Re: Joy of this, Joy of that

On Wed, 4 Dec 2024 21:52:51 +0100, D wrote:

Fascinating! Had no idea they were picky eaters! Maybe the goats were
less picky?

They will eat spurge if they run out of more palatable food. Some have
reported success.

https://www.realagriculture.com/2018/03/controlling-leafy-spurge-one-
flock-at-a-time/

I don't know the full story. They did it for a few years but when the
sheep went home signs would go up along the trails saying they were going
to treat the area with herbicide.

The idea wasn't all that popular with hikers. Dogs were banned both to
prevent them harassing the sheep and to reduce conflicts with the
sheepdogs. The sheepdogs were even aggressive to humans. They never tried
to bite me but they gave the impression I wasn't welcome.

The goats were never used on the mountain. I go past the farm on my way to
work and noticed it switched from sheep to goats and a lonesome looking
yak. Quite a few sheep operations have shut down. Lamb has went out of
favor and much of what is available comes from New Zealand. I don't know
how profitable wool production is either.