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Hay Shortage in the Southwest


The Good Shepherd

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I don't have grass now (unfortunately for off-season grazing purposes, this place is planted in warm-season native grasses, which all disappear this time of year), but I didn't mow once this summer. I just let the flock graze the yard most evenings....

 

J.

 

This is what I'd like to do. Any thoughts on how many would keep my 1 acre in check? I just spent $$ on anew mower & I'm thinking I would've been better off to get a few sheep or goats.

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How do sheep and or goats do with pellets or cubes? As they have no top teeth can they bite into them good enough so they don't swallow them whole? All the hay here is going to TX too. I used be able to get some nice small compressed orchard hay bales from the local co op but they are all going to TX now. I can get some alfalfa/grass hay bales but at $12.50 per bale I pass and get the bermuda instead. I have nowhere to feed a round bale nor enough space to store much hay this year. So I buy a few bales at a time. I buy more when I can find a good deal.

 

 

That is exactly our situation down here. I was told by a friend who is a Vet that feeding pellets is alright for sheep/goats. Another friend (Robert) feed pellets along hay now and never had any problems. I was told to feed between 1 and 2 pounds of pellets a day per head. I ran the figures, I can fed pellets for a 6.50 bale of cowhay (which is what I was paying up until now.

From everything I hear around the feedstores and the stock people, the hay that will be available in a couple month will be skyhigh!

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This is what I'd like to do. Any thoughts on how many would keep my 1 acre in check? I just spent $$ on anew mower & I'm thinking I would've been better off to get a few sheep or goats.

 

I think we should bring a few home with us! We've got an acre fenced in here that needs mowing almost constantly in the summer. The Shetlands don't poop very much :).

 

At the farm, I have six sheep on slightly less than an acre but the two Shetlands probably count as one sheep. Up until the end of October, the pasture was holding, but it's been a good year for grass. It's picked clean now. I'm feeding hay and feel lucky to have such a generous supply, given the problems in other parts of the country. The paddock is divided in half and held them back from the far end for a few weeks to give it time to recover. Next spring, I'll frost seed it to enrich the grazing and hopefully keep them off it until mid-July and then use the entire paddock as a night lot and also for days when I'm not at the farm to let them out into the slope and orchard to graze. I hope by then to have electronetting by then so I can put them in different sections around the home place as well...eventually there should be no reason to start a lawn mower - except near the grape vines and flower beds.

 

Liz

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