GEORGETOWN, Texas — Thousands of people continue to move to Central Texas. In just about every corner, you'll see construction workers and new houses being built.
While this is having devastating effects on our ecosystem, one Georgetown developer decided to clear the land in an eco-friendly way. Kyle Carr is the owner of Rent-A-Ruminant, and he implements a herd of workers.
"We use goats to go in and graze down and clear areas that are difficult to maintain," Carr said. "These are places where you can't get ... normal machinery or the use of herbicides."
During the February winter storm, Central Texas saw branches and trees falling over onto people's homes and into their yards. This made it dangerous for people to go through certain areas, especially if the grass was high, because they couldn't see what was below.
For the last week, the goats have been munching away at all the grass, clearing the area and exposing all the branches left behind. This will allow developers to come in, see what they're doing and pick up all the tree limbs.
The goal in this area is for it to be easily accessible so people can walk down these trails and get to the San Gabriel River – and there's no better animal to get the job done than a goat.
"They're hard at work right now over here behind me, and they love their job," Carr said. "This is what they're designed to do. And they take a few short breaks throughout the day, but most of the time, they're up grazing."
The goats spend most of the day climbing trees, walking around and eating all the grass and plants in their way. Carr said his company has 150 goats, and every one of them has a name!
"Grayson ... he loves to climb trees," Carr said. "So, if a tree is slightly bent over, he's going to go climbing up it. No problem. And then Scarlett is another one ... she's kind of up and coming. We also have a matriarch kind of herd. And some, like older Mocha, is kind of getting up there in age."
Carr said the goats love their job, but before being put to work, there are a couple of things the animals have to do.
No Kidding: 150 goats are helping take care of overgrowth at properties in Georgetown
"We have a whole training program they have to go through before they can go on the road because we have to put them right in neighborhoods and public areas all the time," Carr said. "So, yes, I've got some at home that will just flatfoot jump over the fence."
When the goats are working on a property, someone stays outside supervising them all day. They are relatively docile animals and hard workers. As long as the goats have some plants to munch on, they don't cause much trouble.