Top tips for small acreage management

[ihatework]

Tbh, ours are very little trouble. We did have 6, now we are down to 3 (because of old age) and it is noticeable that they are not keeping up with the weeds as well as they did before.
They need daily checking, we feed them so that they come to call and get them used to handling but apart from shearing they don't need much interference, really.

Sheep diversion questions …

I thought you needed to register land and keep on top of paperwork (sorry terminology escaping me!)

How much hay/feed do they go through?

Do they need worming and feet trimming?

(Just showing how clueless I am!!)

I have a mate that has Wiltshire something or others that self shed, so could theoretically take some orphans off him

Also whilst good for weeds, will they not be also munching down my precious grass

 

[TPO]

Sheep diversion questions …

I thought you needed to register land and keep on top of paperwork (sorry terminology escaping me!)

How much hay/feed do they go through?

Do they need worming and feet trimming?

(Just showing how clueless I am!!)

I have a mate that has Wiltshire something or others that self shed, so could theoretically take some orphans off him

Also whilst good for weeds, will they not be also munching down my precious grass

Definitely just offer a local short term grazing rather than take on your own.

I don't know if England is different but up here you'd need a small holders number to keep livestock.

Yes to worming, spraying & shearing. Unless there's an issue they don't usually need foot trimming. Also they're normally away to market before hooves are an issue.

Yes they eat the good/ horse grazing too. Ideally put them on to eat weeds and clear it before resting the field.

I'm not sure how much they eat. Local farmer plants kale and turnips for them to eat straight off the field in winter, then barns them with adlib hay/silage. I'm not sure how much bucket feed/grain/mix they go through.

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

Sheep diversion questions …

I thought you needed to register land and keep on top of paperwork (sorry terminology escaping me!)

How much hay/feed do they go through?

Do they need worming and feet trimming?

(Just showing how clueless I am!!)

I have a mate that has Wiltshire something or others that self shed, so could theoretically take some orphans off him

Also whilst good for weeds, will they not be also munching down my precious grass

Yes you do need a holding number but AFAIK that isn't a difficult process, we bought our land with one. The only subsequent paperwork is completing a census when DEFRA send one. They eat a minimal amount of hay compared to a horse, worming can be shared with the sheep farmer that you got them from and feet are best left unless there is a problem. We give ours a few grassnuts to share daily, a bag lasts weeks. In the summer they need anti fly strike precautions. We use a spot-on treatment, readily available from a farm store.

Eta, the sheep eating the grass encourages it to thicken up while horse grazing tends to leave bare patches/weeds

 

[YourValentine]

You don't really need sheep if you are rotating your grazing, and managing poo.

Far cheaper to get a contractor in to top the fields every year if weeds are getting out of control.
But they shouldn't be if the grazing is well managed.

 

[TheMule]

I’m going to go along a slightly different line, because I know it’s mostly for youngsters and I’m lazy…. 3 paddocks- you want to rest as much grass as possible for winter so 1 smaller one (preferably on the wetttest ground) is rested during summer and used for Autumn grazing to let the others grow on (They need a good 6 weeks rest).
Harrow for poo management- I only poo pick if they're in a small patch for some reason, otherwise the poo gets harrowed in and the land rested. Therefore I do have a muck heap but it isn’t used much so it's just bunged in the corner of my little paddock (or poo goes in the hedge)
Small enough corral area to catch any feisty ones (and high enough fencing )
Definitely have provision to store Haylage bales away from hungry mouths (my yearlings have just destroyed 3 bales in one go because they were quite far enough away from the fence), but easily accessible to get your local friendly farmer to come and place into a round bale feeder on your hard standing.
NO SHEEP!!!! They're buggers, not worth it.

 

[SantaVera]

Congratulations exciting times for you. My advice would be not to rush into doing anything except getting mud control mats. Make your parking/ hardstanding/ shed area about twice as big as you think you'll need and divide into paddocks with electric tape before doing anything permanent, them use what you have for a couple of years to make sure it really works for you. Field shelters on skids are good as you can resite them if original position is not as good as you hoped. And mostly remember to enjoy your own personal space.

 

[Polos Mum]

I would also second not racing into spending loads of ££'s until you have used the land for one whole year at least - where does the wind blow, where are the wettest parts (our highest point is where a spring is located so much wetter at top of hill than bottom!!), where is the natural shelter (not always obvious).

