WEBVTT - Should You Rent Grass-Mowing Goats? 0:00:01.920 --> 0:00:06.840 Welcome to brain Stuff production of iHeart Radio. Hey brain 0:00:06.920 --> 0:00:10.160 Stuff Lauren Vogel bomb here. In the latter half of 0:00:10.160 --> 0:00:13.560 the twentieth century, one George Ballas invented what he called 0:00:13.640 --> 0:00:16.640 the weed eater. It's a motorized weed and grass trimming 0:00:16.640 --> 0:00:19.880 device that uses rapidly revolving strings to cut down vegetation 0:00:19.880 --> 0:00:23.000 in small spaces without destroying the bark of trees. It's 0:00:23.000 --> 0:00:25.079 easy to use and doesn't require much in gas or 0:00:25.120 --> 0:00:29.720 electricity to run. Genius, but perhaps not as genius as 0:00:29.800 --> 0:00:34.760 humanity's original weed eater, domesticated ten thousand years ago goats. 0:00:35.760 --> 0:00:38.280 Of course, using goats as mowers went wildly out of 0:00:38.280 --> 0:00:41.040 fashion for a while in between then and now, but 0:00:41.280 --> 0:00:43.880 using goats to maintain vegetation works just as well today 0:00:43.920 --> 0:00:47.160 as it did in ancient Mesopotamia. Goats are commonly used 0:00:47.200 --> 0:00:50.800 to control big swaths of land in cemeteries, parks, airports, 0:00:50.800 --> 0:00:53.760 and even Google headquarters, and though they don't cut grass 0:00:53.760 --> 0:00:56.200 and vegetation down as evenly as a piece of machinery, 0:00:56.480 --> 0:00:58.720 there are a lot of benefits to using animals rather 0:00:58.800 --> 0:01:03.320 than machinery and her Besides, goats, after all, don't require 0:01:03.360 --> 0:01:06.800 petroleum products residential homes in the United States use about 0:01:06.840 --> 0:01:09.679 six hundred million gallons of fossil fuels each year on 0:01:09.760 --> 0:01:12.600 lawn maintenance, and that doesn't even include green spaces like 0:01:12.680 --> 0:01:16.600 highway medians, military bases, and public lands. But where there 0:01:16.640 --> 0:01:19.280 is vegetation, goats can do a decent job of gnawing 0:01:19.319 --> 0:01:22.639 down in base of weeds in a more sustainable way. Also, 0:01:22.760 --> 0:01:25.520 goats can turn that unwanted brush into milk, meat, and 0:01:25.640 --> 0:01:29.640 fiber like cashmere if you play your cards right. Goats 0:01:29.640 --> 0:01:31.880 are known for their nimble hoofs, which can get places 0:01:31.880 --> 0:01:35.480 of mower can't, especially through rocky or wooded areas. They're 0:01:35.520 --> 0:01:38.160 also highly motivated and will accept the challenge of even 0:01:38.160 --> 0:01:42.679 the steepest slope. Chicago's O'Hare International Airport is in its 0:01:42.680 --> 0:01:45.320 seventh season of using a mixed herd of goats, sheep, 0:01:45.400 --> 0:01:48.040 and a donkey named Jackson to clear the grounds around 0:01:48.120 --> 0:01:50.840 the airport all eleven acres that's about four and a 0:01:50.880 --> 0:01:54.080 half hectors. In the past, they've also incorporated lamas and 0:01:54.120 --> 0:01:58.760 alpacas into their grazing herd. Plus goats eat a variety 0:01:58.800 --> 0:02:02.360 of different plants. They're not picky. Goats are browsers, rather 0:02:02.400 --> 0:02:05.680 than grazers like cows and horses. Grazers will keep the 0:02:05.720 --> 0:02:07.760 lawn mode. But if you want an animal that will 0:02:07.800 --> 0:02:10.720 take a chance on an unusual looking vine, goats are 0:02:10.760 --> 0:02:13.640 for you. They'll practically always try a plant they don't know, 0:02:14.000 --> 0:02:16.800 and their guts can tolerate a wide variety of plant species, 0:02:17.000 --> 0:02:19.040 though care should be taken to make sure there's nothing 0:02:19.040 --> 0:02:23.079 on the land that's outright toxic goats. Perhaps the only 0:02:23.160 --> 0:02:25.239 drawback is that you can't set goats out to work 0:02:25.280 --> 0:02:27.799 on their own. They need to be monitored because they're 0:02:27.840 --> 0:02:32.840 great escape artists. At O'Hare International, land cleaning is important 0:02:32.840 --> 0:02:35.880 because it keeps wildlife off the property because they can 0:02:35.919 --> 0:02:39.080 denude even the toughest bramble thicket. The airport uses goats 0:02:39.120 --> 0:02:41.480 and other animals to take care of their stubborn overgrowth 0:02:41.639 --> 0:02:45.320 to keep wildlife and people safe. Wildlife can pose safety 0:02:45.320 --> 0:02:48.120 concerns for aircraft taking off and landing, and keeping the 0:02:48.200 --> 0:02:52.160 land cleared encourages animals to live elsewhere. If you want 0:02:52.240 --> 0:02:55.119 to rent a herd of goat landscapers, that's doable. There 0:02:55.120 --> 0:02:57.440 are many companies out there that will service your goat 0:02:57.480 --> 0:03:00.880 gardening needs, and according to Red wagon Goats located here 0:03:00.919 --> 0:03:04.120 in Atlanta, Georgia. Most residential customers can get their backyard 0:03:04.200 --> 0:03:06.880 cleaned up within the four hundred twi thousand dollar range, 0:03:07.160 --> 0:03:15.520 depending on size and complexity. Today's episode was written by 0:03:15.560 --> 0:03:18.400 Jesselyn Shields and produced by Tyler Clang. Brain Stuff is 0:03:18.400 --> 0:03:20.480 a production of I Heart Radio's How Stuff Works. For 0:03:20.560 --> 0:03:22.560 more in this and lots of other Harry topics, visit 0:03:22.600 --> 0:03:25.000 our home planet, how stuff Works dot com, and for 0:03:25.040 --> 0:03:27.640 more podcast from my heart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, 0:03:27.680 --> 0:03:30.239 Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.