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wooly1s
Farmgirl in Training
14 Posts
Karen
Coeur d Alene
Idaho
USA
14 Posts |
 Posted - May 18 2008 : 9:59:33 PM
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Having reclaimed an old farmstead and transformed fields of knapweed into pasture, we are finally seeing the fruits of our labor!
We turned the sheep out for the first time yesterday, and it was glorious. What a beautiful sight...seeing them in ankle deep grass! Wish I knew how to post pictures.
We are still keeping them on dry lot and rotating them in - they learn quickly what it means when I go to the gate...there is a bit of a maze to navigate to get from the lot to the pasture, but they are getting the hang of it.
Still torture to move sprinklers all over...there goes the timer again...but the contentment of the sheep is such a motivator.
Is anyone else doing rotational grazing with grass-only sheep (not grain fed)? What breed are you raising? What type of forage are you growing? How do you fence your rotation?
wooly1s
www.promisedlandfamilyfarm.com |
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shepherdgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
1008 Posts
Tracy
California
USA
1008 Posts |
Posted - May 21 2008 : 5:08:39 PM
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I have Babydoll sheep (little shorties). While I don't practice rotational grazing in the "traditional" sense, the sheep have decided to do it themselves! Our fences are VERY short (about 3ft, maybe a little less). They kept the sheep in just fine in the beginning, but then I got Nigerian dwarf goats a few years back. As anyone who has ever had goats will tell you, they need a TALL, STRONG fence. (They really laugh at ours!)
Anyway, the sheep have learned from the goats how to jump over (or go under) the fences. There is 20+ acres in grass hay and clover on the other side of that fence, so I don't worry that they will get in the road and get hit, and we have a guardian dog that pretty much keeps everyone from straying too far and from any predators that might be lurking about.
The sheep look great. I haven't wormed them in quite awhile but they all look healthy and are ALWAYS hungry! (the sign of a sound sheep!) My first ewe to lamb had TRIPLETS!!! Before, she'd only ever had singles. I expect twins (any day now) from all but one of the others (she's not big at all-- might not even be pregnant). Before, no matter what I fed them, or how much, the lamb crop and the ewes' body scores weren't that great, but since they've been only on pasture the difference is just amazing! ~~Tracy |
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Rotational grazing with sheep
