Pasture Plants and Goats on the Loose

It's been so windy the past few days, leaves are blowing off the trees. The goats love it. Their pasture has been eaten down quite a bit and all that's left is their least favorite grass. They have been vacuuming up leaves as they fall, casting a wide net across the pasture to catch them all. 

G had some time to plant a few trees in the backyard pasture, crabapple trees from the garden center that weren't going to make it. He put a fence around them to keep the goats out. 

It didn't take too long for Svetlana to find a way through the fence. We think she pushed on the fence until it was low enough to jump over or she pushed on it to raise it up enough to sneak under. This goat is determined. 😵‍💫 Either way, it worked. G couldn't get her out, so he opened the fence. Soon, the other goats wandered in to nibble the fresh, young bark. 

Our goat fencing is great for the long fence stretches but too flimsy for smaller enclosures. We need something sturdier to encase our trees. 

The goats, specifically Svetlana and her kids used the same pushing against the fence tactic to escape the pasture. There's a loose place on the west side with tall grass on the outside. The goats push against the fence to reach the tall delicious grass on the outside, which pulls up the bottom of the fence enough for a goat to slip underneath. They enjoy eating the tall grass for a while and then they work their way up to the front yard where they can hop into the garden or munch on the unplanted trees sitting up by the front of the house. Thankfully I've caught them before they have done too much damage. But it's happened waaaay too many times. 

Maybe it's time for Svetlana to hit the road. Get rid of the bad influence before it's too late. Or maybe it's too late already...