Goats for poison ivy

17 years ago

Hi,

I was wondering if any goat keepers of diverse herds have noticed that particular breeds favor poison ivy? We have a huge problem with PI on our seven acre hobby farm, and were thinking of buying two goats to try to alleviate the problem.

I also thought it would be nice to have goat milk (I have a sister who is a professional goatherd and cheesemaker so she would be available to answer questions) but from the small amount I've read I guess the PI would taint whatever milk was produced anyway so that's probably not a key factor in our search.

I guess what we're looking for right now would be 1) goats that REALLY like poison ivy. And 2) Goats with calm, sweet dispositions as we have two small children. My husband likes the idea of smaller goats (pygmy or dwarf) but the first two variables are the most important.

What do you think?

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Comments (5)

msjay2u
17 years ago
I have two Nigerian Dwarf's and they are great goats. They have eaten all the ivy on my property poison or not. They were dehorned and bottle fed and these are wethers so they are safe around children. They are VERY friendly and Nigerians come in all color configurations. I like the ones with the moon spots but I could not find one that was dehorned.
farmfreedom
17 years ago
I know that deer eat poison ivy .
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citytransplant(zone5)
17 years ago
I had two Nigerian goats and really loved them. They were very friendly and wanted to around people all of the time. They would follow me just about anywhere. When I got them I wanted them to eat the poison ivy as I am very allergic to it. Well, since Lolly and Pops wanted to be around people and since they were very nervous about anything new, they would not, no matter how much I encourged them, go into the areas that were tree convered and full of the poison ivy. I could not take them there and they would not go by themselves. I no longer have the goats, but still have the poison ivy ROTFLOL!
ActionClaw (Northern Ohio zone:5a/5b)
8 years ago
I realize it's now been a several years and this (my) post will probably not help in the decision making process of the original poster. I, for one, wouldn't mind hearing an update.

Regarding “the PI would taint whatever milk was produced anyway so that's probably not a key factor in our search", I don't know this for a fact but my experience, research and hunch is that, to the contrary, it might possibly prove beneficial helping to, somewhat, inoculate those who drink the milk against the effects of poison ivy. I do know that other inoculation methods (which I won't going to detail about here) do work.
albert_135 　 39.17°N 119.76°W 4695ft.
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Is It Safe to Consume Milk from Goats Eating Poison Ivy? | North Carolina Cooperative Extension - RESEARCH DATA FROM UC CAVIS, CALIFORNIA, HAVE SHOWN THAT URUSHIOL, THE TOXIC COMPOUND PRESENT IN POISON IVY, POISON OAK AND POISON SUMAC IS NOT TRANSFERRED TO THE MILK OF GOATS THAT CONSUMED POISON OAK LEAVES. SO, KEEP DRINKING GOAT MILK WITHOUT WORRIES!
The complete article was published in California Agriculture, Volume 46, Number 3.

(There uppercase, not mine!)