At Work

Most would believe that goats run around and eat anything they can reach.  Curious creatures, the instinct is strong to nibble anything new, but not necessarily consume it.  Similar to deer, goats are browsers and prefer their forage elevated, they are not lawnmowing machines, that's what sheep are for.  If food hits the ground they will likely not touch it unless it's a dead leaf or acorn. 

Young goats do not automatically know what to eat and are usually taught by their mothers or other herd members how to effectively forage.  Our new herd coming from a barn environment had to hit their own foraging learning curve. As soon as it was available in the spring, adding branches with leaves and balsam boughs to their hay feeder helped convince them that those were edible items. Later in the summer, removing their hay source encouraged them to set-forth into the woods and find their own food. By wintertime, they now eagerly welcome small balsam trees and boughs to thrown into their pen.

As soon as the snow melts and step-in posts can be pushed into the ground, they will again be rotationally moved through woods using electric netting.