Moving to Smallholding - land questions

[PurBee]

I highly recommend Easy Care sheep. The breed was developed in Wales so well suited to the weather conditions. No fleece so no shearing, medium sized and if you get them young and spend some time with them very friendly.

i was going to suggest the same - i enquired about easy care sheep....they lamb by themselves outside too apparently. Useful as a cross grazer as you say.

paddi22 - i feel your pain....havent heard a goat story so accurate! They are menaces...but if goats cheese is your thang....? ...still would buy at the supermarket than have goats!

Good luck to you OP on your new adventure - so excited for you! ?

 

[honetpot]

that's a great point by be positive. I'd be tempted to do a full winter there and just see where water pools and what the clay is like. one bit of advice I wish I'd known moving to ours is what a nightmare goats are. unless you have them to do a particular job, they are SO much hassle and so destructive. we got two mini goats and they were the absolute bane of our lives. very cute, but we ended up rehoming them as we spent our entire existence trying to keep them behind layers of fencing and stop them causing literal destruction. I cannot stress enough how much of a pain goats are. I still am traumatised thinking of all the random madness they got up to. we laugh about it now, but at one stage they ate through the coolant pipe on my jeep and the engine over heated, they they destroyed my break cables and my brakes went while I was driving, they would randomly escape to neighbours and ate one neighbour's memorial rosebush she planted with her dead husbands ashes. they used to pull off any car license plates with their horns. one managed to jump off the roof of our house and break her leg. when in university vets hospital she escaped from them and got onto the university campus chased by all the staff, and a guy had to rugby tackle her to catch her, and HE broke his arm. they used to get their heads stuck in neighbours metal garden gates and we'd have to crowbar them out regularly. they used to eat the horses tails, they would eat rug straps. they head butted bricks out of walls. they destroyed our electricity metre by prising the door open and pulling out the wires. they would ram tiny children over and then bounce on them. don't get goats. there is a reason the devil is drawn as one.

I second this. We moved in spring and I planted a whole border only to have it flooded out in September to over a foot deep, followed by frost which killed everything I had bought. The survey did not tell us we were in the flood plain.
Goats, well unless its fenced like Colditz, they will get out and head for anything you have planted and paid loads of money for, like they have targetting software installed. If you must, borrow someone else's sheep, so you do not have to shear them, something I never want to repeat.
Find out where the water lies, the best place for you muck heap, and invest in a good electric fence energizer, trying out paddock systems before you invest in anything permanent.
My best investment are gates, I have a double gate so nothing can get out on the road and do not collect animals just because you have the space.
You will never be bored, and will feel lucky every day when you walk your land, even if you are just thinking, 'this needs spraying, harrowing or a bit of fertiliser'.

 

[paddi22]

Goats, well unless its fenced like Colditz, they will get out and head for anything you have planted and paid loads of money for, like they have targetting software installed. .

that's exactly what it is.. targeted software.. it's like they can read your mind and pick out the worst thing they could do. it was uncanny.

the final straw was when we paid hundreds for 6ft high electrical netting. the goats were on their last chance at that stage. my husband (a lovely gentle man who adores animals) spent hours installing it and had bent down to pick up his shovel, and one of them bounced on the back of the other one and got out over the fence and went behind him and just rammed him into the netting where his head went through one of the netting holes and he just kept getting shocked. when he got himself out he just ran into the house and got a steak knife and came out screaming he'd had enough. no joke! we had just moved into the house a few weeks at that stage and I'm sure our neighbours were totally horrified watching a grown man chasing two tiny mini goats with a steak knife. the goats understood the gravity of the situation and just p*ssed off immediately out of harms way. hubby then just got in the car and drove off and said he wasn't coming back till they went.

