Sheep - would I be mad to....

[Widgeon]

I've just got the rent of a couple of acres of grazing behind our house. I wouldn't plan to move my horse there permanently at this stage (for a few reasons) but it means I'll be able to bring him home at weekends, in the summer, etc. However he is on a restricted diet and frankly, as a means of keeping the grass down, he'll be hopeless. So aside from the fact that my husband would cry if I suggested any more animals, what are the logistics of keeping a couple of sheep as lawnmowers? Are they unexpectedly expensive to keep? How easy are they? I know they like to escape and they like to lame themselves.

 

[TPO]

Much cheaper and easier just to borrow sheep from a local farmer.

If the fencing is solid worth looking at cross grazing with cattle if possible. Sheep eat the same grass as horses (as in close grazers - think that's the term) but cattle will eat the long grass and clean up the grazing.

 

[Widgeon]

Much cheaper and easier just to borrow sheep from a local farmer.

If the fencing is solid worth looking at cross grazing with cattle if possible. Sheep eat the same grass as horses (as in close grazers - think that's the term) but cattle will eat the long grass and clean up the grazing.

Yes, I think this is probably what we'll end up doing - we have a neighbour with a dozen tups and we can probably borrow a few. Unfortunately it's not really big enough to support cattle, it's a funny shaped little scrap of land and having anything but the smallest cattle on it would be a pain, I think.

I'm not worried about sheep eating the good grass; my horse is on a grass-restricted track so there'll be plenty of the good stuff to spare. He's also a typical cob, so he'll eat long grass if he needs to. I've never seen a horse so effective at creating a bowling green out of a field. Sadly that was before the EMS diagnosis!

Thanks for your thoughts

 

[meleeka]

Sheep make great pets, but they do like to die. They’ll need good shelter if pets and you’ll need a CPH number.

I have small pigs and they are excellent at grazing!

 

[Katieg123]

Suggest watching Clarksons farm for a good laugh on keeping sheep!

 

[cobgoblin]

The sheep will spend all their time trying to kill themselves.

 

[ycbm]

And they smell.
.

 

[Widgeon]

And they smell.
.

I don't mind that, they wouldn't be THAT close to the house.....it's a long garden. I entirely agree though with everyone who says they like to die....that is currently reason #1 in favour of borrowing rather than buying sheep.

Who knew pigs were good at keeping the grass down!!

 

[TPO]

IME pigs destroy land.

 

[meleeka]

Who knew pigs were good at keeping the grass down!!

Not all of them, some of them will just plough it for you . They can only dig as deep as their snouts so pigs with long snouts make most mess. Mine don’t dig at all if it’s dry, but their natural diet is grass and they are very greedy. They are currently eating a bit of the field ready for the ponies to go on in the winter, then they’ll go in a smaller area with hardstanding until the Spring. They are also very clean so have a toilet area rather than soiling the whole field. I chose them over sheep because I get too attached and couldn’t own a pet that just dropped dead when it felt like it.

 

[Widgeon]

I chose them over sheep because I get too attached and couldn’t own a pet that just dropped dead when it felt like it.

Well NOW you're not helping are you.....who wouldn't want two tiny adorable pet pigs

 

[rabatsa]

I like my sheep.

They do far less damage than cattle and are good at eating the grass that the equines dont. They spread their muck as they walk. Small numbers do work out expensive in drugs ect as the amounts made are for large numbers of animals. Buddy up with someone else and share vaccines, wormers ect.

 

[scats]

Sheep are fantastic escape artists. We’ve had them for a few winters at our farm and I spend a lot of time herding them back where they should be and ringing the farmer to come and sort out his fallen fencing!

 

[tallyho!]

Ah, poor sheep. They get a bad rep bless 'em. OK, I cannot argue that they are their own worst enemies but when they are feeling like they want to live they are great! Some people are well against sheepie stench but I kinda like it... I do agree though, borrow sheep! Who can resist a wee lambie!

 

[teddy_]

Sheep are undoubtably good at keeping grass / weeds down. However, they do require more maintenance than you might think. They go lame all the time. They die all the time, in fact if they could die twice, they would. You need to think about foot bathing, worming, drenching. Bla bla bla. Don't do it .

 

[dottylottie]

definitely borrow some from a local farmer! i asked YO to chuck some in “my” field whilst the horses were in their pens/box rested, and a different one was hobbling round every day, looking sorry for itself

as a side note, don’t bother putting any electric fencing in with them - they took all mine down every night, and by the time i’d put it back up and got the pony, they’d pulled it all down again! the worst was when they ran through the pen, with the horse in, and pulled it all loose around her AND diva was a master at finding the worst bits to roll in

sheep rant over! they did a cracking job of getting the grass down, but i was begging him to take them back out after a week

 

[Errin Paddywack]

If sheep are electric fence trained they will stay behind a single strand. Locally they are often used to graze down a field that only has a single strand across the gateway (no gate) and they are strip grazed behind a single strand. Having said that I have never managed it with mine and they do sometimes take my fence out if they don't duck enough going under it. One even got tangled up in it and died. Borrowing is much better in your situation.

