Oh man! Renee, I'm so sorry.
Don't suppose you or they want to put up a better fence that is solid and probably can't be taller than 6 feet I assume.
I managed to kill creeping fig with roundup and dug out 2 of them. The other 2 are planted with gravel on top and sometimes show green still and immediately it gets sprayed.
But it was only about 20 feet to remove and 5 feet high.
Would you remove some grass for the shrubs...to keep some distance. Perhaps some tall cypress.

On the other hand...at least it didn't fall on your house.

Is the fence right on the property line or on your property? That might enter into discussions with the goat owners, as to not allowing thier pets to destroy your plants on your property.

Also, has the neighbor stepped up to haul away the fallen tree debris? Are they consulting with an arborist to make sure the rest of that tree doesn't also fall down? It looks awfully tall, and if it falls toward your property, could do some damage.

Does their home owner's insurance allow those old, overgrown trees? I had Allstate for 30 years and they refused to renew unless I trimmed all trees near my house. I live in a city, not outskirts, but wildfires seem to scare insurance companies. And BTW, will their homeowner's insurance pay the cost of removing that tree? Your insurance should not have to.

I am kinda an ivy hater, spent a weekend uncovering a fallen wood fence with a 10 ft ivy cover. Is it growing on an existing cyclone fence ? I've never seen it free standing like that. The ivy should be fine above where the goats reach, what you need is something to block the view underneath.
I don't know that there are shrubs which are goat proof, they eat poison oak you know... maybe deer proof is place to start.. rosemary is cheap and drought tolerant...
I can't believe goats eat chicken wire, try the higher gauge fencing, I have some green coated wire with 2" by 4" openings that has been large animal proof...

A row of Iris along the base of that fence would look nice ;) why so much lawn ;)

Chad

Chad, great minds think alike. Now that there's sun there, and since Mike will not have to 'mow' the ivy, why have grass up against the fence? We only grew the grass to keep down the dust from the Santa Anas, anyway.

Perhaps letting the goats eat the ivy is the way to go, and if I plant shrubs out six to ten feet or so from the fence the goats will not be able to reach them. Then irises in front. I have been trimming a 316 foot long chain-link ivy covered fence for 20 years- I think I could give up a hundred feet of it.

Borderbarb, I am willing to sacrifice almost anything for Neighbor Peace, right up to and perhaps even including Family Peace. But never fear, the neighbors are good people. They just have some very cute, very hungry goats, and an old pepper tree.

Gobluedjm, indeed, the tree limb could have fallen on Mikey's La Cage Mahal, the most wonderful chicken coop ever built, featured in Chickens For Dummies. Well, ok, not exactly featured, but depicted in a drawing. You can look it up. Really.

What shrubs, though? I was thinking about a big sticky wad of blue plumbago. Anyone have truly bad experiences with this? Maybe I should begin a new thread...

Renee, maybe your neighbor should loan those goats out to the county to clear brush. Surely there is enough in your area.
I had 5 blue plumbagos and now just 1. It frosts here and freezes back some and when deadheading the flowers stick to everything and me. So 1 is plenty for me.
I was in Sfernando valley recently and saw it intertwining with bottlebrush and was over a 10 foot wall.
This is your chance for the bottlebrush you love so much.
Go for it and get rid of the water sucking grass.

Ok I see your situation better now (checked out your picasa album).. I think this is your chance to plant a lot of really invasive stuff, since the goats will keep it in check... On my list is:
Anemone japonica
Canna
Alstroemeria (tall hybrids)
bamboo, I like Alphonse Carr
Tetrapanex papyrifera "Steroidal Giant"
Hedychium gardnerium
Crocosmia masonorum
Chasmanthe ducktii
Miscanthus
....

A hedge of miniature avocado trees would keep the goats from browsing on your side of the fence. And...if they DID sample some of the leaves, you would have all the necessary ingredients to make tacos de cabrito con guacamole!

Re: planting dwarf avocado trees ... I was told when we had a milk goak not to let her eat any of the leaves from our avo grove, as they were poisonous. Have never heard more about that, so don't know if true. But if true, the whole goat 'thing' might become moot.

Wanna see pictures of the cute little goats!

Okay, I'll take and post some tomorrow, buddyben. The cutest one is named, appropriately, Buddy.

Here you go, buddyben.
Renee

Here is a link that might be useful: Cute Goats Next Door

Renee, thanks for all the great photos of the two goats! How fun to have goats next door -- too bad they are causing you so much grief! thanks again

I have to admit, they are pretty cute, even with an ivy leaf sticking out of their mouth. It's just too bad they don't feed on something useful, like slugs and cucumber beetles.