The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: Martyn on January 26, 2014, 08:34:27 pm
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What is the law on number of sheep per acre?
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theres no law that i know of. many use the ratio of 5 per acre if they are in that field all year round but also depends on the land and type of grass growing.
some people strip graze putting a higher ratio of sheep on a small strip of grass but this line would be moved daily so they always have fresh grass to eat and the grazing is rested straight away.
weight gain and healthy lambs is the aim so you wouldnt want to overstock as their wouldnt be enough grass.
there are stricter recommendations with animals like hens/pigs who are on hard feed and can be subject to overcrowding.
im sure there would be a recommended ratio for sheep housed in barn like situations but im sure someone will advise you shortly.
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Depends entirely upon the land and sheep. We have some land that can support 4-6 per acre and some that can only take 1 per hectare.
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There is no 'law' on sheep/ac- there are however, regs on space when housing sheep. As I don't house sheep, I have no idea what they are.
I tend to stock 3-3.5/ac summer and 1-1.5/ac in winter. But I expect my sheep to eat nothing but grass.
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I'm stocked 2'5 to 3 to acre, some people go upto 7 depending on quality of grass, and others say you can stock 5 ewes plus there lambs to the acre. a lot depends on quality of grass and where which part of the country you're from.
its a good question, so what do others think about stocking rates including the lambs?
and don't include strip grazing stocking at 15 an acre because lets say someone as 10 acres they couldn't manage that lol.
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My winter stocking rates vary from 1 ewe/ 2 acres to 1 ewe /acre
Summer stocking rates from 2 ewes + lambs to 5 ewes + lambs /acre
Grass only, no hay, no hard food----
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Thank you all, I obviously need to do a bit more research ! Starting with trying to work out how many acres I actually have.
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Starting with trying to work out how many acres I actually have.
yes that would be a good starting point :eyelashes:
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http://magic.defra.gov.uk/Login.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2fMagicMap.aspx (http://magic.defra.gov.uk/Login.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2fMagicMap.aspx)
That has a good measuring tool for calculating the amount of land you have.
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Moony I got a bit lost in there .. I managed to put a red out line round some land I'm interested in but don't know how to get the square metre calculations going ..can you advise please
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Under feature tools at the top of the page there is a ruler with a + and - above it. Click on that. That brings a new menu up where you select the ruler on the left for area and perimeter. Draw around the edge of the field and then double click. That gives you the perimeter and area in metres and square metres. You can then put the area in hectares. There are 2.471 acres in a hectare.
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Think it's about 30 but will double check.
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Looks like closer to 40 acres!
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in winter I want around 1 ewe/acre, in the summer my grass grows really well so 2-5 ewes plus lambs per acre
I dont feed though and so grass has to be looked after and made the most of
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I am only thinking of having around 10 or something so looks like they will have plenty to eat!