by Sally Morgan
Grass is influenced by many factors, such as soil temperature, water and nutrient availability, and light levels. In spring, when grass is growing at its fastest rate, a hectare (2½ acres) can gain 20-60kg (44-132lb) of dry matter in a day. But if the grass is very short it will never reach this level of production, because the small leaf surface area restricts photosynthesis. Production is slower with long grass too, as the long leaves shade each other and some of the leaves are dying, so the maximum rates are only achieved on swards of medium height, where there is large leaf surface and less leaf death.
If possible, you should aim to graze a sward in optimum growth and to stop grazing when the grass height is too short to sustain production. For grazing sheep, it’s important not to grow too much grass for the number of animals, since sheep like to nibble short grass. The best-quality grass for sheep is when rye grass is approaching the three-leaf stage, so you need to prevent it getting to the fourth-leaf stage, when leaves start dying (see diagram, left). This leads to wastage and the build-up of dead matter around the base of the plants, which smothers adjacent grass plants. When the grass is at the optimum stage, the animals will be able to make use of about 70 per cent or more of it, but if the grasses are long and tough, the animals may use less than half of what is available grass. The same is true if the sward contains weeds such as thistles and nettles.
The welly test
It’s easy to assess your grass length. Simply walk into the paddock wearing wellington boots. With just 4-5cm (1½-2") of grass, the sward barely reaches the toes of your boots. Ideally, the grass needs to be 8-10cm (3-4") – reaching above your ankles, with the tops of the leaves bending over. If it’s halfway up your boots, it’s getting too long for sheep.
You should aim to have about 8-10cm (3-4") of grass before you introduce the sheep, and let them graze it down to about 5cm (2"), then move them to the next paddock. If you can’t rotate the areas, don’t let the grass get shorter than 6-8cm (2½-3") – if it does, you are grazing too many animals.
Improving your grass
Many paddocks are sown with the hard-wearing rye grass, but you would be better to opt for one that is a rye-grass-and-legume mix, as legumes offer your animals a protein-rich diet. Legumes, such as clover, are beneficial plants. Not only do they fix nitrogen and so boost the productivity of the surrounding grasses, but also they are favoured by sheep over grass. The rate at which lambs gain weight is much higher on clover, in some cases by 25 per cent more, and furthermore the clover tends to continue growing through the summer, when grass production dips. If there is little clover in your pasture, you could improve the situation by oversowing it with red or white clover seeds in spring or early autumn (see opposite). Ideally, you should aim for 40-60 per cent clover in mid summer.
The low growth habit of white clover is ideal for grazing sheep.
You could also include medicinal plants, such as chicory (Cichorium intybus) and sheep’s parsley (Petroselinum sativum), which are known to have anti-worm properties. Some seed merchants now sell a herbal grazing ley mix, which is a mix of grasses with, for example, clovers, trefoil, lucerne (Medicago sativa, also called alfalfa), chicory, salad burnet and yarrow, and can be bought in quantities suitable for small paddocks. The deep-rooted plants, such as chicory and lucerne, are good for drawing up nutrients and water and improving the soil structure.
A herbal ley mix with salad burnet.
Each spring, try to harrow the grass (drag it with tines) to remove dead leaves and molehills, and if necessary oversow it with clover. This literally means scattering seed over the existing sward, with no need to plough up the existing vegetation. Do this when there is plenty of moisture in the ground. The recommended rate is 5kg/ha (4lb 6oz / acre) of seed. Then graze the sward to remove some of the existing grass and allow light through, so the seedlings can get established. On small paddocks, an application of calcified seaweed can be beneficial to replace depleted nutrients.
Mob grazing
To maximize the productivity of your grass, try a ‘mob grazing’ approach. This is a style of grazing that mimics the way herds of wild grazing animals move across a grassland. They graze an area intensively and then move on to fresh pasture. While they are grazing, they trample much of the grass, creating a thick mat that protects the soil underneath from compaction and erosion and provides the soil microorganisms with food, together with the animals’ dung and urine. This all helps to increase the organic matter in the soil and boost its water-holding capacity.
This is an effective way of grazing, even in a small area. The key is to have multiple pens or paddocks, so you can rotate your animals between them. Although this is costly to set up, owing to the extra fencing required, it means more productive grass. With this method, your animals get to graze fresh grass at its best. They are then moved on before they overgraze it and damage the grass plants. It also reduces the risk of poaching (sodden and trampled ground) in wet periods, which is important when you only have a small area of grass to sustain. Another benefit of rotation is the reduction in the worm load in any given area. If you keep ducks and geese, you could include them in the rotation. Geese prefer shorter grass, so they can follow after sheep, and both ducks and geese will help to clear the land of parasitic worm eggs. (See Chapter 7, pages 142-3 and 158.)
Keeping sheep
You may be thinking of a couple of lambs for meat, or perhaps you simply want to have sheep to keep control of the grass. Either way, you have decisions to make about the type and number of sheep that you can accommodate.
