[JMB]

Hi.
This might be a bit strange, but does any one else pooper scoop their sheep field? We lambed (first time) last year and our girls stay outdoors.
I was a bit concerned about them moving in to a smaller area over the lambing period and spent a lot of time cleaning up their poo to keep it nicer for them.
I have no idea is this benefits them at all in terms of worms etc and wondered if I'm the only person mad enough to do this?
Thank you
J xxxx

[Marches Farmer]

Muck puts the nutrition back in the soil.  A couple of showers will wash it in.  You're not a sheep farmer, you're primarily a grass farmer - it's what you do with the grass .......

[twizzel]

I would just chain harrow if you're worried about muck

[ScotsGirl]

It takes a lot more than a couple if showers of rain to wash it in! I usually pick the big bits up once or twice a week so rain will have washed nutrients into soil but I only have small paddocks for lambing and it gets swamped with poo if I don't clear it.


It's good for the tomato plants I believe if added to water then strained after two weeks .

[SallyintNorth]

If you remove it and can make something that's good for tomato plants, then if you left it it would have rendered goodness back into the soil.

You will need to replace the fertiliser you are robbing - either fertlise your tomatoes or fertilise your grass, your choice.

[JMB]

Um, see what you mean about it being a fertiliser.
Does anyone think it has any positive affects on worm burden though? I thought if I could clean it up a bit it might reduce this problem.
Thanks
Joanne xxxxx

[SallyintNorth]

You'd do better if you divided the pasture and rotated them, leaving the dung beetles to do their thing and the worms to die.  Or if you could run another species on the pasture between sheep - but from what you say, neither of those are likely to be practical in your spot.

How many sheep do you have on how many acres?

[kanisha]

at times its possible to creep up on the dung beetles and watch them doing their thing ....... fascinating and so much nicer than poo picking yourself  besides who am i to deprive a dung beetle of his dinner 

[JMB]

Thanks for your replies.

Yes it is a better idea to rotate but we haven't got all the fencing done on time. We put the ewes in to a smaller field near the house when they are lambing so it gets a bit overcrowded temporarily.
Thanks again xxxxxxx

[shrekfeet]

JMB, clearly you need another hobby. Your sheep keeping isn't keeping you busy enough. Have you considered getting some bees or maybe taking up watercolours
 
 

[in the hills]

JMB - I get what you mean. We put our girls in the smaller paddock behind our property before due to lamb last year so that we could check them as much as possible. Being paranoid  , I moved them as soon as they could possibly be due and by the time the last ewe lambed the grass was micro-short and the field did have more poo on it than would normally. Meanwhile the other larger field grew like a jungle ..... oh, dear.
I think the poo built up because at the time we had no rainfall ...... remember that  . My farming neighbour said that it would be fine when I asked him about it .... as the ewes were being fed and all looked really well.


Not ideal maybe but think it's difficult juggling things on a small scale sometimes. The ewes and lambs all did really well though and I didn't scoop any of the poop.


HTH

[JMB]

No pooper scooping for me this year then. Bit of a shame, it's quite therapeutic....
I can spend that time brushing my pigs bottoms instead. They always get neglected during lambing.
Thanks for your replies . I was sure I wasn't the only one mad enough to do this, but it seems I am
Xxxxxx

[Pipsa]

Hello there,
 I have done poop scooping a couple of times - small paddocks in a public place - sometimes they just look
horrible - I would actually like to do it more often if I had time. Crazy me.

[JMB]

Oh a kindred spirit Pipsa!
If there was enough demand, we could hire ourselves out xxxx

[SteveHants]

Even I cannot muster up the appropriate level of sarcasm necessary to post on this thread....