Poison Ivy as a Productive Crop

One thing that I have noticed about poison ivy is that it produces quite a bit of organic material. The trick is using the stuff in a productive way. In this post, we look at how we set up a system to use goats to convert a poison ivy patch to food.

Most people give up on making use of poison ivy and spray it with a herbicide. Aside from the health risk, there are three practical problems with this approach.

1. Herbicide detrimentally affects other plants and animals;
2. Herbicide costs a lot of money for each application, and takes a lot of energy to apply; and
3. You lose the stored energy manifested in the poison ivy plant.

Besides, we are natural gardeners and do not want to use herbicides on our place. We don't like it.

We bought the following supplies for our temporary fence project:

1. From Timeless Fencing, fifty 40" Step-In Posts.

2. From Premier Sheep Supplies, three 660' spools of 4.5 Intellirope electric fence cord, three Supareel T-post brackets, and a Patriot P10 battery energizer kit.

3. From the local Walmart, a 12 volt deep cycle marine battery.

I know these were capital expenses that probably exceeded the cost of a few gallons of Roundup. But unlike Roundup, this was a one time expense, it is natural, and using them, we will make productive use of poison ivy.


To set up the system, we connected one end of the Intellirope to a post. Then, using the spools, we strung the wire around the circuit hanging three strands on the Timeless temporary fence posts. At the end of the circuit, we hung the rope spools on a T-post using the Supareel brackets. Next, we installed the ground rod, wired the strands to each other, and hooked up the energizer, fence, and battery. The electric rope fence energized as soon as the clamp hit the post.

Our goats are very happy to be out of the sun. They are enjoying the browse in the wooded area and eating a lot of poison ivy. They love it.

I will post an update later to show you how the plan worked.

In the future, we can move our temporary electric fence and goats around and into any 500 foot patch of brambles on our place and it will not cost us anything but the time.

We now look at poison ivy as a free food source for our goats. The ivy plant converts solar energy into lots of leaves and vines. The goats convert the poison ivy leaves and vines into meat and milk.

Voila!

Poison ivy is a productive crop.

June 14, 2014 UPDATE: Three strands does not seem to be enough to contain my does in the electric fence area. They just get a running start and dodge through the lower electric rope lines. I am ordering a fourth spool, to see if that will stop them from escaping. 

The other possibility is the Patriot P10 may not pulse frequently enough to deter goats. It is rated at 40 pulses per minute. This is good for preserving the battery, but makes the charger less effective if the goats can time out and scoot through between pulses. 

My goats generally are not escape artists. I think there may be some bugs that are bothering them, and perhaps the shelter situation is less than what they are used to experiencing. They are pretty spoiled goats who like to hang out in a horse barn.

Goat Babies

Goat Kidding Preparations

There is a lot of work to do to prepare for goat kidding.

First, you need a kidding stall.  We intend to use one of our two horse stalls.  By the beginning of April, we need to have it set up.  Probably, we will use a 12' fence gate to close it.

Second, we need a kidding kit.  We are using the FIAS Farms kit materials.  We already have most of the stuff on hand.  But we need to organize everything into a tote.

Third, we need to begin administering some herbs to prepare our goat. We are natural so we do not intend to vaccinate, or chemically treat our doe Edna. However, we will give her some of the herbal supplements she needs to reduce her delivery risks.

FIAS Farms created a spreadsheet to calculate some of the critical dates.  I charted them on my calendar.

Dairy Goat Heat Cycle

The heat cycle for a doe differs from animal to animal, varying from 17 to 21 days.  The heat sign that is most easily recognizable in most does is tail wagging.  A doe in heat will wag her tail very frequently, much more often than when she is not in heat.  She might also look a bit swollen in the end parts.  She will be more affectionate to humans and other goats, including does.  If you have a billy goat on the premises, a doe in heat may try to visit the billy.

Our doe Edna passed through a heat cycle without sign.  That suggests she may be pregnant.

Dairy Goat Milking Project

My dairy goat, Edna, an American Alpine goat, was bred on or about November 13, 2012, to a billy named Ike.  He, like Edna, is an American Alpine.

Goats gestation period is 150 days.  That makes April 12, 2013, the projected date when Edna will freshen.  I have a lot to do before then to get ready for the kids.

Dairy Links

Everything Goat Milk

FIASCO Farms Dairy Page

Cultures for Health

Cheese

Basics of Goat Cheese Making