About 500 goats are back on the job this week at Gaetz Lakes Sanctuary to help re-invigorate natural habitat by chewing the tops off invasive weeds like Canadian thistle, yellow toadflax and cicer milkvetch.
It's tasty work for the goats with BAAH'D Plant Management & Reclamation.
"We're fortunate on this site, the weeds are just so scrumptious. The cicer milkvetch is absolutely delicious to them," said BAAH'D owner Jeanette Hall.
From early morning until sundown, the goats diligently repeat the same work routine — eat weeds, rest and chew their cud, then add some fresh fertilizer to the landscape.
As they eat, their stomachs grow big and round from air as the food breaks down and ferments, a process that also prevents plant seeds in their manure from sprouting into new vegetation.
"She'll burp that out later," said Hall, holding one of the young goats while tapping its air-filled belly.
"They're skinny in the morning and by the end of the day they look like they're ready to explode."
Hall said she's grateful to the city for its consistency with the program over the years. The goats have learned where they can and can't wander on the property.
Sanctuary visitors who come out to watch the goats have also been trained, and the program has evolved into an educational program with children's groups dropping by.
"We used to get overwhelmed with interest. Now everyone has calmed down. They understand the goats are trained to my voice, so if they're yelling it will scare the goats. Now the kids are so quiet and they get to pet the goats."
Hall can point out areas of the sanctuary that were once covered in cicer milkvetch, choking out other plants. Now native grasses flourish, and rare flora like lady's slipper and striped coralroot have also been spotted. Another patch of land once filled with chest-high thistle now has other grasses since the goats started to visit.
Light, rather than intensive grazing, is the aim this week to reduce weeds, gradually address problems with the soil, and maintain the sanctuary's nature areas.
"We have to go at a slow pace here. It's not like other areas where we can come three times a year. We have to be very respectful."
