"Improving Our Lot" - Planned Holistic Grazing, for starters..

[Kiwi Pete]

Should do - you have "2 layers of safety", same as having an air gap and a single checkvalve

I take it you have mains pressure?

 

[Kiwi Pete]

this popped up on FB and not sure if you've seen it

 

[gellis888]

Should do - you have "2 layers of safety", same as having an air gap and a single checkvalve

I take it you have mains pressure?

I'm hoping so. Have a 12ha field with a trough on mains in the corner to come off.

I'm thinking of fencing it into 10 x 1.2ha paddocks with hydrants to service 4 paddocks each (for sheep)

 

[ShooTa]

this popped up on FB and not sure if you've seen it

gotta love some tubular bells. big J-MJ fan.

 

[Karliboy]

this popped up on FB and not sure if you've seen it

Take a bit off counting as they pas throughout the gate

 

[Guleesh]

this popped up on FB and not sure if you've seen it

Nice video. If that field they were moving into was round these parts, it would probably be set stocked with about 40 ewes...

 

[Henarar]

does that increased cull value cover the extra costs of carrying the bigger cow over her years?

Depends how long they live LOL
I don't know but cull price can very by as much as the profit on a couple of 10 months calves between the best and the worst so its not to be sneezed at, same with ewes the difference can be like having another lamb to sell

 

[Henarar]

gotta love some tubular bells. big J-MJ fan.

Jan hammer crockets theme

 

[Blaithin]

Would you fec everything or do a representative sample and work from there? We currently do around 5% representative sample to give us an idea.

If you’re culling for it you’d want to be fairly animal specific. One or two heavy loads would get diluted in a representative sample. You wouldn’t even really know they’re there to cull.

Lice are fairly obvious. Wait and see who’s worst.

With worms if you don’t want to do the wait and see if someone starts to show signs, then you could invest in an at home set up for fecals. Or start pulling them off wormer gradually. 5-10 at a time, every couple years. Then you’re really monitoring those handful of animals closely.

To be honest, worms aren’t an issue here. I’d have half the herd culled for weakness to lice before I ever started to maybe see a worm problem. In a large herd I imagine it would be very tedious to fecal constantly to try and cull worms. Lice is a very visual cull.

One other thing I’m sure pulling parasitics out will do is show holes in mineral programs. I’ve had decent luck boosting things like Vit A in the fall to help the animals immune system respond to parasites.

 

[ShooTa]

Jan hammer crockets theme

dammit your right... similar ilk...

 

[Karliboy]

112 days rest

 

[holwellcourtfarm]

Anyone know if it would be suitable using a double check valve to stop back flow for these kiwitech troughs? There's 25mm double check valves for £40 online

Legally, no. It has to be an air gap under the English water byelaws.

In practice it's good enough unless you're inspected...

 

[Henarar]

dammit your right... similar ilk...

never watched the program but I do like that music

 

[Brad93]

Hi all, been following this thread for a while now but first time posting so go easy! Trying to adapt management to better reflect a more hollistic approach.
I’m currently sheep only on rented ground, small scale (80 lambing ewes this time with 40 shearlings following for next year) around a full time job so balancing time and money. Had an opportunity a while ago to purchase 14ac which is in the process of going through now. Like I say, small scale but starting somewhere and 2 min walk to current rented ground so works really well. It has taken a while to go through so had approximately 18 months of no grazing (previously it was set stocked with cows). It’s all old PP with plenty of hedge rows and tree lines. Hopefully a nice little “reset” in time for me coming to manage it, or that’s the theory!

Now my question is what to do with it to get going, standing crop of hay on currently and a lot more grass than the sheep have seen before. Will they go through it? I’ve always thought that sheep prefer a shorter grass cover. I’m debating with myself as to whether to:

a. Mow for hay to reduce length and leave until a decent growth for sheep comes back (I have a regular supply of haylage for winter anyway so this would purely be to resell)
b. Electric fence them onto it in small paddocks (only issue being water) but probably the ideal solution to reduce rental costs (per head per week basis currently)
c. Put cows in front of them (perhaps offer a neighbour a few days grazing) but leave plenty behind for them to follow on


More than happy for any suggestions!

Ive put a couple of pictures on for reference, hoping to get the ground in a couple of weeks so trying to formulate a plan now.

Just following on from this for anyone who might be interested!
Decided to mow approx 12ac and got it baled 13th august, in the meantime got ring fenced on the whole lot.
I’ve started off with lambs on a block which wasn’t mown (roughly 110 lambs on 0.5ac) they seem really happy, the plan is to move the electric with them at similar acreage with ewes following on behind. I’m really happy with the regrowth on the parts which were mown. It will be interesting to see the difference in recovery on the 2 parts. 1st photo is part which hasn’t been mown/ grazed for roughly 1.5 years, 2nd and 3rd have had a months regrowth since mowing.