I have never given away any animal before in my life. I emailed a local petting zoo who were interested. I drove them in the jeep, where they managed to get out of their dog crate (of course) and jam themselves upside down in the gap behind the driver seat so their legs were stuck in the air behind my headrest. this was the gods helping me in my quest from above, as it meant by the time the goats got there all the blood had drained to their heads and they were disorientated and dizzy enough to actually stand quietly for the woman to agree to take them. she even mentioned they were having a Christmas show with the animals and they'd be great to take part. she must have read the shock and confusion on my face as enthusiasm. I literally power walked back to my jeep and drove off. I didn't anwswer any unknown numbers on my phone for about two weeks after. it was like passing a curse on to someone.

and I didn't even mention the WORST thing they did. when we were in our old house the female one started screaming one night. and it sounded like a child on fire. I ran out thinking someone was burning them. but it turned out she was in heat and calling to attract male goats. and since non responded she'd scream louder and louder. this went on for days and nights. we had to go around in headphones with music on non stop. it was like some weird CIA torture. the only time she would stop was if I was looking at her directly and touching her neck for some bizarre reason. and only while her brother goat was pretending to have sex with her. so when the screaming used to get too bad at night I would have to get up with a torch and go out and rub her neck while her brother did his pretend deed. this was fine until a neighbour walked past one night and saw me out in my pyjamas watching what probably looked to him like goat porn half four in the morning. we ended up having to get her spayed at every month this screaming would happen.

please don't get goats. no one should get goats. there doesn't need to be any more on the planet

 

[Cortez]

Aw, I loved my goats; I had 16 at one point and was milking them, making cheese, butter etc. Not mini goats, I will admit; they do seem to be the more demonic variety, but mine were less trouble than Paddy22's seem to have been. You do need to be set up for them, and I have been known to "rehome" (in the freezer) any that were troublesome. Maybe I just bred the devil out of them by natural selection.....Mine were Toggenburgs, Swiss and Nubian crosses.

 

[millikins]

I have 2 goats, a nanny and a wether who are unregistered Sanaans. They are quite high maintainance, but I suspect they'd be easier if I had more so they weren't so people orientated, however I'm not brave enough to put that to the test. Mine are meant to eat weeds and they do, IF you are standing there with them, otherwise they spend most of their time in the hay barn. I've not found any cost effective fencing that keeps them where I want them, if they get zapped by the electric it just means they have to run through it faster, I bought hurdles, the nanny jumped them and the wether got his head stuck (he has horns) and I had to use a car jack to release him. If they're being too annoying (I don't recommend lungeing with goats around) then I put them back in their stable otherwise daytimes they are free range and show no wish to go anywhere. The wether in particular is very clever, he will push bins/boxes etc so he can climb on them to reach tasty branches but they don't have the suicidal tendencies that I'm told sheep have.

 

[Honey08]

I had two liveries that brought goats with them last year. They were awful! They ate everything (a whole hedge around the stables died). They escaped regularly (didn’t help that the owners were clueless and didn’t notice them standing in the lane behind them as they drove away). I adore all animals but I’d never have goats again. (Starting to feel like that about liveries too!!)

 

[silv]

that's exactly what it is.. targeted software.. it's like they can read your mind and pick out the worst thing they could do. it was uncanny.

the final straw was when we paid hundreds for 6ft high electrical netting. the goats were on their last chance at that stage. my husband (a lovely gentle man who adores animals) spent hours installing it and had bent down to pick up his shovel, and one of them bounced on the back of the other one and got out over the fence and went behind him and just rammed him into the netting where his head went through one of the netting holes and he just kept getting shocked. when he got himself out he just ran into the house and got a steak knife and came out screaming he'd had enough. no joke! we had just moved into the house a few weeks at that stage and I'm sure our neighbours were totally horrified watching a grown man chasing two tiny mini goats with a steak knife. the goats understood the gravity of the situation and just p*ssed off immediately out of harms way. hubby then just got in the car and drove off and said he wasn't coming back till they went.

I have never given away any animal before in my life. I emailed a local petting zoo who were interested. I drove them in the jeep, where they managed to get out of their dog crate (of course) and jam themselves upside down in the gap behind the driver seat so their legs were stuck in the air behind my headrest. this was the gods helping me in my quest from above, as it meant by the time the goats got there all the blood had drained to their heads and they were disorientated and dizzy enough to actually stand quietly for the woman to agree to take them. she even mentioned they were having a Christmas show with the animals and they'd be great to take part. she must have read the shock and confusion on my face as enthusiasm. I literally power walked back to my jeep and drove off. I didn't anwswer any unknown numbers on my phone for about two weeks after. it was like passing a curse on to someone.

