Sheepy musings

[Wood field]

Just wondering, one block of farm with main buildings and sheep yard .
Normally bale the 15 acres ( 12+3 )and also a 4 acre field of the bit marked 16.
We get nice short cut sweet green hay but not so much of it , so you wise sheep men and women … to buy in fodder and rotate the sheep or to make our own ( and still buy in) and set stock

The 26 acre bit is very thin soil over rock and steep , the top of the 16 acre bit , decent ish flat ish , the lower part of the 16 steep and wet .

Drawings by me after dealing with a prolapsed ewe

 

[Jonp]

Rotate and buy in fodder and nutrients especially if you haven't your own kit and fodder is available at a good price/quality locally.

 

[Aspiring Peasants]

Coincidentally I've just come in from dealing with a prolapse ewe !

I like to mow some because afterwards it gives you fresh clean grass to wean lambs on to, so it's more than just the value of the bales. I think the value of clean grazing is very underrated. nowadays.

 

[Wood field]

Coincidentally I've just come in from dealing with a prolapse ewe !

I like to mow some because afterwards it gives you fresh clean grass to wean lambs on to, so it's more than just the value of the bales. I think the value of clean grazing is very underrated. nowadays.

Had to catch this bugger on the moor , she dragged me 100 yards , like a comedy show

 

[ringi]

The 26 acre bit is very thin soil over rock and steep

If you can buy bales for a good price and get them put where you want them, what about doing bale grazing with electric frence to build up the soil?

But without baling or some cows how will you break worm cycles?

 

[Pistonbroke]

At least you washed your hands before you used the white board

 

[Wood field]

If you can buy bales for a good price and get them put where you want them, what about doing bale grazing with electric frence to build up the soil?

But without baling or some cows how will you break worm cycles?

It’s big lumps of bedrock, that then runs steeply down to a flat very wet rushy bit, up to housing
I generally put ring feeders up there and can use the snacker as it’s the one dry part.
We do have a few cows and plenty of muck goes on

 

[Devil's advocate]

It’s big lumps of bedrock, that then runs steeply down to a flat very wet rushy bit, up to housing
I generally put ring feeders up there and can use the snacker as it’s the one dry part.
We do have a few cows and plenty of muck goes on

If you have infra structure for cattle. In your situation buy in. Avoid sheep, sheep, sheep, sheep like the plague, admit I do on some.

But even then mowing a bit does give you some grassland mangement & I've always thought it was more profitable to be a bit under stocked than a bit over stocked. But you need to keep the grass young, topper maybe helps?

 

[Wood field]

If you have infra structure for cattle. In your situation buy in. Avoid sheep, sheep, sheep, sheep like the plague, admit I do on some.

But even then mowing a bit does give you some grassland mangement & I've always thought it was more profitable to be a bit under stocked than a bit over stocked.

We used to be all cattle, the ground is so soft it became a 7 month winter plus the straw and fodder on top . Now we run 600 ewes and a handful of cows ( to keep the boss lady happy)

 

[Aspiring Peasants]

We used to be all cattle, the ground is so soft it became a 7 month winter plus the straw and fodder on top . Now we run 600 ewes and a handful of cows ( to keep the boss lady happy)

I have to put up with a 7 month winter, sometimes longer, I wouldn't be without the cows though. Partly because I like them but also I think they are a management tool as well as leaving a margin. Sheep do better because the cows are there.

 

[Wood field]

I have to put up with a 7 month winter, sometimes longer, I wouldn't be without the cows though. Partly because I like them but also I think they are a management tool as well as leaving a margin. Sheep do better because the cows are there.

We used to have 50 angus cross . Bulled with a whitbred shorthorn it gave a good hill calf but not much value. If we went back to all cows @ one per two acres plus the moor run , I think we would be around 80 cows ( neighbours have similar cattle on the moor and calf’s went at around 425-460 this last backend

So the money just isn’t there especially if it comes to winter housing, straw, fodder etc etc
Maybe a good pure shorthorn or angus would do better . But I like my sheep

 

[Wood field]

At least you washed your hands before you used the white board

Only after I couldn’t grip the marker pen

 

[Pistonbroke]

Only after I couldn’t grip the marker pen

Damn. Just when I was going to have my supper

 

[Macsky]

Coincidentally I've just come in from dealing with a prolapse ewe !

I like to mow some because afterwards it gives you fresh clean grass to wean lambs on to, so it's more than just the value of the bales. I think the value of clean grazing is very underrated. nowadays.

Obviously when you mow you remove the crop and the worm burden, I wonder if topping has much of an effect? Flail topper for example.

 

[Aspiring Peasants]

Obviously when you mow you remove the crop and the worm burden, I wonder if topping has much of an effect? Flail topper for example.

I think the removal of the worm burden comes from it not having been grazed by sheep before, and the mowing resets the grass to produce young leafy regrowth

 

[Devil's advocate]

Obviously when you mow you remove the crop and the worm burden, I wonder if topping has much of an effect? Flail topper for example.

Zero effect on worms, but keeps the grass sweet for the sheep.

 

[Devil's advocate]

We used to have 50 angus cross . Bulled with a whitbred shorthorn it gave a good hill calf but not much value. If we went back to all cows @ one per two acres plus the moor run , I think we would be around 80 cows ( neighbours have similar cattle on the moor and calf’s went at around 425-460 this last backend

So the money just isn’t there especially if it comes to winter housing, straw, fodder etc etc
Maybe a good pure shorthorn or angus would do better . But I like my sheep

Why not 20 cows? If you have the infra structure.

I don't have the infra structure, so make hay but in little bales sold retail it pays, I'm stuck with 10 acre not fit to mow (could be with bit of drainage & reseeding) so some inefficancy there, I try to graze it with dry stock but for a few weeks it does get ewes & lambs.

Also on a personnal matter I'm often working alone, not ideal when working with suckler cows.

 

[ringi]

I think the removal of the worm burden comes from it not having been grazed by sheep before, and the mowing resets the grass to produce young leafy regrowth

Or use cow grazing to reset the grass without dropping sheep worm eggs.

 

[Wood field]

Why not 20 cows? If you have the infra structure.

I don't have the infra structure, so make hay but in little bales sold retail it pays, I'm stuck with 10 acre not fit to mow (could be with bit of drainage & reseeding) so some inefficancy there, I try to graze it with dry stock but for a few weeks it does get ewes & lambs.

Also on a personnal matter I'm often working alone, not ideal when working with suckler cows.

I don’t really have the infrastructure for cows, we get by with a crush and a few gates ( and very quiet cows)
We were placed in a tb1 this last few years and I find it a pain to have to tb test , although we are now back in a tb4
What we do get from our few cows is the muck through winter and they graze a fairly rough part of the farm . I may allow she who must be obeyed to slowly up the numbers and follow the sheep around on a rotational grazing system
We’ve two parts of the farm that would work with it , the above rough drawing and a 40 acre parcel around the house
Like you I am mostly working alone and with the aid of my dogs find the sheep easier to handle

 

[Wood field]

I think the removal of the worm burden comes from it not having been grazed by sheep before, and the mowing resets the grass to produce young leafy regrowth

Our current system means shutting up to 35 acres for 8-10 weeks for mowing, I like to get it mowed by mid July if possible then allow a nice regrowth for the sheep
The downside being a fairly light cut and limited bales ( but very good quality)