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Pasture and woods for sheep

3K views 12 replies 4 participants last post by  Willowdale 
#1 ·
New to having sheep I've done pigs and chickens for a few years.
Have a few sheep now and two lgd.
I have a total of 8 acres here most is wooded. I have cleared about 1.5 acres now and have it planted in pasture.
My question is how much of the woods do I need to clear before I fence it for the sheep and the dogs. I'm not going to clear cut it. I want to keep the bigger trees cause I like it wooded.
How clear does it need to be so the dogs can protect the sheep. Only thing around here are coyotes and a fox every now and then. I didn't know how much I need to clear it out so the dogs can do there job. Also the sheep and dogs are brought back to the barn to a smaller more secure paddock at night that is close to the house.
The fence is going to be 5 strand electric. It's working that way now keeping everyone in.
 
#2 ·
Sheep prefer grasses over browse, but will still eat a lot of things.

I'd fence the perimeter and put the animals in and let them do as much of the work as possible. They will tend to pretty much stay together and a single acre of good pasture can support 4-6 sheep.

It's best to subdivide pastures in sections large enough that you can rotate the animals and allow sections 4 or more weeks time to regrow.

Clear enough space on each side of the fence to allow easy mowing and to help keep limbs from falling on it, and only stretch the wire tight enough to prevent sagging.

That will leave enough slack that things falling on the fence will simply push it down without breaking the wires.

If your corner posts are large enough and well braced you can go 50' between line posts.

Over time you can continue to clear more as needed based on the number in your herd
 
#4 ·
I'd leave at least 6 feet on each side of the fence to allow for equipment.

I wouldn't worry much about the dogs needing to see the sheep all the time.

They will patrol the perimeters and smell or hear any problems, and the sheep will likely all stay fairly close together. At the first sign of trouble they will run to the dogs.

The dogs (if they are good at what they are supposed to do) will always be close enough to react.

Clear cut some paths through the area so you only have relatively small patches of thicker wooded area. The sheep will open up the understory pretty well if there are enough of them, or if you confine them to small sections and make them eat what is available.
 
#5 ·
Here is progress so far. It's not a great pic but you get some kind of idea what I'm dealing with.
It's hard to get much done with all the rain we have been getting.

Also got stuck with a big thorn from one of the trees. Went right thru my jacket and long sleeve shirt. It made a huge bruised area on my arm that looked awful for a day or two. Those things are the devil.
 

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#7 ·
I thought about getting a couple but have read all the stories of trying to keep them in the fences.
My wife had wanted goats in the beginning but I got her into wanting sheep instead. I used the whole idea of how hard they are to keep in. So if I did do goats I might be stuck with them if my wife likes them more than sheep.

I'm hoping the sheep will clean it up a fair amount for me. They are hair sheep.
 
#8 ·
I'm hoping the sheep will clean it up a fair amount for me. They are hair sheep.
They will eat almost as many things as goats.
You can confine them to a small area and make them eat what is there.
If you have Cherry trees you might want to cut and dispose of them.
The dried/wilted leaves can be toxic if they eat too many.
Other than that most things are safe.
 
#10 ·
Someone needs to find an animal that will eat and hill thorn trees cause I'd buy a herd right now for this place.
Cut them off as close to grade level as possible and the sheep will likely eat any new shoots before they form thorns.

You can also paint the fresh cut stumps with straight Roundup concentrate.
 
#11 ·
STOP CLEARING RIGHT NOW!
Most sheep will prefer whats already there to grass.
Theres a simple way to test if yours do. Simply give them a bit to eat all the browse on the ground then drop a tree, a tender newly leafed out one should be a treat they go wild over.
Don't worry about goats they wont do any better job than sheep.
If yours really like browse I recommend getting a small battery chain saw and dropping a little brush each day at feeding time.
those 6 acres of wood if coppiced will provide a significant portion of the needed feed.

FENCE!
I doubt that fence will cut it . With sheep its not about fencing them in its about fencing trouble out!

I recommend 6 feet of 2x4 woven wire a few inches inside that electric fence. Top with two hot wires on 6 inch centers on a separate charger and a hot wire inside the fence a few inches on another charger.
 
#12 ·
For now I'm going to be putting up electric fence using 5 strands. The fence that is up now is working good at keeping them in. I have two lgd now that are with them all the time. I bring them into a smaller paddock that is cattle panels with electric top and botttom at night. Haven't had any problems yet. There are lots of coyotes in my area. Heard them close to the house every night until I got my dogs.
 
#13 ·
I'm with American Stand on this. Sheep will clear underbrush all around those trees just fine. And I trust my lgd to keep predators away - there's a windbreak of trees on one side of my pastures that is supposed to be a main road for coyotes, but I've never had trouble. However, you need to be able to keep the dog in cause lgds love to roam. I have a giant invisible fence system.

The flock will scatter while feeding while everything is safe, but at the first sign of alarm they get together. The dog doesn't need to have eyeballs on the sheep, he's got his nose and eyes on any predators nearby.

And congratulations! You choose right! Sheep are wonderful! Your place is going to be great :)
 
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