 

[Goldenstar]

I love sheep and pet sheep are friendly and funny ,however you will never be able to look at a sheep in a transporter again.

 

[Widgeon]

as a side note, don’t bother putting any electric fencing in with them - they took all mine down every night

Yes this is a really good point and something I've been worrying about....I had assumed that with their big sheepy coats, sheep would just destroy electric fencing. But I will definitely need electric for the inside of the track.....perhaps if I just put the bottom strand high enough for them to go underneath, that might help? I'm sure they'll just blunder right through the fenceposts though. Sheep gonna sheep.

So I'll try to find some small sheep. Our neighbours have just acquired some Ouessants, I'm hoping that goes well and they decide to get more....then they can graze my paddock for me.

 

[Errin Paddywack]

I would also say that two sheep wouldn't do much to keep your grass down. Half a dozen at least. Of course if you are keeping your own you will need some sort of penning system for when you need to handle them or restrict them for any reason.

 

[dottylottie]

Yes this is a really good point and something I've been worrying about....I had assumed that with their big sheepy coats, sheep would just destroy electric fencing. But I will definitely need electric for the inside of the track.....perhaps if I just put the bottom strand high enough for them to go underneath, that might help? I'm sure they'll just blunder right through the fenceposts though. Sheep gonna sheep.

So I'll try to find some small sheep. Our neighbours have just acquired some Ouessants, I'm hoping that goes well and they decide to get more....then they can graze my paddock for me.

i tried a very low bottom strand and taking it away altogether, but i found the little buggars still chewed it and rubbed on the posts - they actually snapped some of the plastic holders off in places, who knew they were so strong! YO said the electric would work on them, but it definitely didn’t haha.

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

Sheep are undoubtably good at keeping grass / weeds down. However, they do require more maintenance than you might think. They go lame all the time. They die all the time, in fact if they could die twice, they would. You need to think about foot bathing, worming, drenching. Bla bla bla. Don't do it .

Our current sheep are 7 years old, their mothers all lived to be 12. They don't even attempt to die if you keep your eye on them, as you can with pet sheep. The latest thinking is that you should leave their feet alone unless there is a genuine problem. We have had 1 go lame in the last several years, she had a pebble stuck between her toes! So that was easily sorted. You definitely need to guard against fly strike, we use a Spot on treatment, which isnt particularly expensive.

 

[Patterdale]

Borrow about 50 sheep in spring, give them 4-5 days on it and you’ll have a) perfect bare grass, and b) no ragwort at all that summer.

I don’t know the science behind this but it’s true. I often divert my OH’s sheep to my pony fields in spring for this reason.

 

[Widgeon]

YO said the electric would work on them, but it definitely didn’t haha.

TBH I can't see why it would....surely they can't feel anything through all that wool!!

 

[Goldenstar]

Electric net works .

 

[Nudibranch]

Have a search for the recent thread, lots of info on there.
All I'll say is that imo they don't deserve the bad rep. They only go lame a lot if you have a foot rot issue. Mine don't. They also don't escape - and I have Herdwicks. And goats. The biggest problem you'll have with only a couple is getting hold of a small amount of vaccine.
Bottle lambs make easy to handle sheep (just be careful they don't end up bad mannered!). Or borrow a bunch for mob grazing. Works a treat on grass management.

 

[AutumnDays]

I have a flock of five Shetland sheep. They do a great job of keeping the grass back, and brambles, thistles etc. You do need to make sure you have good fencing though, or well set up electric fencing. Shetlands are small, tough, they too (no shearing as they shed), and do very well on little. Naturally short tailed, no mucky back ends, no problems with fly strike. Mine are friendly and easy to handle, they come to call and love a fuss. I don't vaccinate them as they are a closed flock on my own land and I won't be putting them into lamb. They cross grazed with the horses, so I just worm count everyone and so far all clear, no wormers needed. There would be way too much grass if these girlies didn't help out. The only difficulty is, the primitive breeds like Shetlands don't tend to flock when you round them up, they scatter, so bucket training is your friend for an easy life! And despite being small, they can jump real high, so if you do need to pen them for anything, small and double height!

 

[AutumnDays]

Sorry, just realised an autocorrect typo, that should say they "roo" not "too"!

 

[Moobli]

And they smell.
.

Sheep smell nice!

 

[Moobli]

IME pigs destroy land.

We have five Mangalitza pigs in 9 acres of woodland. They are fantastic rooters and that area is great for them but I agree they’d trash a 2 acre field.