I'm trying to manage what little grass we seem to have at the moment so we'll have some fresh grass to flush the ewes on when it comes time for tupping (that's not yet - I want to lamb late).
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| Two little helpers (sorry about quality of my photos they're off my phone as my little camera has broken) |
At the moment only the big field (about 6 acres) has any amount of fresh grass on. So rather than give them the whole lot I split it in half (where an old hedge used to be) using electric fencing. It's been a few years since I put any electric fencing up but I certainly hadn't forgotten how to do it. When I was at school in the autumn dad used to pick up my brother and I, we'd get changed in the school car park and then go move fencing in different fields that we rented. The girls enjoyed helping but I did make them walk along way - up and down with me each time they were pretty tired by the end.
Then yesterday morning I got up early and got the sheep in, drenched them for worms and put them out on the fresh grass (all before the wife left for work at 7). A few are looking a little thin and have lost a bit of condition so I want to fatten them a little bit. I also need to be keeping a look out for a good tup for sale to run with my ladies soon.
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| Happy sheep on new grass |
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| Drench and gun |
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| The old field was looking a bit bare |
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| Settled in their new patch |
Hopefully the two little fields I've just taken them off will recover enough now to have some fresh grass in a month or so. It's another juggling act and one where it will take a bit of learning. Each patch has different grass and conditions and it all grows back at different rates and is weather dependant so it'll take me a few years to learn how long each patch will last when the sheep move in and how long it takes to come back.
Who else has to constantly juggle their stock into different fields to manage their grassland? Although it is more labour intensive it is a much better way to manage the land I have here and I'll get much more from the land in the long run because of it.
