[Thyme]

Personally I think that would be a bit extreme.  I wouldn't worry too much about that amount of rushes, you can discourage them just by mowing ("topping") regularly.  My biggest fields have rushes around the drainage ditches and scatterings of them elsewhere, it's fine as long as your field is still mostly grass.  In my opinion anyway, but all my grazing animals are primitives 

[ricardodba]

what causes the rushes to grow?

with regards to the draining - i was thinking digging several trenches going from top to bottom of the hill in the field, put in some drainage pipes, back-fill with pea gravel and cover back with soil...does this sound about right?

[Thyme]

Disclaimer:  I'm only about a year ahead of you in all of this, but your 1.5 acre appears similar to my land, so take my comments for what value you can   My understanding is the rushes tend to mean 1) wet ground, 2) proximity to other rushes, 3) acidic soil.  But the wet you want to worry about is when the ground is actually soggy some of the time, and rushes don't necessarily mean that -- some of mine are growing in clumps on high ground that is actually well drained, which is what your photo seems to be showing. 

So I wouldn't overreact to the presence of rushes or a few other non-grass plants if I were you.  What I'd look at is:  are there parts of the land that are soggy right now where the grass would turn to mud if you walked on it much?  Is there standing water after it rains?  Do those parts dry out later in the year (which you won't know yet) and if so can you partition the field to keep animals off those areas until they are dry?

[Old Shep]

Hi Richard - can't answer any of your cow queries as I'm just a sheep and dog person, but hello and welcome from just over the hill in Sutton.

[Treud na Mara]

I went on a grassland management course run by the Scottish Crofting Federation last year. Although I'm in Scotland and on the east coast and the land is very different from yours, I had some of the same issues, principally, rushes and also tired looking grazing. As has been said elsewhere, cutting the rushes will keep them at bay and may even get rid of them entirely. We don't want to use  heavy machinery on our croft as far as possible and my BH has been scything the rushes to great effect. Most important is not letting them seed so chop of the flowering bits when they appear. We have even used them as a resource for other projects eg as insulation and base layer for a turf roof, and chicken bedding (not so good as not absorbent enough). The big message from the course was though, yes to test your soil, but also to think carefully about what you want from your land and to make sure that it's good enough for your purposes. There is no point in making a lovely looking flower meadow if you are going to have too much stock on it, for example. And don't think ploughing up and re-seeding as a first resort. Start with what you have and look at what small improvements you could make. And perhaps the use of more sheep to graze it down at particular times of year would be a better way. Trickier to manage if they are not your sheep but something to think about. Sorry, this is all too much information at once and you are obviously researching yourself but it really made me think about our land in a quite different way.
Good luck anyway and keep asking questions. The stupid question is the one you don't ask, as many here will tell you. 

[devonlad]

Hi and welcome aboard. We started out from scratch about 5 years ago with no real clear idea about what to do with our 4 1/2 acres but lots of dreams. Foremost amongst these was a couple of dexter cows and some donkeys. To date neither of these species has been seen but goats, pigs, sheep and chickens have. Over time we've learnt more about what our land can manage and we have settled on our sheep pigs and always the chickens. If money is no object then rip it all up put in drainage, reseed, lime. OR find out as you go along. For us that's part of the thrill of it all. Good luck

[Penninehillbilly]

Hi Richard and welcome
We aren't very far from Haworth, over in Hebden Bridge.
Are there any outbuildings? there is no way goats and most cows, ponies etc can winter outside round here.
I'd say get goats, but I'm biased  . I have 5 with currently 9 babies. Easier to handle than cows, And I (think) easier to keep inside. two should keep you in milk all the year round.
I really don't think you've enough land for a cow, maybe when you've moved in and settled you may find some land to rent nearby?
I'm afraid we seem to be ruling the pony out, sorry. but you really haven't the land. maybe when your daughter makes some friends it would be better to 'share' land or a pony?
Hens and geese may keep grass down, but would need fastening in at dusk. 6 geese eat LOT of grass!
I'd say if the land has sheep on it don't put sheep or goats on for at least a year, preferably 2. sheep can carry parasites (worms) that can pass to goats.
Wouldn't worry too much about the rushes unless the land is really boggy, drainage is usually done in a herringbone patern, one main drain going downhill and others coming in fromthe side at an angle. If they are old stone drains like ours could be just a part of one has collapsed (heavy tractors have wrecked our field drains before we bought them)
When are you thinking you will be moving?
Just a thought - if the field is currently rented to the sheep owner - make sure there are no tenancy rights, if they are on all the year round there may be problems getting him off. We only allow summer grazing to avoid this.

[SallyintNorth]

Rushes make great shelter for lambs.  So if you are planning on breeding sheep, do not remove all your rushes - the amount in your pic isn't much and would be just right for shelter for the lambs of the 3-4 ewes you might have on your 1.5 acres. 

Rushes also help bind the surface together, and use a lot of water, so if the ground is wet and the climate also, rushes could be more of a friend than a foe.  Just top them in the summer, twice if you can, to stop them getting out of hand.

Permanent pasture is by far the best at withstanding weather extremes, be it drought or prolonged wet.  Do not plough and reseed without a lot more knowledge, and local knowledge.  Talk to your nieghbouring farmers, they will know what will and will not work on your patch.

