Make way for the goats

Under the careful watch of two shaggy dogs, a small battalion of goats targeted weeds and unwanted foliage with pin-prick precision.

Even teethy briars stood no chance as the African Boer Bok goats took to the invasive species en masse. That’s why Linda and Clay Trainum stand by their service, and it’s why they rent the four-legged group to property owners seeking alternatives to herbicides and machine-driven weeding.

The Trainums plan to display their goats starting Thursday at the Frontier Culture Museum in Staunton. The Trainums own Autumn Olive Farms in Augusta County north of Waynesboro.

With about three dozen goats busy in the background, Clay pointed to a patch of untouched greenery. He indicated at least three different types of plantlife.

“Invasive species, invasive species, poison ivy,” he said. “Invasive — they knock all that out.”

Unlike stereotypical headbutting, garbage-eating goats, African Boer Boks specifically target unpopular plants. As a bonus, they’re quite cordial, Linda said.

The Trainums watched as eight or nine goats swarmed a tall bush, infamous for spreading quickly and stifling other plants. The animals worked as a team. One goat climbed into the bush and stepped on limbs, lowering them into the mouths of the others.

It’s an acquired skill, Linda said. Young goats receive instruction from older goats, a way to pass along and perpetuate an evolution of eating.

“When they hit this they’ll defoliate every one of these points of growth,” said Clay, pointing to the buds and leaves on the bush. “It’s like bleeding to death by 5,000 pin pricks.”

After three attacks, the goats literally stress the plants to death, forcing them to sustain themselves with their root system alone. Sapped of energy and life, the invasive species will stiffen and die, Clay said.

“And I mean the root system is completely depleted,” he added.

Guarded by giant dogs, a Komondor Pyrenees and Great Pyrenees, the goats devour almost an acre a day. They’ve accepted the dogs into their herd, and in return the Pyrenees team will scare off coyotes, humans and any bird bigger than a crow, Linda said.

Working alongside the dogs, a single male goat, Mr. Max, helps keep watch.

Mr. Max contracted deerworm “back in the day,” and as a result his growth stunted, the Trainums said. Standing no taller than the average female, yet still sporting a handsome white beard, he spends most of his time nurturing baby goats and teaching them how to reach taller plants.

“When we have young kids that are weened from their mothers, we put those kids with Mr. Max,” Clay said. “He’s very calming. He’s a lover not a fighter. He’s Mr. Mom.”

Urbie Nash opted to use the goats to clear his property off Lyndhurst Road. He said he first learned about the service from a neighbor. For $84 a day and a 10-day minimum, the Trainums said they’ll deliver the goats, set up a perimeter fence and take care of all feeding and watering.

“My thought was, we’ll get the goats in here and give it a trimmin’,” Nash said.

Fairly low-maintenance beasts, the goats get most of their food and water from the plants they eat. During winter months they enjoy diets of alfalfa hay. But despite their voracious appetites and eat-it-all mentalities, they are picky in some ways, Clay said.

“They only drink clean water,” he said. “And they hate stepping in water. They’ll walk a mile to avoid a puddle.”

The Trainums started the business as a way to make extra money and to help put their three kids through college. During the process they’ve also gotten into the business of selling goat meat, a healthier alternative to lamb, chicken, beef and pork, Linda said. People can buy their meats at several local grocers in Staunton.

A veterinary technician, Linda said the goats are operating in a habitat similar to one they’d find in nature.

“These goats are living the life they were intended to live,” she said. “This is what they were made to do.”