Spend lots on boundary fence - that won't change - something that will contain sheep is worth it incase you want them at some point - also keeps dogs out

Have your shelter mobile to start with - big metal skids to be pulled by tractor - then you can change where it is / orientation etc. as you learn more about how it behaves through the seasons.
Storage is always more in demand than you think. I like to start the winter with all hay and bedding on site - so no scrabbling around in Feb to find hay in poor yield years.

 

[Hackback]

If I could change anything about our set up, I'd have more hay storage space and a covered area for farrier/vet exams etc. And more places to hang out wet muddy rugs to dry.

 

[dorsetladette]

Exciting!

Firstly I would suggest you do nothing for the first 12months, apart from make the external fences good if needed. This gives you time to experience all 4 seasons. In this time you can work out the wet bits, the dry bits. Move electric fencing around to figure out where fencing would be best placed. Gives you time to work out where gates and water troughs would be best suited too. for instance, My shelters are not where I first thought i wanted them.

My place had about 6 small paddocks when I got it. Once we had cleared all the ragwort we left all the gates open the first winter and then worked out from there where was best. We now have 3 paddocks (over 5 acres). One is roughly 3 acres and is our winter field and two summer paddocks roughly and acres each. This supports 3 Welsh ponies (2 Ds and a C) and 2 sheep well. We harrow mostly, but poo pick in summer and round the hay feeder, shelter and water troughs in winter. Ours is very sandy soil which is hard for grass to grow well. We get a lot of moss if we don't keep up with harrowing.

Sheep are a good shout, but 4 sheep eat the equivalent of 1 pony (or there about) and need care just the same. We have 2 sheep (started with 4) who do a fab job of keeping the weeds down. They also brake the worm cycle so help with that too. I just worm them autumn and spring when the ponies get wormed. My hay supplier is also a sheep farm so he shears ours when he does his own.

A good rabbit/mole man has been a godsend to us too. We were over run with them, but he has pretty much got rid of the moles and the rabbits are far less too. You don't realise how much grass rabbits eat, or how much damage moles do to grass growth. plus the obvious danger to your horses.

ETA - I see you said gently slopping. Mine too! I get my hay (round bales) delivered to the top of the field. My hay feeder is approx 20metres away from that. I can roll a bale on my own across/slightly down into the hay feeder alone if I don't have help. Square home made hay feeder 6ft square with a roof to keep the worst of the weather off it. Last 3 about 10 days in a bale net to avoid babies throwing it about everywhere and wasting it.

 

[Nudibranch]

My sheep don't really get through any hay. Last time it snowed they all preferred to dig through the snow rather than eat the lovely soft hay I put out
I feed them sugar beet pellets, just enough to get them to follow a bucket. Bottle lambs will grow into very tame sheep (too tame sometimes) so they're an easy option.
They really are far, far better for grass management than any amount of poo picking and harrowing. I've been doing rotation and mixed species grazing for 20 years now, absolutely no poo picking unless there's a present in the field shelters. Bar moving house and inheriting a temporary worm issue, counts have been consistently zero or <50.

 

[tda]

Some really good advice from everyone.
try not to get excited and buy more ponies (like me)

 

[ihatework]

Thanks all, so much useful experience to mull over. Now have an even longer list of things to discuss with the planning consultant and local groundwork person!

I’m wondering if getting some cute sheepy orphans in the spring then sending them off for my freezer so I don’t have them over winter with be a double benefit

 

[AmyMay]

Has anyone mentioned security??

 

[ihatework]

Has anyone mentioned security??

There will be cameras rigged up, but I'm not sure what else I can do other than the usual chains/locks etc

 

[AutumnDays]

Currently in a similar situation to you, have just inherited some very wild acreage (had nothing done to it for 15yrs!). First job was boundaries, cleared the hedges to where they should be and gained an extra 6ft all around the perimeter! Then fencing, and water. Horses and sheep (primitive breed, flock of five, very low maintenance, love eating all the baby brambles etc that are trying to grow back from where we gained). Currently looks like we have giant moles though, as we are doing drainage ditches and pipework to keep it as un waterlogged as possible (clay type, mountain behind so surface water galore! Or there was). Spring I'd like to get a mobile shelter and do an all weather pen with something like woodchip or whatever. Good advice above of just observe your land as you go, you'll find things that wouldn't have crossed your mind! Enjoy!

 

[poiuytrewq]

How exciting! congratulations!