If it's wet land and you do plough and reseed, you may find you can't run any hooved feet on it for a couple of years while the new grasses get established.  Same may apply to more than three or four choox.

I think you've received the messages No Ponies, Never a Single Cow and Not Enough for Two Cows.  Sorry!

But... once you are known and, hopefully, liked!, you may well find that there are ponies about locally that are underused and their owners very happy to have an experienced rider make use of it/them.  It's Fell Pony country, it's a breed that loves to work.

And once you have got used to your new spot for a year or two, and had a few choox and maybe a couple of weaners, and know people locally, well then you may find there is summer grazing around you could use for your two Shetland cows.  Depending on exactly where, you may need to lead them home for milking, or milk them in the field.

I have Jersey house cows, which produce so much milk I have to buy in calves for them to rear alongside their own, so they hardly notice what I want for the house!  I'll share a few things I've learned.  If a cow is rearing her own calf then yes, you don't have to milk her every day for her own welfare - but I find it best to mostly keep the routine the same, especially in her first and second lactation, so I do try to milk them every day for at least the first lactation.  After the first couple of weeks, you will need to keep the calf off her at night, so that she has a full udder for you to take your bit before reuniting mum and calf in the morning.   You can't keep a calf on its own, nor a cow on her own, so the solution is usually that the calves are penned together overnight and the cows run out or are penned together but away from the calves, whichever suits you best.  You can have them in pens next to each other so the mums can see and talk to the calves but the calves can't reach the udders.

The other thing I want to share is that you will form an amazing two-way bond with a cow that you milk.  I was unprepared for the strength of this bond; it's as strong as that with a horse or pony that is yours and you work/ride.  It's a wonderful thing, for sure - but it does mean that you should take the step of getting a couple of house cows very carefully.  If you rush into it, then find it isn't working for you, your land, or whatever, then you will have a heartbreaking situation to deal with.  Probably it's not terribly difficult to rehome a couple of trained Shetland house cows, but it would still be a wrench for whoever milks them especially but also for the whole family.

[Thyme]

But... once you are known and, hopefully, liked!, you may well find that there are ponies about locally that are underused and their owners very happy to have an experienced rider make use of it/them.

Just want to emphasize that this is so true!  I've already had to fend off people trying to talk me into a relationship with their horse that "could use more exercise" and I'm not even an enthusiastic teenage girl 

[ricardodba]

Thanks so much for all your replies.

So it seems, i'll be going down the smaller livestock route with either sheep or goats or maybe both. I wont quite give up on the house cow idea, but maybe down the line if i can get any additional land.

I think i'll spend this year seeing how the land changes etc with the seasons and get a soil test done, get the veggie patch up and running and get a few chickens....oh and a load of fencing 

regarding outbuildings - at present there are none. I do intend on adding a couple of stalls/sheds for any livestock i get...one day id like to have a barn put up   

So moving on to the chickens. Im thinking of adapting a standard shed into a chicken coop...and the reason for this is for ease of cleaning. Kids have had rabbits in the past and cleaning them out could be so much easier if you could get in the hutch!...so any hints and tips on adapting sheds to chicken coop. Have done a bit of research ie keep vented, red mite etc. Id like a few differnt egg types...for me personally i want white eggs (so a leghorn), blue eggs (so a legbar i think will be best)...my wife like the Orpington and marans. They will be able to roam but i do intend n having an enclosure attached to the shed too should i ever want to keep them enclosed.

Regarding the field...so if i leave it as is for now...can i still throw down some wild flower seed to bring a bit of colour into the field?

Thanks

[devonlady]

Sutton Seeds, I think, sell a wildflower mix and I daresay will tell you the best way of sowing. I have scattered

primroses, fox gloves, sweet violets, campions and other wildies along the banks and margins of our land and, after seven years they are becoming established.

[DavidandCollette]

We have a couple of polytunnels for veg you can grow stuff all year round. There is a really good book by Joyce Russell called the polytunnel book. You can grow loss in a comparatively small space leaving more room for livestock

[Kimbo]

You wont regret the chickens but set aside lots of time in your week for standing and watching them as they are quite comical and make terrific time-wasters 

[ricardodba]

hi guys, after an emotional roller-coaster of being in a chain... looks like im getting keys on friday...soooo excited 

There is one thing i need to get sorted quick...I have a German shepherd. She is 18 months old, relativity well behaved and trained.

I took her for a walk on the moors near where we're moving - wanted to get her used to the sheep more than anything - as the sheep roam wild basically!. She pretty much ignored the sheep but when 1 sheep was startled and ran off, Maggie (my dog) chased the sheep...basically wanting to play...no aggression whatsoever!..im guessing a farmer seeing this will possibly shoot her!

What i want to know is how do i get her used to being around sheep...do i try to find a local sheep farmer who'll let me take her around his farm and get her used to being around sheep?...

Any ideas will be gratefully received!

Cheers.

[Ghdp]

Hey. Two things. One ; we so wish you well in your venture as we are  still on the same  purchasing  roller coaster. The other, we  too have a non aggressive chaser in the form of a large bouncy mongrel. And have the same questions. We have read your posts with interest and send you our ( ignorant) encouragement . Hopefully we can swap wisdom and success stories soon. When my wife left her partnership to allow us to pursue our plan  her colleague wrote in a card  -'we are are all looking for adventure; enjoy yours'. We say the same to you!!