 

[farmgineer]

I'm hoping so. Have a 12ha field with a trough on mains in the corner to come off.

I'm thinking of fencing it into 10 x 1.2ha paddocks with hydrants to service 4 paddocks each (for sheep)

What do you use for hydrants? We are thinking of putting a pipe in but not sure what the connection looks like. We need alot more flexibility in the water supply to our paddocks for next year as it's easily been the biggest draw on labour this year moving the current system

 

[Jonny B88]

this popped up on FB and not sure if you've seen it

That must be one dry gateway!!

 

[Kiwi Pete]

That must be one dry gateway!!

I was thinking similar, they'll need to lift the gate hinges 10 inches next round or they won't drag it through all the grass.... gateways are the bane of my life, hence we only have 5 left

 

[som farmer]

If you’re culling for it you’d want to be fairly animal specific. One or two heavy loads would get diluted in a representative sample. You wouldn’t even really know they’re there to cull.

Lice are fairly obvious. Wait and see who’s worst.

With worms if you don’t want to do the wait and see if someone starts to show signs, then you could invest in an at home set up for fecals. Or start pulling them off wormer gradually. 5-10 at a time, every couple years. Then you’re really monitoring those handful of animals closely.

To be honest, worms aren’t an issue here. I’d have half the herd culled for weakness to lice before I ever started to maybe see a worm problem. In a large herd I imagine it would be very tedious to fecal constantly to try and cull worms. Lice is a very visual cull.

One other thing I’m sure pulling parasitics out will do is show holes in mineral programs. I’ve had decent luck boosting things like Vit A in the fall to help the animals immune system respond to parasites.

bought a bunch of young calves, of farm, in 2001, they had some type of lice, and ever since, we have had to lice young calves, usually twice preweaning, post weaning, very seldom have to lice them. We have tried different sheds, leaving sheds empty for weeks, spray, and cannot get rid. As we block calve, we just live with it, vets didn't have much to help the job. So, rightly or wrongly, we 'spot-on, or similar, as soon as seen, and repeat at weaning, not an expensive problem, and does mean calves are watched closely, for the first signs, so, in a funny way, nearly helpful.
It is annoying though, and it effects every calf, and the vets are not exactly sure what breed it is. And post weaning onwards, non existent, y/s get ivermectin, but cows don't, with the calves, it is quick, and very obvious, but no hair loss.

 

[Blaithin]

bought a bunch of young calves, of farm, in 2001, they had some type of lice, and ever since, we have had to lice young calves, usually twice preweaning, post weaning, very seldom have to lice them. We have tried different sheds, leaving sheds empty for weeks, spray, and cannot get rid. As we block calve, we just live with it, vets didn't have much to help the job. So, rightly or wrongly, we 'spot-on, or similar, as soon as seen, and repeat at weaning, not an expensive problem, and does mean calves are watched closely, for the first signs, so, in a funny way, nearly helpful.
It is annoying though, and it effects every calf, and the vets are not exactly sure what breed it is. And post weaning onwards, non existent, y/s get ivermectin, but cows don't, with the calves, it is quick, and very obvious, but no hair loss.

They say some animals are carriers. If you have a carrier in your herd it will always keep reappearing. If you can find and cull the carriers, majority of the battle is fought.

Can’t recall if I’ve ever read if anyone has a way to identify the carriers Or if they just cull the worst affected and gradually whittle it down.

 

[som farmer]

no trouble with the cows, or y/stock, from 10weeks upwards, it's just calves, no visible signs, other than they stop 'doing', part the hair, you can see they are 'crawling' with them, squirt of spot-on or similar, gone, and we do them at weaning. It's annoying, vets cant really give any advice, but, it's not an expensive problem. Bit like ringworm, it's in the buildings, but a lot easier to treat, mostly we stay clear of that, but every now and then, we get a group absolutely covered in it, and no real reason why. My own thinking, is that it is related to mineral shortage, and a 'stress' point. If calves are really doing, they seem to avoid it, and we always have minerals/rock salt, available for them, a practice learnt decades ago, when a rep sold some minerals to dad, that appeared to stop a bunch getting worse. Very scientific. We reared 50 odd calves last winter, 7, in one batch/group got it. The vets tell us, it works on a 7 yr cycle, and l rather think we might be getting close to that, from the last 'big' outbreak, any major sign, it will be a vaccine cure !