Smallholders Insurance from Greenlands

Author Topic: Hello from a vegan w/sheep in Berkshire  (Read 3332 times)

Marti615

  • Joined Jun 2017
Hello from a vegan w/sheep in Berkshire
« on: June 10, 2017, 08:49:22 am »
Hi,

It sounds ridiculous, why would a vegan have sheep? Well, if you saw my hilly 4 acres covered in every imaginable grass, shrub and bramble, you'd soon see. Or rather, they were covered before I got sheep. Things are better now (thanks sheep!). 

I have dogs to whom I feed meat so it's not like I'm going to preach to anyone about their being omnivores, btw. 

I'd like to know more about sheep and more about growing vegetables. You'd think I'd have figured that out by now, but I am a terrible gardener.

I also would like to be more independent in my pasture management and fencing.

I'm already learning a lot here but thought I ought to introduce myself.  :wave:


Fleecewife

  • Joined May 2010
  • South Lanarkshire
    • ScotHebs
Re: Hello from a vegan w/sheep in Berkshire
« Reply #1 on: June 10, 2017, 12:49:25 pm »
Hi Marti - you certainly are not the only person to keep sheep without eating them.  They make lovely pets and grass mowers as you have found.  They also have a wonderful recyclable resource in their fleeces, which you can perhaps incorporate into your plan  :spin:


For your veg production, have you investigated forest gardening or permaculture?  It is a way of producing crops where annuals are kept to a minimum.  Might be worth investigating if you really are no good at veg growing under a normal system.  But anyway, you don't have to be a perfect gardener - read the veg pages here and it's all about the problems we all have, with loads of advice and help.


Welcome to TAS.
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Marti615

  • Joined Jun 2017
Re: Hello from a vegan w/sheep in Berkshire
« Reply #2 on: June 10, 2017, 03:01:14 pm »
Thank you both for your replies.  :)

I am going to give gardening a proper go and also look into permaculture, thank you. This site is very useful in so many respects.

I became a vegan slowly after owning farm animals--seriously! I had chickens and found myself first unable to eat chicken meat and then unable to eat the eggs! Then I got sheep...couldn't possibly eat lamb. Of course, I can't eat horses either. That leaves cows, except I can't even eat beef anymore because it is meat. Amazing how our dietary preferences are enironmentally influenced. And once you are out of the habit of animal products you rarely want to eat anything that looks like it might have animals in it (except cake...still love cake).

I feed my dogs meat everyday. I probably buy more meat than most people who have no dogs but eat meat themselves! So I am a bit of a contradiction.


Old Shep

  • Joined Feb 2011
  • North Yorkshire
Re: Hello from a vegan w/sheep in Berkshire
« Reply #3 on: June 10, 2017, 07:31:14 pm »
Welcome!
Helen - (used to be just Shep).  Gordon Setters, Border Collies and chief lambing assistant to BigBennyShep.

Lesley Silvester

  • Joined Sep 2011
  • Telford
Re: Hello from a vegan w/sheep in Berkshire
« Reply #4 on: June 11, 2017, 12:32:01 am »
 :wave: and welcome from Shropshire.

Marti615

  • Joined Jun 2017
Re: Hello from a vegan w/sheep in Berkshire
« Reply #5 on: June 11, 2017, 06:20:00 pm »
Thank you for all the welcomes!

I'm really so grateful for this site. So many great people and great information!

devonlady

  • Joined Aug 2014
Re: Hello from a vegan w/sheep in Berkshire
« Reply #6 on: June 15, 2017, 12:51:03 am »
Welcome, dear, from Devon!

laurelrus

  • Joined Apr 2014
  • Quainton,Buckinghamshire
  • Hobby farmer
Re: Hello from a vegan w/sheep in Berkshire
« Reply #7 on: June 15, 2017, 09:42:28 am »
Welcome from Buckinghamshire - we have an assortment of sheep, goats, chickens, donkeys and ponies and are hobby farmers not smallholders so none are raised for meat and have become vegetarian as we've acquired them!
We've also really got into growing and gardening over the three years we've been here.
This forum has been super helpful for information and advice and there are some really knowledgeable friendly people here!
2 pygmy goats, 3 Ouessant sheep, 19 chickens, 2 donkeys, 2 Shetland ponies and 2 dogs

Chris H

  • Joined Oct 2011
Re: Hello from a vegan w/sheep in Berkshire
« Reply #8 on: June 16, 2017, 05:00:48 pm »
Hi from a fellow vegan in the Outer Hebries, have sheep and do use wool so that makes me a little lapsed, also feed meat to my dogs. Into veg growing here, just love seeing things grow.
We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.

waterbuffalofarmer

  • Joined Apr 2014
  • Mid Wales
  • Owner of 61 Mediterranean water buffaloes
Re: Hello from a vegan w/sheep in Berkshire
« Reply #9 on: June 16, 2017, 05:22:30 pm »
Hi and welcome to the forum from Ceredigion! :wave: Always great to have new faces on here!  :)
the most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, loving concern.

 

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