The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: SallyintNorth on October 16, 2012, 12:05:11 am
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Finally got it together and got some pics of the two from Carlisle Rare Breeds' sale.
All six together, and then the two newcomers getting to know the very smooth-skinned, rather screechy smelly sheep...
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Nice sheep - the smooth one I think is very rare! :innocent:
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That's one very large girl amongst your flock :roflanim: The sheep look :knit: :knit: lovely :innocent:
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Sally do you usually keep the pigs in with the sheep? Are there any issue with it?
I am just wondering if I should try it next year
thanks
Sally
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Sally do you usually keep the pigs in with the sheep? Are there any issue with it?
I am just wondering if I should try it next year
They're not together full-time, no - Bertha comes into the sheep's paddock for her feed, otherwise greedy Meg-pig eats her own and half of Bertha's too. Now of course, Bertha loses some of hers to the greedy fleece-sheep... ::) After she's eaten her cake, she potters about nibbling grass, checking the sheeps' trough for any they've missed (only fair!) and then, if I haven't returned by then to pop her back into her own field, takes that plough of a nose to any bit of soft ground she can find and turns as much of the sheeps' paddock into the Somme as she can before I get back to her! ::)
So that would be the issue, I think - if you had a large enough area that there would still be enough ground to stay grassy for the sheep, the only other problems would be that - the sheep would probably try to share the ark - not sure how that would play out, depending on the age and size of the pigs, and whether the sheep have and use their horns... :o,
- keeping each species off each others' feed,
- the amount of mud there is bound to be whereever there are pigs
If you do try it, please make sure you have a video camera in your pocket at all times! :innocent: :roflanim:
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I think you have made my decision for me. It makes sense to keep them seperate.
thanks
Sally
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I had sheep in an ex-pig field with an ark, it was a nightmare trying to keep them out of it, they would cram themselves in really tight. I turned it over in the end, looked like a disease outbreak waiting to happen.