Rotational grazing?
 

Okay, I am going to redo my parents fence and am going to be doing a rotational grazing system. They have 40 acres that contains 2 ponies. There is LOTS of scrub (missouri ozarks) and the grass really needs to be revitalized. I raise goats here at my house and they would like to add some to clean up the property, and possibly a small portable chicken ark.

Could someone please tell me what types of forage to plant for these three varieties of animals and also what the rotation should be. I know that chickens go last to clean up the worms in the manure, but not sure about anything else.

If anyone knows of a GOOD book in laymans terms that would be great. We don't have cattle, hogs, or sheep and don't plan on it. Just the ponies, goats, and chickens.

Any suggestions on where I should start?

Oh we do have LGD to protect the goats and chickens.

Thanks
Rosina

Take yourself right down to the cattle forum :) There's a sticky at the top of the page by Agmantoo and it's loaded with all the information you could possibly want about rotational grazing.

With no more animals than that why go to the expence of cross fencing?

two concerns:

1. you should not keep your parents in a fence
2. you need a better diet than can be had grazing

concentrating their feed in one area helps get rid of unwanted grasses and deposits manure in one area. If you just let then wander around 20 acres, they will eat what they like and leave the rest that you don't want to go to seeds. Soon you will have a pasture of grasses that you don't want with little trees growing in it.

Ok, I looked at the thread on rotation grazing in cattle, but it is just that, for cattle. As I don't have cattle or that big of an operation or even very good fields, I didn't find it to helpful. This is 40 acres with about 30 fenced. It is ozark scrub, with poor fescue spotted here and there amid lots of rocks. I will only have the two ponies (already there) and about 6 goats and 15-20 chickens on it. I really need to plow it and seed it, but don't know what types to plant for year round growth for missouri area. Where can I find info on what grows for my area during different seasons?

I am not trying to find what kind of cow to use for this. I guess this thread was past where I am ready to be, especially as it was geared for cattle.

Thanks;
Rosina

The species doesn't matter much.
The principles are the same.

Have enough paddocks so each one gets 4-6 weeks rest between grazings, and don't leave them on long enough to eat lower than 2-3 inches


http://mdc.mo.gov/landwater-care/pla...pasture-seedin

http://extension.missouri.edu/explor...ops/g04652.pdf

Chickens will be fine. They will scratch up bugs, love fleas and ticks, kill mice and small snakes. They also graze a little, but won't make too much of a dent in the pony feed. If you really want it grazed down buy some January born lambs and put them on the acreage until fall. Put one in your freezer, one in Mom and Pops, sell the rest. Use portable electric netting to rotate the sheep since you don't know how much they will eat at any given time.

first off you can over populate the place with goats then sell them and their offspring in early fall. Keep a few that had twins or triplets and get rid of the rest. This will clean up the scrub for you. Being in TN been around alot of rock out crop ground near Woodbury. Why do you think it is known for growing goats not cattle. Rough hilly rocky ground. Once the brush and weeds are knocked down by grazing you can plant the grass you want. fescue is the most reliable for winter pasture but I prefer better grasses for summer the hybred bermuda stuff is great for summer but needs to be planted in plugs or rizomes.

Buffalo grass is supposed to be good grazing for a variety of animals. It spreads fast and is drought tollerant as well as being native to all of the mid-west (Great Plains).

Well I thought it was hilarious! :)

My parents would think they NEED to be fenced, lol.

No really. I don't want to over graze it. I already have the extra goats, will not buy sheep. I figure the goats will clean up the brush to help make a LITTLE more pasture for the ponies. I don't want to graze it down as there isn't much grass to begin with. I am trying to find out the types of grasses and such that would be good for the species that I am already raising. I want to divide the acreage into small paddocks and rotate the ponies and goats followed by the chickens. I was thinking 4-5 pastures of about 5 acres each and allowing the animals one week in each pasture. If I get 5 sections that allows each one one month rest. We have MOSTLY fescue, but I don't know what other types of grasses to plant to provide year round forage. I would like to add orchard grass, timothy, clover, a small amount of alfalfa, and possibly rye (I think that is winter). I don't know the amount to put of each. Most of the grass will be for the ponies as the goats will have all the scrub browse they could possibly eat.

Thank you to the person who posted the Missouri grass info, it is helpful. I am stuck using grasses that I can seed with as I don't have the equipment for plugs and such. Also, do I have to plow before seeding? I hate the thought of spreading seed just to have the birds eat it. Will I have to borrow a plow? I have never run a farm or anything like it before and am trying to figure all this out, so layman's terms are good for me.

I appreciate all the help you have all given me so far.

