2 acres + large barn What can we do?

Without all the back and forth, lets break down the numbers. 2 acres cut into 1/4 acre pastures. That makes 8 pastures to rotate. 40 sheep left all day on 1/4 acre will chew it down to almost nothing. It will take alot of time for that grass to recover...weeks. Recommended grass height is 3 inches for grazing. Sheep fed on very low, intensively grazed pastures are more susceptible to worms which live close to the soil.

So you'll have 8 pastures, if you move them through everyday that leaves only 7 days for each pasture to recoup and grow some grass....now I am only speaking about my personal experience so please don't become indignant and insulted, this isnt personal...but I dont see my grass possibly growing to decent height that quickly. I'm a zone 4 with good rain fall and basically a very similar climate to yours.

I am NOT calling you a liar or suggesting anything about you personally. I am only suggesting that maybe your estimate of 40 sheep on 2 acres was a bit too hasty and ambitious. Again, just my 2 cents based on the numbers and the realities of how my grass grows.

PS

Relax, that kind of anger and hostility will wreck your health

I have been doing what I described for years and it works for me. Rather than attacking someone else what you should do is present your ideas for what to do with the two acres. It is silly of you to say a bumble bee can't fly. They do. Likewise to say someone else can't do what they are doing is also silly.

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SugarMtnFarm.com -- Pastured Pigs, Poultry, Sheep, Dogs and Kids

How about twobottom goes to highlands place for a day and helps out and sees if it actually possible to do what highlands says? You both are only about a hundred miles apart.

No, I don't do tours, workshops or agritourism because visitors are a disease vector. We have multiple herds of breeder livestock which we must protect - I don't want them infected with disease from elsewhere. We farm. That's our income. I've spent years developing my livestock genetics and am not willing to put them at risk over someone's curiosity. Google PEDv for an example of why this is important.

What we do is documented on my blog with about 2,000 articles so visits aren't necessary between farms. See link below. It's pretty standard managed intensive grazing techniques which are very well documented. Lots of people do it very successfully.

On the forum what people need to do is present their ideas and suggestions, what has worked for them, rather than trying to tear down what other people say. That is appropriate discussion board etiquette. Share what works or doesn't work for you. Don't rip each other.

Cheers,

-Walter Jeffries
Sugar Mountain Farm
http://SugarMtnFarm.com/

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SugarMtnFarm.com -- Pastured Pigs, Poultry, Sheep, Dogs and Kids

OK here's my advice for sheep management on 2 acres, without all the hurt feelings and tattling; Any decent shepherd knows that the biggest threat to his sheep is going to be worm load, most sheep loss is due to this. It is the single biggest battle that most shepherds face when trying to raise healthy sheep. Just about all sheep already have a worm load, so the battle is on from day one to keep the load manageable.

Now the circumstances that effect worm load are proper worming techniques, grazing practices, and natural resistance. Worming and natural resistance are topics for another day but I would like to say a few things about grazing and how it will effect your sheeps worm load, their health, and hence your success raising sheep. Worms such as barber pole are excreted by your sheep, often as eggs. These eggs and worms lie down deep close to the soil in a pasture. They can survive three weeks or longer. So the height of the pasture and the frequency of grazing are going to be the main factors here. If you graze a pasture down to an inch, and come back to it 2 weeks later your sheep will be consuming the eggs and increasing their worm load. Conventional wisdom says that a 3 inch minimum height for your grass is recommended for optimal parasite avoidance and to avoid over grazing your pastures.

Now lets discuss grass. Grass grows at a rough average of about .12 inches per day. That means that it will take about 9 days to grow one inch of grass. So, if you were to graze a large group of sheep on a small pasture and they grazed it down from 3 inches to 1 inch ( which something like 40 sheep on 1/4 acre will do very very quickly ) it would take about a month for that grass to reach optimal height ( note it would also be enough time to safely graze your sheep with reduced danger of worm load ). Keep in mind these are gross averages but you can see that even with a very liberal estimate the carrying capacity to safely keep a flock of sheep is limited.

With 2 pasture acres I would recommend no more than 8 sheep, and that assumes the entire 2 acres is devoted to sheep and strictly managed rotational grazing. A quick research of stocking rates for sheep will show that studies have estimated 4 per acre. I would strongly recommend against attempting large masses of sheep on smaller acreages. It is irresponsible shepherding, IMO. The health of your sheep will be compromised, and the damage to your pasture will take a toll.

With two acres I would go with a large 1/2 acre garden, a chicken coop, a small yard, and 4 or 5 sheep. See how it goes. If you think you can safely and economically keep a couple more than add slowly.

I don't really get the excitement over sheep. I mean, I've had lamb and it's delicious-- but I'd rather get a couple of bottle wethers to raise on my goat milk and put them straight to freezer than maintain a herd.
They seem like such high maintenance creatures. What's your average hobbyist going to do with a herd of 5 sheep? That's a lot of fleeces that need shearing and processing, and being pressed to get through that much wool isn't how I'd want to get into fiber either. I mean if you've got 4H kids showing them, that's one thing-- but as a general "filler" ruminant I feel like goats are more effective, more economical, higher in demand and hardier.
My .02 cents.

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Never, and in the trash.
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I myself don't yet have animals but plan to in the future. I am planning on chickens, ducks and mini goats. The Nigerian Dwarf goats are small, eat less than/need less space than regular size goats (so I have read) and they are great dairy animals. I saw that someone mentioned mini cows...I have read about mini cows and while they do take up less space, I have read that they eat nearly the same amount (maybe slightly less) and are harder to milk because their teets are so low to the ground. As far as recources, there are many good websites I have seen and the "Storey's Guide to..." books (in my opinion) are really easy to read and packed with info.
Maybe just start a little at a time and see what works best?! Good luck!!!

On cows vs. goats- Its been my experience that when it comes to dairy, some people are cow people, and some people are goat people, few people are both and it's much easier to be a goat person! LOL

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There is a time and a place for decaf coffee.
Never, and in the trash.
Are you an AZ farmer too? Arizona Backyard Farmers on facebook

Ok spoke to neighbors we are doing the cow. They need space to store hay for winter for their horses. I have giant empty barn. We want a cow need more pasture. They will do a cow we will do one as well share pastures keep them together.

We will be discussing more in depth they have cows purchased, we need to find one but I have zero clue where to look and pricing etc. So tomorrow fence is finished and have to find a cow!

Excellent. Now you just have to decide if it is a democratic cow, a socialist cow or a communist cow as the old joke goes.

Here's the joke if you haven't heard it:

http://www.extremelysmart.com/humor/cowsexplain.php

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/You_have_two_cows

Enjoy you cow, no matter what its politics.

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SugarMtnFarm.com -- Pastured Pigs, Poultry, Sheep, Dogs and Kids

Cow is home! Lol fence was a huge disaster project. We broke a manual and two post hole augers in the process. Right now we have him in a pasture that is about a half an acre and he is not making a dent yet on it. I know this will change as he gets larger. The other 1/2 acre fencing is almost complete.

He has done really well being solo. He has found a rooster to be his buddy and the rooster is happy to clean up grain or flies off of the cow so it works well.

Now just trying to stock up on hay and grain for winter.