and I didn't even mention the WORST thing they did. when we were in our old house the female one started screaming one night. and it sounded like a child on fire. I ran out thinking someone was burning them. but it turned out she was in heat and calling to attract male goats. and since non responded she'd scream louder and louder. this went on for days and nights. we had to go around in headphones with music on non stop. it was like some weird CIA torture. the only time she would stop was if I was looking at her directly and touching her neck for some bizarre reason. and only while her brother goat was pretending to have sex with her. so when the screaming used to get too bad at night I would have to get up with a torch and go out and rub her neck while her brother did his pretend deed. this was fine until a neighbour walked past one night and saw me out in my pyjamas watching what probably looked to him like goat porn half four in the morning. we ended up having to get her spayed at every month this screaming would happen.

please don't get goats. no one should get goats. there doesn't need to be any more on the planet

That is absolutely hilarious, you should write a book!

 

[Lacuna]

3.5acres is not all that much for 2 horse,s I'd start with the 2 and see how you get on then decide after a year if you want more animals on your land

When I say horses - they are 2 cobs under 14hh so hoping we will have some land left over!

 

[QuantockHills]

When I say horses - they are 2 cobs under 14hh so hoping we will have some land left over!

Congratulations on your move! i've got a 17hh and an 11.2 on 3 acres and dont have enough grass for anything else. I try and manage my land well and the horses come in at night in the winter and vice versa in the summer. I wanted a couple of sheep or alpacas but just dont have quite enough land... just wanted to say, dont overstretch yourself to start with or you may regret it....

 

[honetpot]

that's exactly what it is.. targeted software.. it's like they can read your mind and pick out the worst thing they could do. it was uncanny.

the final straw was when we paid hundreds for 6ft high electrical netting. the goats were on their last chance at that stage. my husband (a lovely gentle man who adores animals) spent hours installing it and had bent down to pick up his shovel, and one of them bounced on the back of the other one and got out over the fence and went behind him and just rammed him into the netting where his head went through one of the netting holes and he just kept getting shocked. when he got himself out he just ran into the house and got a steak knife and came out screaming he'd had enough. no joke! we had just moved into the house a few weeks at that stage and I'm sure our neighbours were totally horrified watching a grown man chasing two tiny mini goats with a steak knife. the goats understood the gravity of the situation and just p*ssed off immediately out of harms way. hubby then just got in the car and drove off and said he wasn't coming back till they went.

I have never given away any animal before in my life. I emailed a local petting zoo who were interested. I drove them in the jeep, where they managed to get out of their dog crate (of course) and jam themselves upside down in the gap behind the driver seat so their legs were stuck in the air behind my headrest. this was the gods helping me in my quest from above, as it meant by the time the goats got there all the blood had drained to their heads and they were disorientated and dizzy enough to actually stand quietly for the woman to agree to take them. she even mentioned they were having a Christmas show with the animals and they'd be great to take part. she must have read the shock and confusion on my face as enthusiasm. I literally power walked back to my jeep and drove off. I didn't anwswer any unknown numbers on my phone for about two weeks after. it was like passing a curse on to someone.

and I didn't even mention the WORST thing they did. when we were in our old house the female one started screaming one night. and it sounded like a child on fire. I ran out thinking someone was burning them. but it turned out she was in heat and calling to attract male goats. and since non responded she'd scream louder and louder. this went on for days and nights. we had to go around in headphones with music on non stop. it was like some weird CIA torture. the only time she would stop was if I was looking at her directly and touching her neck for some bizarre reason. and only while her brother goat was pretending to have sex with her. so when the screaming used to get too bad at night I would have to get up with a torch and go out and rub her neck while her brother did his pretend deed. this was fine until a neighbour walked past one night and saw me out in my pyjamas watching what probably looked to him like goat porn half four in the morning. we ended up having to get her spayed at every month this screaming would happen.

please don't get goats. no one should get goats. there doesn't need to be any more on the planet

Just almost wet myself.
My goat story is moving house. We only had one, Floppy, who as goats go was almost worth the effort. Moving house I packed my Vauxhall Nova, with two small children, three cats and the goat, who stood in the back, looking out of the window down the A1, and drivers that went past us did a double take. When we stopped for, she immediately peed which missed the plastic liner, and it went straight out the car.
When she died, on her final trip she leaked all over the car boot, the smell of which lasted for months, even with two air fresheners stuck on the parcel shelf. Gone but never forgotten.

