It will be cheaper or more expensive depending on the size of the job, then.
It shouldn’t be too expensive if you only have a small amount of land—although, in this case, it may well end up being more expensive than a different, more traditional method would be, though.
Let’s look further into this.
How many goats does it take to clear an acre?
So, it depends—naturally!
There are a lot of factors and variables at play here, so let’s try and cover all of them.
Firstly, the level of chaos that has taken over the acre of land.
If it is only in need of a bit of weeding, maybe removing some branches, twigs and other debris, then it probably wouldn’t take the goats very long.
At a good pace, probably not more than a week or two, with enough goats.
On the other hand, if it is years’ worth of growth, huge plants and tangled vines, then you’re going to need more goats and it will take longer.
A rough estimate suggests that 8 to 12 goats can clear an acre in one month.
Depending on the acreage and the goats, then. the goats are the other big factor.
If they’re larger goats, they will graze more in one day and thus clear more.
In reality, then, it’s going to depend on a lot of variables.
The best rough estimate is that you’ll need at least 8 goats, and it will take them up to a month to finish the job.
Does this make it expensive, then?
Is it expensive to hire goats?
Again, to an extent, it does depend on how you look at it.
As I said, the cost, generally, is going to be per acre to begin with.
Furthermore, the acres themselves.
How overgrown are they?
What’s the terrain like?
If your land is craggier and hillier then it will probably take the goats longer to clear it.
If you have one acre of land that is only reasonably overgrown, then you can expect baseline cost at about $400.
It really won’t get much lower than this.
On the other end of the spectrum, for uneven, hilly terrain, for particularly overgrown and chaotic land, then you can expect to pay as much as $800 per acre.
Though you might expect that you would pay per goat, this is not the case.
Generally, with a good herd of goats, they can get through any amount of terrain in good time.
So, if you’ve got particularly bad land, the rental may use more goats to achieve the job in the same time—at roughly the same cost.
So, do goats really clear land?
It’s worth looking at, as this isn’t always the first method everyone thinks of.
Do goats clear land?
Yes, goats certainly do clear land.
Goats are good at nothing if not eating and foraging.
They are natural ruminants, meaning they like to browse a wide range of foods available in the environment.
When you present them with an overgrown pasture, then, you give them an amazing chance to live their best life.
Of course, they aren’t robots—you can’t just wind them up and watch them go.
But this is why you hire a specific company—they train their goats to clear the land as efficiently as possible.
So, don’t have any doubts.
The goats will do the job you’re looking for.
That said, is it always the right choice?
Is hiring goats the right choice?
You do need to take a moment to consider whether a different option would work for you.
Goats will very efficiently clear land, but they’re generally used for pretty big jobs.
Rental companies offer large numbers of goats to clear large plots of land.
If you only have a small plot of land, then you might not need the help of goats.
A bit of elbow grease and maybe a lawnmower and it would be clear.
Indeed, even an actual human landscaper might end up being cheaper if they think they can do the job!
So, for the right job, hiring goats is absolutely the right choice to make.
It’s more efficient, cheaper, and surprisingly a lot easier than some other methods of clearing large plots of land.
Goats are great little lawnmowers, and they will love the job more than you would!
That said, it isn’t always necessarily the right choice for you, though.
For smaller jobs, a different solution might suffice, so keep that in mind when making your choice.