There are a lot more hungry mouths to feed this week at Westlake High School.

About 65 male goats are roaming the adjacent barranca, chomping on every leaf, weed and brush in their path. It's a new weed and brush abatement method at the school that has many students, faculty and administrators smiling.

"When they first showed up, it was kind of awkward," said freshman Melissa McQuillan as she picked off weeds and fed the goats through a chain-link fence. "They're fun."

For a little over a week, the voracious four-legged creatures are being used to help eradicate the overgrown brush in the barranca at the west side of the campus, said Joe Putnam, facility supervisor of grounds for the Conejo Valley Unified School District.

Using the animals is a safe and cost-effective method to clear hard-to-reach brush, Putnam said.

"Fire is our biggest concern and the Fire Department is very adamant on brush control around buildings, especially in canyons and places like this, where if a fire does start it can quickly get out of control," Putnam said.

The goats will clear about two acres of the barranca, which has been severely overgrown for 10 years, Putnam said.

Goat owner Hugh Bunten Jr. said more companies and private residents all over Southern California are calling his Lakeview, Ore.-based company, Nanny & Billy's Vegetative Management. They have other clearing projects all over the country.

The goats are effective in clearing ground brush and can even stand on their hind legs to reach higher branches. Less ground foliage around the barranca could help prevent possible fires from spreading to the treetops and traveling elsewhere, Bunten said.

A group of 65 goats or "strike team" can eat through one acre of vegetation in about a day, Bunten said.

When the barranca was cleared about 10 years ago, it cost the district $15,000 to $20,000, Putnam said. For about a one-week treatment from the goat strike team, the total cost is about $3,300.

"They are very affordable for the price, and we don't have any concerns with workers' comp," Putnam said. "They are all happy to eat."

The goats are not only cost-efficient, but also good for the environment. Bunten said once a herd of goats eats through the growth, it becomes easier to maintain the area.

"You actually change the composition of vegetation and remove those weeds," Bunten said. "The regrowth is more palatable and easier to handle."