The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Smallholding => Land Management => Topic started by: peartreewoodlandsmallholding on June 13, 2012, 10:46:30 pm
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hi we recently purchased a four acre field, it hasn,t been grazed or cut for over 12 months, the land is sloping so is not really suitable/safe to get someone with a tractor to cut it down, the grass is about 2-3 foot long!!! over the entire field, i do plan to get a few sheep soon but wondered if they will eat grass this long? and if they do how long will it take for them to even make a small dent in there!! I have no tractor just hand tools, a brushcutter etc so didn,t know whether i,d be best just starting to brush cut the land and start barrowing the cut grass into a pile (im not scared of hard work!!! :innocent: ) just wondered if anyone had advice how best to tackle this cheers!!
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what condition is the fencing in?
what do you plan to do with the land long term?
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hi the fencing of the boundary is fine. ive nearly finished fencing and stock meshing off a section of about 2 acres squared of the sloping area ready for the sheep, then i have about half an acre of level ground at the top where i plan to grow veg. Going to keep a couple of pigs on there at first to rotovate that area for me ready to plant up with veg next season.
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Hi abe1980
I have shared on your sheep thread. We were in a similar position to you and the sheep did work their way through the long grass. We divided our overgrown two acre field into four half acre paddocks and rotate the sheep every two weeks in the summer. They just about keep on top of it.
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We are very new to sheep, only got our 3 last Sat but OH had only had the opportunity to strim part of the field due to the weather. About half an acre has been done and the rest will be done asap so that we can rotate them.
Our land is sloping and has rocks in places too so also not suitable for a tractor.
Anyway, the girls seem to spend as much time munching away in the long grass as they do the short.
We will eventually still strim it all but I'm not so worried about doing a rush job as I was.
Suziequeue, how many sheep do you have on yours?
Sally
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Congratulations on getting your field. I bought my first 4 acres at auction and felt like I had my own piece of (very overgrown) heaven :D :D . If the fencing is ok you could ask a farmer to put a few cows in there - they will take down the long grass in no time. and you can see what you have got. Or you could offer a silage cut for nothing if they are cutting in your area. I gave my grass away for 2 years until I had some stock - they may think you are soft in the head but you will find out who will help you ;) . Then you can mark off your flat area for the pigs/veg growing. Divide the remainder into 3 areas for sheep (rotation) and off you go! :thumbsup: Enjoy!
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We've got seven ewes and seven lambs (six girls and a boy) at the minute. They've only just started on paddock 1 and paddock 4 (where they'll be going next) is already desperately looking in need of a haircut!
Once we move the sheep off a paddock, OH top cuts it the next day to get the rushes and thistles down. Anything the cutters can't manage I scythe when I get home the following weekend.... then it's left to grow again. We put them on there from just before lambing in April until they go to the tup again in Oct/Nov. It's a good spot as all the paddocks open into a narrowish runway along the bottom which then enables us to herd them to the end if we need to pen them for any checks or treatments and stuff.
I have to say that the fencing was quite expensive as the land is very steep and so most of it had to be done by hand as the tractor couldn't get up the hill - but its been worth every penny..... especially seeing the pasture gradually getting restored. At the moment we are not doing any proactive pasture management but that will come with time I hope.
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EBLEX recommended sward heights for sheep at this time of year is 8-10cm which we are way over. I believe that they finish faster on shorter grass.
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In places mine is more like 8-10 inches ;D
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Remember the joke about why women are so bad at parking Sally :-D
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Remember the joke about why women are so bad at parking Sally :-D
;D ;) Ask a dairy farmer nearby if he would put a few young cattle in until the ground is munched to the ground. Most farmers nowadays, unless the grass is top class, will charge YOU for cutting and baling and taking away. Depending on how many sheep you want to keep find someone with ponies to follow on behind them(but beware, pony owners will take liberties!) This will ensure an even grazing regime which will keep the grass good and help prevent worms in all species :)
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i have split just under 2 acres into 3 sections ,2 sections are rotated every 2 weeks for my sheep and lambs. the other peice is about 50mx 20m with grass at knee height and im going to make some loose hay by hand put it on some pallets and cover.All we need is the sunny weather and Cider. :fc:
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All we need is the sunny weather and Cider. :fc:
The cider may be the easy bit...
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I've got exactly the same problem as Able1980. A retired farmer told me that if you put sheep into long grass they will start to scour. It would be really good if he was wrong. Has anyone had this problem? If not, I'm going to follow Suziequeue's example and put sheep straight on to my waist high grass. :D I probably won't be able to find them for a few days but at least they won't go hungry.
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Possum,
I am no expert as I have only had my sheep 2 weeks tomorrow. They are in a field that has been partially cut (due to the weather) and spend as much time, if not more, in the long grass. They haven't scoured so far anyway.
Sally
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A farmer would bite your hand off for a bit of free grazing. If you donlt intend to use it for a couple of years a farmer will often fence it for a 2 year contract so that would be a bonus too plus cows fertilise it for you naturally. Just make sure farmer takes them off it for winter otherwise it will get poached :o9