Ridley enlists goats to do some landscaping
RIDLEY TOWNSHIP » What appears to humans as an imposing steep hillside of vines, poison ivy and weeds in Blackrock Park is actually a chef’s delight - to a goat, that is.
Loaded with multiflora rose, bittersweet vine, honeysuckle, poison ivy and box elder, the hillside that backs up to Grace Road is now the breakfast, lunch and dinner table for 22 boer goats that have been brought in to clear the land of vegetation and allow township officials to monitor the property for erosion issues.
“It was a very steep incline and we were trying to figure the best way to get in there and clear it,” said Township Manager Joe Ryan. “A couple of days later, we had a resident, out of the blue, call me and ask if they were allowed to bring goats in and clear some of their property.”
Discussions with the resident led Ryan and township commissioners to decide that goats were a good solution, and legal.
“There were a number of reasons we went with goats. First and foremost, it’s a very dangerous area to put workmen up there. You risk falling and getting hurt,” said Ryan, who also liked the fact that goats are good for the environment. “It’s amazing what they got done in one night.”
An added bonus has been the interest the goats have brought to residents.
“It’s something for the kids to watch,” said Ryan. “It’s a great thing, fun to watch how they work. They work as a team, it’s pretty interesting.”
Alyssa Cirillo of Ridley agreed. She brought her son
Vincent, 4, to see the goats.
“It’s interesting,” Cirillo said as she took a photo of her son at a safe distance from the goats.
“This is awesome. Maybe I could borrow one or two for my lawn,” joked Jim Borio as he stopped by to check the goats out Monday morning.
The goats are in an area of about 1 acre. An electric fence keeps them contained and they have shelter and water when they aren’t eating. Once a day, Bruce Weber, owner of Amazing Grazing L.L.C., stops by to check on the animals and review their progress. He estimated the goats would eat most of the vegetation in a week. After that, officials will review to see if they want to move them to another location.
Weber started the business in 2015 with his wife Kristin after the two moved to a farm in Cochranville, Chester County. Kristin, who grew up in Yeadon, said she knew the goats would get a lot of attention when they came to Ridley. Their Facebook page draws numerous comments from people who just like watching goats.
“I knew this would draw a lot of attention because you don’t expect to see a lot of goats in that area,” Weber said by phone Monday. “I tell customers, you’re going to fall in love with them. It’s such a positive fun experience. People host goat parties. It has so much positivity about it that people don’t expect, besides the part of clearing the land. That’s what they are seeing in Ridley.”
Weber said, while the goats are enjoyable to watch, they are not realistic for smaller properties. Most of their jobs are for areas greater than ½ acre with prices starting at $1,200.
“It’s just not worth the effort where somebody could just use a weedwacker,” Weber said.
The couple started with four and now has 40 of the boer goats that can weigh as much as 175 pounds apiece. Standing on their hind legs, they can reach vines as high as 7 feet. And their weight enables them to plow through brush, Weber said.
“They are good at eating invasive species. They don’t eat absolutely everything, but they prefer a lot of the brushy plants such as multiflora rose, honeysuckle, plants that overtake areas,”
Weber said. “They do eat poison ivy. They prefer to eat brush over grass. Any of the things you see growing on the road side, raspberry bushes, wild grapevine and those type of weedy vegetation, that is their favorite thing to eat.”
As for Blackrock Park, “it’s almost like a cliff. When we dropped them off, it was struggle to get the portable fence up,” Weber said. “The goats are perfect. They can navigate areas where you can’t get machinery or people in. They love to climb and they are pretty sure-footed.”