 

[milliepops]

When I was a child we had angora goats in our orchard as a "good deed" to a friend who had run out of land on his smallholding.

they were tethered (presumably he knew he was skating on thin ice by bringing goats to a friend's garden). they still managed to eat all our clothes.

we had some of his sheep too, Jacobs. they were a nicer house guests.

 

[Vodkagirly]

Congratulations on your new home.
We bought a small holding in the spring and I agree with the advice to start small. Most jobs seem to take a lot longer than you think and and I spent a crazy amount of time trying to keep on top of the weeds in the summer.
I had considered mini goats but I think I'll avoid them now!
I love the chickens that we got,even though they haven't layed yet. Definitely the funniest animal and very easy to look after. We are thinking about runner ducks in the spring.

 

[HashRouge]

Congratulations on your move! i've got a 17hh and an 11.2 on 3 acres and dont have enough grass for anything else. I try and manage my land well and the horses come in at night in the winter and vice versa in the summer. I wanted a couple of sheep or alpacas but just dont have quite enough land... just wanted to say, dont overstretch yourself to start with or you may regret it....

Yes this is very true! I'd do a year there with just your horses and see how you get on before getting any more animals. If your land is well draining and your grass grows well you might be fine, but better to make sure. I also second those who say start with electric fencing so you can work out what the best layout will be. Good luck with it all, I'm very jealous!

 

[rabatsa]

I am another who USED to have goats. Mine were well behaved British Alpines except for one toggenburg. The tog used to meet me each morning balanced on top of a stable door. The only way to keep her in was to shut her inside a building with no crack of daylight entering anywhere, or she would enlarge the hole and escape. She gained notoriety when she went into a dog kennel forwards but could not come out backwards, it gave a vet visiting for a calving a laugh as we tried to calve a dog kennel. We ended up taking the roof off in the end.

Enjoy your freedom with your own land but be careful that you do not stock it to suit maximum summer growth or you will be overstocked for the other three seasons of the year.

 

[Ranyhyn]

Get yourself up to speed with Glastir/SAF and the various grants you can get from them. A couple of quiet sheep would be nice, we have suffolk and welsh mountain. I wouldnt recommend the welsh mountain to a mortal enemy but the suffolks are really sweet and crossed out with a texel will get you a fair price at market.

We welsh are a really chatty, helpful bunch, ask and you'll find you get! X

 

[Hallo2012]

deffo do a full 12 months there to see how the land drains.

we did 2 years before putting up permanent fences and im glad we waited as i have moved a few parts of it several times.

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

We have pet sheep and horses and tbh the sheep have improved the grass so much since we got them that our horses don't need as much supplementary feeding but I do agree with the advice not to make too many decisions/changes in your first year.

 

[onemoretime]

that's a great point by be positive. I'd be tempted to do a full winter there and just see where water pools and what the clay is like. one bit of advice I wish I'd known moving to ours is what a nightmare goats are. unless you have them to do a particular job, they are SO much hassle and so destructive. we got two mini goats and they were the absolute bane of our lives. very cute, but we ended up rehoming them as we spent our entire existence trying to keep them behind layers of fencing and stop them causing literal destruction. I cannot stress enough how much of a pain goats are. I still am traumatised thinking of all the random madness they got up to. we laugh about it now, but at one stage they ate through the coolant pipe on my jeep and the engine over heated, they they destroyed my break cables and my brakes went while I was driving, they would randomly escape to neighbours and ate one neighbour's memorial rosebush she planted with her dead husbands ashes. they used to pull off any car license plates with their horns. one managed to jump off the roof of our house and break her leg. when in university vets hospital she escaped from them and got onto the university campus chased by all the staff, and a guy had to rugby tackle her to catch her, and HE broke his arm. they used to get their heads stuck in neighbours metal garden gates and we'd have to crowbar them out regularly. they used to eat the horses tails, they would eat rug straps. they head butted bricks out of walls. they destroyed our electricity metre by prising the door open and pulling out the wires. they would ram tiny children over and then bounce on them. don't get goats. there is a reason the devil is drawn as one.

OMG - reminder to self dont get goats!!!