Rosina

Have you figured up the cost of the fencing to do 5 different sections?

I would check with your local extension office for good browse varieties to plant. They may have advice on rotational grazing as well. The problem with getting info on a forum like this, is that the information you are looking for varies dramatically by region, so a local person is your best bet.

Also, a few random points - just because the grazing info is in the cattle forum, doesn't mean there will be no helpful info in there for you. Rotational grazing is based on time and pasture growth, not species. I would not put in solid cross-fencing since paddock sizes are subject to change based on the health of the field and the type and number of animals you have. If you want the goats to get rid of the scrub brush, over-stocking them will be necessary for a short time. Otherwise they act more like deer, wandering around nibbling the best bits but never eating it to the ground. Whether or not you have to plow depends on your ground. Overseeding takes more seed. If you're not sure, more prep usually pays off in the long run.

And finally, if it was me, I would be inclined to go in this order - First goats to browse the brush to the ground and amend the soil as they go (I love goats for this reason), then the ponies, being careful to not let them overgraze the grass that has been opened up by the goats, and I would probably keep the chickens with the ponies so they could scatter the pony poo while it's fresh and interesting. After a year of that and reading up on what and how to plant forage in my area, I would work planting into my rotation. The part that would take a little figuring would be how to balance goat and pony numbers so that they finish up their paddocks at the same rate.

It would help, but it's not always necessary.
Overseeding can get good results too

Crossfencing isn't that expensive.
I use 4 strands of "Polywire" and step in plastic posts.

You don't have to keep predators out, and even if the animals go through it , they are still inside the perimeter fencing

Will the polywire keep chickens in one area?

Nothing short of a net will keep chickens in, but chickens won't normally range more than 100 yds from their coop anyway, and will have no real impact on the pastures at all, unless you put HUNDREDS of them on a small area

Look for "Pastured Poultry Profits" by Joel Salatin. You don't need to buy it from him, libraries have it. It will answer (most of) your chicken questions.

The idea of over populating with goats for short term is to reduce the shrub so more grass can grow. As to plowing no you do not need to plow it. You need to rent a hard land drill and use it to seed the grass. Rye is worthless in your case as it would have to be planted every year. Even per. rye can not compete well with fescue. I would add lespadesa(spelling) as it likes to grow during the hotter drier months and will not be crowded out by fescue. Clover can kill horses if it is let go to seed. The seeds cause them to slobber to the point of dehydration. Some clover showing up in your pasture is not enough but sowing it in a pasture for horses is a definate NO. Your soil may or may not support alfalfa as it needs deep soils.

Thank you so much for that additional info, this is exactly what I am looking for. I plan on using portable electric fencing for crossfencing as I already have quite a bit of it for my goats at my place. The perimiter fence will probably be woven field fence for goats.

Again, thank you SOOO much.
Rosina

Four strands of electric fence will not keep goats in. Especially clever goats.

With that many acres and that few animals, there is NO reason to go through the expense and HUGE time suck of labor to cross fence.

Edited to add: I've had cattle, horses, and now goats. The only time I did cross fencing was when I had 30 cow calf pairs on 100 acres. This part of Texas can support that concentration normally, but not in the drought last year. 100 acres wouldn't support one cow calf pair last year.

The purpose of cross fencing is to concentrate the consumption to a small area, then move the animals to another paddock quickly. With the very small number of animals you are talking about, you will never have enough animals in paddock to impact it.

We are a little further south than you. We have overseeded with clover and bahia for spring and summer grazing. Then each year we overseed with annual rye for winter grazing. Sometimes I throw out some "other" seed such as turnips, collards and other greens. I have also planted small patches of field peas and kept in small patches is easily doable by hand. It has taken time though to build the soil and restore the fertility of the fields. When we first moved here the ground was fallow and growing loads of weeds, but not much of anything else. Before we got the tractor, I had someone deliver loads and loads of horse manure which I let compost and then the next year I put that compost by hand on the pasture. I did that each year. I am still working on it, but now I have the tractor to spread out the compost. By building the soil the grasses and such grow better each year. Building the soil will be one of the best investments you make. Oh, and to keep the birds from getting your seed wait until it is pouring down rain to put it out. One year I overseeded with rye only to have hundreds of birds for the next few days eating it up. Overseeded again with the same results. I bought more seed, waiting until it was pouring down rain, threw out the seed and because the dirt splashes on the seed the birds tend to leave most of it alone. It also gives it real good contact with the soil even hard clay. In fact it is raining this morning so after I feed here in a bit then I am putting out some bahia on one of my small pastures. Good luck. Kat