Once you understand grass management, you can work out how many sheep you can afford to graze on your grass without having to resort to extra fodder. The recommendation is between three and five ewes per acre (seven to twelve per hectare) on good rye grass and clover leys. So if you are considering buying in weaned lambs and growing them on to slaughter weight, you could probably accommodate three to five lambs on half an acre, as you would be keeping them during the most productive months of the year. But be aware that if there is a summer drought, grass production could halt and you would have to buy in fodder as silage or hay.
Ideally, you should aim to buy weaned lambs of about 8 to 12 weeks old in spring – before the grass has had a chance to get away and become too long – and have them slaughtered in early autumn. This means looking for farmers who lamb early in the year. If you can’t get the lambs until summer, you can top the grass to keep it from getting too long.
Orphan lambs
Another option is orphan lambs. These are lambs that may have been abandoned by the ewe, or the ewe has died, or there are triplets or quads and the farmer wants to reduce the pressure on the ewe. Orphan lambs are normally just a few days old and have to be bottle-fed with a milk replacement. This can be time-consuming and the lambs can be sickly, but if they are healthy you will get some friendly lambs for your paddock. They will get very attached to you, so if you go down this road it can be better to buy ram lambs, as there is less temptation to keep them and they reach slaughter weight more quickly.
Lambs usually go to slaughter when they are about 20 weeks old and weigh around 40kg (88lb), although this does vary with breed. If the lambs have not put on enough weight by late summer, you can feed a high-quality concentrate to bring them up to weight. The lamb carcass that you get back from slaughter weighs about half that of the live lamb.
Dorset Downs can be tupped (mated) early, so lambing occurs in late winter and the lambs are well grown in spring.
The sheep and lambs will need secure fencing, some form of shelter from the sun if there is no natural shade from trees, and a water trough. When planning your paddocks, it can help to position the water centrally so you can rotate the animals from paddock to paddock and they can still access the water.
Essential equipment
You still need a fair amount of equipment, even for just a couple of lambs, but it is an investment as it can be used for a number of years. Top of the list are sheep hurdles: s
mall movable fences that you can use to contain the sheep. Handling the animals and getting them used to being rounded up and contained within a ring of hurdles makes management so much easier, especially when you want to shear them or get them on to transport for slaughter. You will need a pair of hand shears for dagging (that’s clipping mucky fleece around and under the tail), plus a pair of hoof trimmers to trim the hooves back when they get too long. Other bits and pieces include buckets, feed trough, antiseptic spray and foot spray.
Routine care
Sheep are demanding in their care. They need to be checked twice daily. Surprising though it may seem, sheep can roll on their backs, get stuck and die! Every couple of months they have to be dagged and their feet checked for foot rot, and in late spring they need to be sheared. A few weeks after shearing they are sprayed to prevent flystrike, caused by parasitic flies – a major problem in lowland sheep, which can kill if left untreated. They may also need vaccinating against Pasteurellosis and some of the clostridial diseases.
A Southdown ewe and twin lambs. This is a small, easy-to-keep breed, good for the novice smallholder.
The smallest sheep in the world
If you are determined to have sheep all year round, then one option is to keep a couple of ewes of a small breed, such as the French Ouessant. These are small, friendly sheep that are happy being handled, and are gentle and easy for a first-time sheep owner. As adults they weigh just 20kg (44lb) and stand 45-50cm (18-20") tall. The rams have impressive curled horns. Since sheep are social creatures, you would need to keep a minimum of two animals. They are suited to small paddocks and orchards, although any trees will need protection.
Some of the primitive breeds are also small, the Soay for example – but they are quite adept at escaping from paddocks, unlike the Ouessant.
Ouessants come in three colours – black, brown and white – so their fleeces are popular with spinners.
Sheep are usually wormed regularly, and treated for liver fluke if it is prevalent in the area. If you are keeping your sheep year-round on small paddocks, it is highly likely that you will get a worm problem caused by a build-up of worm eggs on the ground. But before you buy an expensive bottle of wormer, send a faecal sample to your vet or worm lab for a worm count to make sure. This avoids unnecessary worming of animals, which is contributing to the growing problem of worm resistance around the world. Regular faecal testing of your sheep will allow you to keep on top of any problem.
Keeping a couple of sheep can be expensive, as all the wormers and other medications come in large bottles, aimed at commercial farmers, while vaccines are in 20-doses. Plus, unless you can shear your own sheep you will need the services of a shearer, who usually charges a set-up fee plus a small fee per animal. Think carefully before committing to keeping sheep, as they can be a burden, unlike pigs, which are much easier to care for.
Keeping goats
Goats are native to much warmer climes than that of the UK, and they are not hardy like sheep, as they lack the thick, waterproof fleece. They don’t need as large a paddock as sheep, but they do require a shelter in the form of a small stable or pole barn, as they cannot be out in all weathers. If you have stables or other buildings on your plot, then goats may be an option.
Shelter and pasture
Goats need a goat house in which they can be kept during cold or wet weather, such as a barn, stable or a large shed. It should provide at least 3m2 (32 sq ft) of floor space per goat and be tall enough for them to stand on their hind legs, with a layer of bedding plus bales for them to stand on. If you house them in a barn and move them to pasture daily, you will also need to have a field shelter.
