[GG]

Hello everyone, good to meet you all

We are definately accidental smallholders who will need some (lots of) help over the coming months!

We've finally managed to buy our 'dream' house in terms of location but it needs a lot of work and comes with the added bonus of 14 acres of pastureland - we wanted a bit of land and no near neighbours but we weren't expecting to get quite so much.

Now the sun is shining and the grass is growing we want to get some sheep to help us keep it down.  We had thought store sheep at first to let ourselves in gently but naively didn't realise you can't really get them until late summer. 

So we need to get proper sheep.

My husband says we need to get about 50 sheep for the amount of land but I would rather start small until we know what we're doing. He's concerned that if we don't get enough we won't be able to keep the grass under control - we don't want to rent the land out as we would rather keep it all to ourselves!

Any advice on how many sheep we should get would be really appreciated  and would help solve our first smallholding conundrum and potential marriage breaker!!

I'm looking forward to all your lovely replies.
B

[devonlady]

You might just let the grass grow, get someone to cut and bale it for you and have feed for your first sheep when you decide on breed, numbers etc. later in the year. Good luck and enjoy your land,
                                                                                                                             Sylvia.

[Dogwalker]

Hello from mid Wales.
If the lands had sheep on before and is suitable for mowing giving it a rest from grazing and cutting hay would be a good idea.  You'd be able to sell some of the hay to cover the cost and have some for your first sheep.  Or do part and get a few sheep to start you of.  If the house needs lots of work you'll need all your energy for that not animals.

[GG]

Wow, two very useful and practical answers straight away. 

Yes, the land has been grazed for years so maybe it could do with a rest and yes, the house definitely needs a lot of work - we were lucky to have such a mild winter this year.

Thank you both 

[kelly58]

Hi from Caithness  We have Boreray sheep and Olde English minature Southdown sheep, 
Good luck with your new adventure, dont rush into buying animals till you are 100% what you want to use them for. 

[Penninehillbilly]

HI welcome from W'Yorks. 14 acres pasture sounds ideal.
Great advice, mowing first year, couldn't better it, stock is time consuming, esp. new stuff that you would watch and worry over 
out of curiosity, is it all one field or a few with good fences? this woud come in useful later for either keeping some back for mowing and moving stock onto fresh ground.

[GG]

Thanks for more reassuring advice - we're a bit relieved we don't have to rush into sheep straight away!

Kelly 58 in answer to your question, the land is divided into 5 fields, the smallest is about 1.5 acres and the largest just under 4, which I guess is also ideal for mowing and moving sheep 

[Sbom]

  hello from just over the border in Staffordshire, whereabouts in Shropshire are you?

[Lesley Silvester]

  from Shropshire as well.

[SallyintNorth]

Those are small fields which will be lovely for keeping sheep when you are ready

But they may not be so ideal for your local haymaking contractor...  I'd make enquiries now and find someone who has small equipment and can make hay for you before you let it grow too long to be usable grazing...

If you can't find someone who can mow, turn, row up and bale for you (and do you have labour and storage for the bales?), you can probably find a local sheepkeeper who can put a few sheep on for you now to keep it from getting out of control until there are store sheep available and you can buy some of your own.

The number you will need will depend on the land and whether you will make your own hay for their winter forage.  The right number for the summer will be too many over winter, of course , so you would need to get the right type of store lamb that would be ready to sell / slaughter at the right time for the land. 

Asking around for your local small-bale haymaker should find you your local friendly farmers - they'll be able to give you better advice than we can, as they'll know the ground, climate and local conditions.

[clunfarm]

I wouldn't rule out grass-keep while you are working on the house...

We bought a 'project' with a bit more land in the far south-west of Shropshire, with the intent of eventually having our own animals. We've found the house and outbuildings to be more than sufficient work for now, and renting the grass-keep to two neighbouring farmers has been a good way to get into the local community. I think the trick has been doing local deals rather than putting out a land agents board and seeking the highest possible price.

Through our grass-keep arrangement we now have people who will top the rushes and thistles for us, chain harrow all the molehills (and catch a good number of pesky moles), repair fences, etc. All of which will be useful if/when we do get our own animals down the line.

Would be happy to compare notes if that would be useful.

[Porterlauren]

I wouldn't jump into buying 50 sheep to live year round on 14 acres. . . . . .

Maybe either buy a handful of this years lambs, or some couples. . . .

And get the rest topped / bailed.

Even better, find another local sheep keeper, and exchange the grass keep for a how to guide / lesson to keeping sheep. . . . and possibly a couple of lambs. . . .

[Beeducked]

Hi from Shropshire too.


Some very sensible advice above. Lovely to have so many options ahead of you and I'm sure there will be someone local to you who can either turn it to hay or graze it for you. It is a nice way of meeting your new neighbours.
Jumping into 50 sheep when you are not quite sure what you want them for is taking on a lot when you already have a project on your hands (trust me from someone who started with a project and just 6 sheep!).


Sounds like you have a wonderful adventure ahead of you.

[GG]

Thank you everyone for your sound advice.  We're trying to find local contacts for topping and small hay bales for this year, with maybe a handful of sheep too.  Husband wistfully searching ebay for tractors but I'm trying to persuade him that a new kitchen is more important 

I couldn't resist starting something though and we've got 6 lovely chickens coming to live with us next week - Linda, Judy, Mags, Speckle, Chocolate Fudge and It's All About The Base  I'll have to change our strapline when they get here.

[Penninehillbilly]

Nice to see yu're making a start, bit by bit, that's the idea 
 
but A word of warning for your husband, just tonight had a warning from 'rural watch' (similar to neighbourhood watch) about online fraud, I'm sure it will be alright to copy it and spread the word - copied in below --
 
    Online auction websites are being used by fraudsters to advertise
agricultural machinery for sale which do not exist.
   The fraudster advertises on an auction website and gets their victim to
agree to purchase farming machinery, making sure that all correspondence is
done via email.
   The victim then receive emails which claim to be from genuine payment
merchants or auction websites which state that the money they have paid for
the machinery will be held in an 'escrow account'.
    The email indicates the money will be released to the seller, once the
person has confirmed that they're happy with the purchase. The email says
that this will provide the person with 'buyer protection'. In reality these
emails are fraudulent, they don't come from the named companies and the bank
accounts are controlled by fraudsters.

Protect yourself:

*   Always stay within the terms and conditions of the auction websites.
*   Remember that PayPal do not include vehicles under their buyer protection.
*   Meet the seller 'face to face' and view the vehicle before parting with any money.
*   Be vigilant of emails that purport to be from genuine companies and check the 'domain' name of the email address for any inconsistencies.
*   Check feedback online by searching the associated phone numbers or email addresses of the seller.
*   If the vehicle is below market value consider whether this is an opportunity which is too good to be true!