[kate7590]

Im just looking into different things for our sheep. Vaccinating/ Worming etc etc. Have read a little about rotational grazing but Im sure its easier to ask here!

What are the benefits? Does it NEED to be done?
We have limited grazing (4-5acres) split into 2 paddocks (then one of those has been split into 2 again)

We have 2 ewes and a ram and are starting a very small breeding programme, if that makes a difference.

Thanks in advance for any help

[Carse Goodlifers]

This is something that I have been reading about myself and wondering the same thing.
I'm trying to work some things out myself.

Can I add (hijack even ) a question into Kate7590's post - those of you who have sheep what is the least amount of land that you could run sheep on while keeping a sufficient gap between grazing periods for worms etc?  And as a follow on, given that area of ground what would be the stocking rate?  I appreciate stocking rates per acre will vary according to breed and also the quality of the grass.

[Fleecewife]

We don't necessarily rotate pasture now, although when we had a higher stocking density we did. Now we don't have a problem with worms - we worm individuals if they look peaky or scoury (not often), and we do the whole lot before tupping, usually - which is scientific nonsense as apparently they shed worm eggs much more when they lamb.  For us, as our sheep lamb on their own in the fields, worming them then is very hit or miss, so we do them when we know we have them all in, in Nov - in a couple of days time in fact.  Ideally you should only worm dependent on FEC results, especially if you have a high stocking density.
The only other time we worm whether they need it or not is when we are selling animals, to make sure they go to their new homes clean.
We cut our own hay, so we put the newly weaned lambs on the aftermath, while their mothers are drying off on a less lush pasture, but that has only been free of livestock for five months max.
Most of the time, apart from having some small groups in separate fields for different management, we let the main flock move itself around and choose where to graze.  With only a small flock now, that seems to be successful for keeping worms down.  I'm sure that letting hens free range over the whole area helps too.

I have a feeling that rotating pasture is left over from when the whole flock was weaned at regular intervals, then moved onto fresh pasture.  That is no longer recommended.  Really, the only truly effective rotation is to be able to leave whole pastures fallow or unoccupied for at least a full year, to break the worms' life cycle, or to put a different species following on, such as sheep after cattle.

I think most people will say that rotation is essential, but in our specific circumstances it doesn't seem to be.

[Me]

no

[Fleecewife]

no

succinct

[Ladygrey]

no

Man of many words....

[Rosemary]

Worms aside, it's good to give the grass a chance tor ecover. I understand that the most efficient way to use grass if to graze heavily then allow to rest and recover.

[devonlady]

I agree, Rosemary. If you have four paddocks, change every three weeks. This gives the others time to grow and helps with worms. Better if you could rotate with other species i.e. cattle, ponies even geese, leaving at least one paddock to grow on.

[Womble]

I agree, Rosemary. If you have four paddocks, change every three weeks. This gives the others time to grow and helps with worms. Better if you could rotate with other species i.e. cattle, ponies even geese, leaving at least one paddock to grow on.

This is a timely thread as I've been trying to figure this out myself recently. I can see the point in grazing with a different species who will eat the 'infected' grass but not become infected themselves, but what's the best thing to do if you only have sheep?
 
I lifted this diagram from SCOPS:

If the 'free living' phase of the lifecycle takes 2-12 weeks (depending on species and weather conditions), and the infective L3 stage can live for three to six months, that suggests that there's little point in resting grazing unless you can do it for a few months at least, otherwise when you put the animals back onto the rested pasture, it will still contain infective worm larvae.
 
Is this correct, or am I missing something here?  Thanks!

[Marches Farmer]

If I was starting afresh with sheep I'd give them Zolvix or Startect and keep them in a concrete yard wih hay for 48 hours.  They should then (theoretcially, at least) be free of all intestinal worms.  If any incoming sheep were similarly treated this should maintain worm-free status. 

Even having taken worms out of the equation I would still rotate the grazing - resting pasture gives a chance for the muck and urine to get washed into the soil rather than sitting on the grass and for the whole pasture area to put forth new growth.  We always close up a field at the end of September to be used for the ewes and lambs at turnout, alternating each year to reduce the worm burden.  The grass will have grown slowly over the Winter and the magnesium level will be high enough to avoid grass staggers.  Low magnesium levels mean the ewes can't utilise the calcium in their diet fast enough to produce milk, and can prove fatal.

[Me]

I think the OP is aware of the benefits of rotation but the fact is it is not strictly essential if you manage your worm control properly in lambs in particular. You see many smallholders where the sheep cannot rotate and they are ok. it is not ideal, clearly, but "no" is the short answer to the question. Pasture contamination drops the longer stock are off but to be truly clean takes ages, longer than most rotational grazers are able to give   

[gadge]

With regards to worms in the pasture.  Rotating the grass when the grazing drops to 4cms will reduce the worm burden on the sheep as it is the bottom 4cms that the worms survive in.  Rotational grazing works well with big numbers and short periods in each paddock to allow all grass to be eaten to the set residual and given appropriate time to regrow.

[devonlad]

As others have said the short answer to "do I HAVE to rest pasture" is no but as others have also said it does rather depend on what you want to get out of it. A couple of ewes and a ram are going to find plenty of fresh clean grass on that amount of land. we have a similar sized plot and after starting with 3 ewe lambs 4 years ago we reached problem time this year as the stocking rate has risen with successive lambings. earlier this year we arrived at 33 sheep following lambing and it has been more difficult to keep on top of things. pasture does become "sheep sick" as stocking rate rises. as a result we have cut back on numbers by selling some ewes and are not lambing for a year. this gives us the space to improve the land, do some proper weed control and sort out a more structured grazing rotation. Whilst resting pasture may not always be essential, "Managing" your pastures is important, IMHO. Un-managed pasture brings a whole host of issues, from worm burden, to under grazing which leads to long unpalatable dying grasses, to low ph which encourages weed ingress, to lack of weed control which lead to .................. ummm? more weeds
My second favourite resource (after TAS of course) is EBLEX, (English Beef and Lamb Exchange) with a whole host of free publications and advice- "Managing pasture for better returns" is one of my current fave bedtime reads (i'm sure its downloadable off their website) and I'm pretty sure you don't have to live in England to make use of it 

[devonlad]

also - from eblex- "Worm control for better returns" is really useful

[JulieWall]

I didn't notice anyone mention diversity yet - apols if anyone did - because as far as worms go you could do worse than following one species with another, they deal with each other's parasites that way. The more variety of species in the rotation the better. That's how nature keeps these things in balance too.
I always found that the pasture is most productive if grazed moderately and then stock moved on, the reason being that if you graze grass down past the point where it divides into more leaves it takes a long while to recover, much like pruning a tree down to just it's trunk, it will sprout again from the base eventually but not for a long time. Tree or weed, the principle seems to mostly be the same. With good management you can have grass far longer into the autumn months and cut down the hay bill a bit.
If you're not overstocked - and with just those few you definitely aren't - your sheep will struggle to even knock a hole in that many acres once it starts growing in spring, but with a bit of luck you'll have some nice lambs to help them with the job