Three goats are kept on this small paddock with a shelter. The trunk of the tree, which provides shade, is protected from the goats.
Some people keep their goats in a good-sized yarded area all year round; others for just the colder winter months. If the goats are kept in a yard, they will need a daily supply of hay, hedgerow clippings, etc., as they require a varied and fibrous diet, plus fresh water. Although housing the goats this way allows you to keep a small herd in a restricted area, they do need enough space to exercise freely and they also need an enriched environment.
Others house their goats at night and turn them out on to a well-fenced paddock to range free each day. Although goats don’t need as large a ranging area as sheep, they do need a good-quality pasture and ideally one with access to a hedgerow. A half-acre paddock could probably accommodate between three and four goats, depending on the breed. As with sheep, too many animals can lead to overgrazing and soiling of the grass.
Many people think that goats will eat everything and anything, but in reality they are fussy eaters and are far more selective than sheep, preferring to browse rather than graze, so less of the grass may be used. You could run goats with geese to help keep the grass down, otherwise you may need to top the grass during spring and early summer. If goats cannot access their night shelter during the day, they will need a field shelter, as the lack of lanolin in their hair means they cannot tolerate rain.
Expect goats to eat any foliage in reach of their long legs and necks.
Goats are known to be escape artists. They like to clamber to the top of things, so fencing needs to be secure, and higher than sheep fencing, ideally 1.2m (4'). Otherwise they will soon break out and defoliate a nearby orchard or veg patch.
The choice of goat
There are three main groups of goat: dairy (Nubian, Toggenburg, Saanen, Alpine, Golden Guernsey), meat (Boer) and wool (Angora and Cashmere), plus the pygmies. Like the sheep, the goat is a social animal, so you need at least two goats, although they don’t have to be of the same kind (you could opt for a dairy goat and a companion pygmy goat, for example). Pygmy goats are very popular because of their small size, and are often seen on petting farms.
The Golden Guernsey is a popular choice for beginners.
The best place to buy a goat is from an experienced breeder, who will be able to advise you on care. Females are more expensive than males. Often people buy a goatling, a young goat that they plan to get into kid, but animals of 4-5 years old are cheaper and probably easier to handle. Don’t be tempted to buy an uncastrated billy goat unless you are breeding, as they smell and can be difficult to handle, although castrated billies can make good companion animals. You should check that any animals you buy have been blood-tested for Caprine Arthritis Encephalitis Virus (CAEV), which is an incurable disease.
Essential equipment
Goats drink a lot of water, especially in the case of lactating nannies, which take up to 20 litres (approx. 4 gallons / 5 US gallons) a day, and they are fussy about their water – it must be clean, so a constant supply of fresh water is essential. Other essentials include a feed trough that is off the ground, hay net, buckets and bucket holders, plus basic veterinary equipment (similar to sheep, see page 181). You will also need somewhere dry to store hay and straw. The soiled bedding in the goat house must be replaced regularly, so you will need a dung heap on site.
Feeding your goats
As mentioned already, goats are browsers rather than grazers. They tend to search upwards for food, standing on their hind legs to reach hedgerow leaves and branches. As they can be fussy eaters, they may not eat the hay provided! Their diet can be supplemented with goat nuts. If you are feeding hay and nuts you will need to supply 2-3kg (4lb 6oz to 6lb 10oz) of a good-quality hay and up to 1kg (2lb 3oz) of goat nuts daily, depending on the size of the animals. Always supply the hay in a net, as anything falling to the ground will not be eaten. If you are bringing in forage such as green food from hedgerows, allow at least 7kg (15lb 7oz) because of the wastage and water content. Bear in mind that young goats may eat any poisonous plants that have been inadvertently included, so you must be aware of which plants not to fed to a goat; also, plants that are safe for sheep may not be safe for goats (the list is surprisingly long and varies around the world, so check details on local goat society websites). A mineral
lick can be useful to ensure that they get all the essential nutrients, especially if you are feeding a restricted diet.
These Nubian goats are fed a good-quality organic hay every day.
Basic care
Goats are not quite so demanding as sheep, but they still need checking twice daily. The routine care is similar to that for sheep (see page 181) – foot trimming, worming, and vaccination against Pasteurellosis and some of the clostridial diseases. Angora and Cashmere goats will also need shearing; Angoras twice a year.
The dairy goat
A dairy goat requires much more commitment in time than other types, as she will need to be milked twice a day during her lactation. The main dairy breeds are Nubian, Alpine, Saanen, Toggenburg and Golden Guernsey. The highest yielding are the Saanen, producing as much as 1,200 litres (263 gallons / 317 US gallons) per lactation, while the Nubian produces milk with a higher fat content. The females are ready to be mated at 10 months and their gestation period is around 5 months. Most give birth to two kids. You will need to keep a billy goat too, to get the females in kid. The average productive life for a dairy goat is 7 years.