees

[Rough Hewn]

 

 

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[peatff]

I was out today and spotted some sheep in a field with trees and they were standing on their hind legs to get the low hanging leaves. The trees were mostly Ash.

[Rough Hewn]

My goats used to love ivy and bramble leaves above all else. They would do the same, stand on two legs and eat everything they could reach.

 

 

 

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[Daniël Bos]

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So, horses evolved into what they are now about a million years ago, but had started to evolve to feed on grasses and away from the forest about 50mya.

Sheep, goats, cattle etc didn't evolve from forest creatures into grazers, their evolution is much shorter than that of plants.

The aurochs from which cattle evolved only started about 2mya

The common ancestors of sheep and goats about 15mya

The ancestors of deer about 35mya (

 

In general, plants adapt much slower than animals (a domestic pig of any breed will measurably start to change (skull lengthening, skeletal changes) back into a wild boar in as little as three generations!). All gramnivores (animals that feed on grass as their main diet) we know now are relatively freshly evolved.

And as far as I know, nearly all gramnivores will also eat leaves when available, but cannot normally sustain themselves with leaves alone.

Sheep for example will eat leaves and bark, but need to eat mainly grasses to thrive. (something to do with the way grasses metabolise differently than tree-leaves and how they get digested differently to extract their nutrients).

 

Grasses evolved into what they are to cope with getting eaten.

Grasses will actually get stronger if grazed periodically, as long as the recovery time is sufficient, grasses will improve every grazing cycle. They evolved to be able to cope with being grazed, and to thrive, which can only have happened if the grasses got grazed?

 

I'm by no means an expert on this subject btw, but grass and grazers is an area of keen interest.

[Pinkfoot]

My goats used to love ivy and bramble leaves above all else. They would do the same, stand on two legs and eat everything they could reach.

 

 

 

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My brother knocks his trees over and let's the goats in so they de bark them and therefore dry faster gor burning.

 

sent from my phone but never in work time.

[Rough Hewn]

Always an education on here.[emoji3][emoji106]

 

 

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[Stereo]

Goats are browsers. Sheep are grazers. Goats have far lower natural worm resistance than sheep which is either the effect of or the reason for their grazing habits. Given a choice, a goat will always pick a hedge over a sward. Many sheep will get up and pick leaves, especially ones with medicinal value such as Ash. But in general they prefer a short, grass sward rather than tufty stuff or bramble etc.

[Stubby]

They won't eat horseradish plants I went with a mate to pick a car up and the woman there said she didn't know what they were but they were the only thing the goats didn't touch. I told here what they were and to dig up the roots late in the year to use them. She felt better about them after as she had thought they might be poisonous. I think your trees would be at risk if you kept the goats in there.

 

None of those goats are tied in and there is no PPE in sight ./ Disgusting !

[Pinkfoot]

Are they Husky goats or Billy Dolmar?

 

sent from my phone but never in work time.