[shfanne]

I have Hebs that have plenty of grazing but tend to come up round the house in winter as I feed them nuts.  They have eaten most everything in the garden that the geese hadn't already eaten!  I want to plant a row of trees near the house as a bit of a wind break and am happy to put something round the trunks but I want to be able to mow right up to them so they will not be fenced off.  Is there a variety I can plant that they don't like to eat, won't poison them (or the horses) if they do and will grow fairly quickly?  I had wanted fruit trees but I don't think there will be any sort that the sheep won't eat!

[Fleecewife]

Hebs are especially fond of fruit trees    I think you might find that perhaps conifers would survive, but otherwise I can't think of much they won't eat.
You can protect the trunks, but you will have noticed that they will stretch up to an amazing height to reach branches.  Hebs can even kill the indestructible willow.
The only solution I can think of is to fence the trees all off together so you can mow behind the fence, right up to the trunks, but the sheep can't stretch over.

[Red]

We have hebs and their field shelters are in the depths of our Xmas tree woods (30ft high so well established) and they love stripping the bark & licking the sap & ive even watched them jump to try and reach leaves so I would suggest a large fence !

[Fleecewife]

So not conifers then 

[Marches Farmer]

Shropshires are often touted as being "tree friendly".  Not the experience of the chap who hired a Southdown ram from us last year who'd bought them to run in his Christmas tree plantation.  So he switched to a breed he found more appealing and fenced off the trees.

[verdifish]

Oak, Ash, sycamore are all hebsafe.

[Fleecewife]

Oak, Ash, sycamore are all hebsafe.

Acorns, whilst not poisonous per se, can block the sheep's stomach with all those rounded things, which can't move on, so the sheep starves to death, or gets acidosis (or whatever 'stagnation in't stomach' might be  ).
Saplings which have not developed the corky bark of a mature Oak, are fair game.
Mine love the bark of Ash, not sure about the leaves.
No experience of Sycamore

[shep53]

My x ewes will strip shoots/ buds/ leaves  on any young hard or soft wood

[shfanne]

Sycamore seeds can be lethal for horses according to recent research. I have had no problem with mine but I wouldn't plant another.  Looks like I won't be having any trees after all!

[verdifish]

Regardless what you plant, planting without fencing or adequate protection would be a waste of money.

[Marches Farmer]

Regardless what you plant, planting without fencing or adequate protection would be a waste of money.

Absolutely. Both my breeds of sheep regard ash leaves as the ovine equivalent of chocolate cake.

[kanisha]

why not think the other way and plant to provide browse?

I have a lonicera hedge which was already in situ before the sheep it is fenced off but the sheep keep it nice and trim. Have planted standard and copper beech behind a fence  to provide colour and a winter windbreak and again the sheep enjoy a good nibble. I have yet to decide whether to allow it to grow taller and provide some mast in autumn.

Am currently planting hazel for the same reason.

Can confirm nothing is out of bounds when it comes to a  sheep appetite, they do seem to regulate deadly nightshade, primroses and digitalis but not had a tree they have left alone yet

[Paulie]

Mine don't touch the silver birch

[scj white]

Hi
I have an orchard and have recently acquired 5 Shropshire down sheep to manage grass organically. It has been a very steep learning curve but i have found even these which were bread originally for orchard grazing will eat the leaves off low branches of fruit trees. I have poplars to act as a wind break and these leaves are unpalatable for the sheep if that's any help.   
simon

[kanisha]

Lombardy poplars and also another species  grown as a cash crop here in France are both happily munched on by the sheep chez nous.