Buy a Goat and Fire The Yard Man
Ever thought of buying a goat? I have often thought of paving over my lawn to keep from having to go the pains of finding a reliable yard man each year. Now, I wonder would it be better to just fire the yard man and buy a goat. Goats are notorious grazers and would keep the grass and weeds down. But, this is more than a notion. Goats take attention and care.
Before I fire my yard man and buy a goat, I felt I should at least find out the particulars about goats and goat care. In my research I found that they live a very long time; around 10 – 15 years and sometimes as much as 30 years. Gosh, that’s longer than having a child; I could send a child to college and/or marry him off. But, I would have to keep and care for a goat much longer. And even the yard man wouldn’t hang around that long, when he finishes the yard work, he goes home.
When buying a goat, I have to consider that these animals, wouldn’t do very good as indoor pets. And I don’t think I would have the heart to leave it out in the cold in winter and the heat in summer. I learned that goats are social creatures and enjoy the companionship of other animals and humans. I don’t have any other pets, and buying two goats is out of the question. And I don’t see myself hanging out much with a goat; taking the goat for long walks in the park, or going for drives; letting him ride in the backseat hanging his head out the window. I guess, I could always start a petting zoo of one goat and charge the neighborhood children a quarter to pet him. That would certainly pay for part of his upkeep, plus, the sell of the milk. I guess I could get the yard man to milk the goat.
So, if the yard man is milking the goat and the goat is eating the grass, I guess all would be right with the world. I looked into the purchase price of a goat. It appears that these animals can cost as little as $50 and as much as $2000. My calculations show that if I buy a $2000 goat, I may as well keep my yard man; he certainly doesn’t cost that much. Possibly, after 30 years, the goat would have more than paid for himself, between the lawn care savings, milk sells and the petting zoo. This idea is sounding pretty good and profitable.
However, I learned that goats require much grooming and annual medical check ups. His hoofs require regular trimming and cleaning and I don’t believe the yard man would qualify to do that. So, I would have to get a farmer to come to the house every six months to perform these special needs. And besides grass and vegetation, goats will eat dang near anything, so, I would have to keep a close eye on his diet. Don’t want the goat eating the wrong thing and getting sick, of course.
I think the biggest challenge that I would face as a new goat owner, would be trying to keep him penned up. They are very crafty and hard to keep fenced in. I would have to build a secure enclosure with a shelter, because goats don’t like being in the elements and I have decided that house goat is not an option. And to keep the neighbors from calling the humane shelter, I would definitely have to keep him from roaming around the neighborhood. Since, I live in the city, I am sure that there are ordinances regarding buying a goat, which I’ll have to look into.
I am in deep thought about this goat buying idea. There are only about two more months left to the grass cutting season; I can’t imagine what I would do with the goat until spring. I guess I could hitch him up to a wagon to save money on transportation; no gas required. At Christmas, I could get a sleigh and disguise him as a reindeer. Let me know if you can think of any ideas for uses of my goat. Your comments would be greatly appreciated, and would go a long way in helping me decide whether to fire the yard man and buy a goat. Read more about goats.
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I have seriously thought about it as the guy I pay to cut my grass is not reliable and I quite like goat’s milk.
I like it
Fire the yard man for sure.
Very interesting,
good share
Very interesting. I never would have thought about buying a goat to do the yard, but it does make sense after reading your article. Thanks for sharing.