laura_nash
Well-Known Member
So, I have way too much land and grass (I know, first world problems). We were looking for somewhere with 3-4 acres and ended up with 8! For two good doers. On one side its great, my ROA horse can live out all year and never have hay which has done him the world of good (also good for the pocket). I don't need to poo pick. On the other side they are both constantly on a diet and I have one field hasn't been grazed for over year.
So far we've just about managed by topping, renting bits to a neighbour, and getting hay cut from bits by another neighbour. The renting isn't great though as I can't then use the field (to ride in etc), plus this neighbour rented the fields for a long time from the former owner and has a tendency to forget they are ours and muck spread etc. Getting hay cut is always a hassle, I feel I'm begging the neighbour to do it as they keep forgetting and the money discussion is always awkward.
So I'm thinking about getting some more animals to eat the grass. I don't really want more horses, so it would be good to get something that can cross-graze for grass / worm management (i.e. not donkeys). We don't want to be keeping animals in full time over winter, the fields have good natural shelter but a lot of the land is quite wet in winter, boggy rather than deep mud. There are dry / stony bits though (bare rock in places). The field boundaries are dry stone wall, re-enforced with electric where necessary, they are not goat or sheep proof (we have had sheep on them, but our neighbour seems to spend a lot of time re-catching them so I'd rather not). Ideally there would be the possibility of earning a bit of money in the future if we wanted to, but that isn't the main priority.
At the moment I'm thinking Dexter cows (2-3) or a small flock of alpaca's. The concern with alpaca's is the cost, and they seem a bit "pyramid-scheme"'y as the price seems to be based on re-sale to new breeders. I think we should be able to get a herd number for cows, we have an old cattle race and various outbuildings that have clearly been used for cows in the past. If we are going for a native breed it would be nice for it to be a local (Irish) one if one is available.
Any thoughts? Does anyone have alpaca's, Dexter cows, or anything similar?
So far we've just about managed by topping, renting bits to a neighbour, and getting hay cut from bits by another neighbour. The renting isn't great though as I can't then use the field (to ride in etc), plus this neighbour rented the fields for a long time from the former owner and has a tendency to forget they are ours and muck spread etc. Getting hay cut is always a hassle, I feel I'm begging the neighbour to do it as they keep forgetting and the money discussion is always awkward.
So I'm thinking about getting some more animals to eat the grass. I don't really want more horses, so it would be good to get something that can cross-graze for grass / worm management (i.e. not donkeys). We don't want to be keeping animals in full time over winter, the fields have good natural shelter but a lot of the land is quite wet in winter, boggy rather than deep mud. There are dry / stony bits though (bare rock in places). The field boundaries are dry stone wall, re-enforced with electric where necessary, they are not goat or sheep proof (we have had sheep on them, but our neighbour seems to spend a lot of time re-catching them so I'd rather not). Ideally there would be the possibility of earning a bit of money in the future if we wanted to, but that isn't the main priority.
At the moment I'm thinking Dexter cows (2-3) or a small flock of alpaca's. The concern with alpaca's is the cost, and they seem a bit "pyramid-scheme"'y as the price seems to be based on re-sale to new breeders. I think we should be able to get a herd number for cows, we have an old cattle race and various outbuildings that have clearly been used for cows in the past. If we are going for a native breed it would be nice for it to be a local (Irish) one if one is available.
Any thoughts? Does anyone have alpaca's, Dexter cows, or anything similar?
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