Author Topic: Can we have animals on land that has been left rough & wild?  (Read 3847 times)

Lindseystrib

  • Joined Sep 2014
  • Wales
    • Facebook
Can we have animals on land that has been left rough & wild?
« on: September 10, 2014, 07:54:57 am »
Hi

We are looking to purchase our first smallholding and after much searching, losing a property and all the other usual stress, we think we've found something beautiful.

But. Although the land is mainly flat, it is quite wild and rough - the current owners have enjoyed it as it is and don't run the 24 acres as a smallholding.

There is quite a bit of rush grass, together with rose-bay willow, cow parsley etc.

Where the owners have mown paths through to walk, there is good grass underneath.

I have a horse to move with us, and we were looking at having pigs, sheep and a few cattle.

Can this really work?


Fleecewife

  • Joined May 2010
  • South Lanarkshire
    • ScotHebs
Re: Can we have animals on land that has been left rough & wild?
« Reply #1 on: September 10, 2014, 01:10:41 pm »

Primitive sheep will have the time of their lives - they thrive on rougher grazing and love to browse.  Cow parsley is great for all sheep, at least when it's short, and it's SO beautiful when it flowers.  Rosebay willow herb is a plant of bare places, so tends to take over when previously cultivated ground is left to go wild.

I would advise that you take a year to see just exactly what you have on your land, plant and flower wise, and what the grass is like throughout the seasons, including which grass species you have.  Looking at it now will give a different picture to what it's like in, for example, springtime.  Maybe confine your animals to only part of the land for that first year.

Pigs - piggy people will come to answer that question more fully.  We kept Tamworths for a while and they are certainly good ploughs, but I don't think all pigs are.  Anyway, Tammies are more beautiful that any other pig breed, in my eyes anyway  :love:

Can it work? - absolutely  :thumbsup:  In addition to your new smallholding you will have a wonderful wildlife haven, which will give you endless pleasure.  It sounds lovely.
"Let's not talk about what we can do, but do what we can"

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Lindseystrib

  • Joined Sep 2014
  • Wales
    • Facebook
Re: Can we have animals on land that has been left rough & wild?
« Reply #2 on: September 10, 2014, 01:41:18 pm »
Thank you - it's a big scary step to take, and  we need to be sure!

The wild-side of it is stunningly beautiful and we hope to share this with visitors - but don't want to lose sight of our smallholding dream.

bigchicken

  • Joined Nov 2008
  • Fife Scotland
Re: Can we have animals on land that has been left rough & wild?
« Reply #3 on: September 10, 2014, 02:12:59 pm »
24 acres wow fantastic the very best of luck in your new venture :thumbsup:
Shetland sheep, Castlemilk Moorits sheep, Hebridean sheep, Scots Grey Bantams, Scots Dumpy Bantams. Shetland Ducks.

Hevxxx99

  • Joined Sep 2012
Re: Can we have animals on land that has been left rough & wild?
« Reply #4 on: September 10, 2014, 03:39:56 pm »
A native pony or two would be fine on it, as long as there's nothing poisionous like ragwort of course. By and large "rough" grazing with lots of different plants is actually preferable to improved cow pasture type fields for equines anyway.  Ponies eat the rushes if they're peckish over winter. My concern though would be that the rushes show it is very badly drained, so you may need to put in field drains and/or ditches to turn it into decent grassland, and it'll get boggy in winter util you do.  I imagine that if you have a horse you'll be stabling and feeding as required so the field could be seen as just turnout and the horse kept to non-rushy areas in winter.

Go for it and good luck!

Whereabouts is it?
« Last Edit: September 10, 2014, 11:17:20 pm by Hevxxx99 »

shygirl

  • Joined May 2013
Re: Can we have animals on land that has been left rough & wild?
« Reply #5 on: September 10, 2014, 03:45:12 pm »
its sounds like our place  ;D ;D we chose native breeds and they all do fine. commercial types wouldnt cope at all.

Bramblecot

  • Joined Jul 2008
Re: Can we have animals on land that has been left rough & wild?
« Reply #6 on: September 10, 2014, 08:30:08 pm »
Sounds lovely, good luck :fc: .  If you can get part of it stock fenced, sheep would love it too.  Nice animals to start with :hugsheep:

 

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