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Post by claytonpiano on May 15, 2016 23:54:28 GMT
Can somebody explain this in "stockpiling for dummies" fashion? We only have 4 sheep and 4 kunekune pigs. Our chickens, ducks and geese free range. What do I plant in the "stockpiled pasture." How big of an area do i need for the number of animals we have? Buying hay seems daunting to me, but understand that it may be what I need to do for winter. I was just hoping we could offset cost and attempt to cut costs. I have read the limited information in books that I have and watched some YouTube videos, but just really need some practical help from folks who do this.
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Post by Bear Foot Farm on May 16, 2016 22:36:06 GMT
Stockpiling is simply letting the grass grow as tall as possible in the pasture instead of grazing. It's most typically done with Fescue but can work with other varieties too. You end up with "standing hay" which carries them over. Buying hay doesn't have to be hard and I imagine there is lots of it around for sale. Just figure on about 5 pounds per day per sheep to get an idea of what you will need You can check the Agricultural Review to find sellers near you. Most will deliver and stack for a fee, or you can get it cheaper picking it up at their barns www.ncagr.gov/paffairs/AgReview/class.htm |
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Post by shellymay on May 17, 2016 13:09:48 GMT
Sheep and winter hay, rule of thumb is one 1800 lb round bale PER SHEEP for the winter, so 4 sheep you will need 4 round bales, if you store it outside some of this will be waste hay (outside of bale) but even with that it is plenty, this works only if hay is in a hay feeder without a hay feeder they will jump on top of it and use it for a rest room and that is not good as they won't eat it if it is full of pee, If you want to square bale using 60 lb average bales you will need approx. 25-30 squares per sheep so 120 should do it. In all these figures it is based on 5 months of winter, but if your in an area that winter is longer you will need more, or a drought area you may need more. I don't have any info on the pigs.....................NOTE, sheep can't eat round bales that are John deer rolled, JD rollers are to tight and it may work for cows but sheep have a real hard time with them, we buy almost 200 round bales a year and they are all rolled with other brands of rollers 
To answer your question I think normal average pastures you would want 1 acre of good tall standing grasses (thick) grass to winter 1 sheep on, so four sheep you will need 4 acres tall and thick standing for winter feeding, again I don't know about the pigs if they root pastures up this is not good for the sheep as the grasses would be uplifted from the bottom up and that would be the end of that! so several more acres would be needed for the pigs...
My info is based on experience not the internet, I only raise one pig a year and slaughter in NOV so I have never wintered a pig.
Edited to add............
If you get snow coverage during the winter this won't work for sheep, a little here and there (snow) is one thing but if you get several inches or more then hay is your best bet/friend |
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