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Amy Dunnington and David Borkman, Gilbert
Stuart Road,
North Kingstown, RI
What you will see!
Area
1: Pasture management - sheep and poultry -
this page
Area
2: Livestock yard management and rain barrels
Area
3: Homestead -
pet waste managment, rain barrels and permeable paving Back
to livestock demonstration sites
Area
1: Pasture management - sheep and poultry -
this page
Setting: The farm currently raises
between 6 to 10 sheep, four sheep dogs (trained as
working
herd dogs), and 12 layer hens. The farm contains about
one acre of land, with about 1/3 acre available for
grazing. The farm also has access to about 4 acres
of pasture located one mile away and historically used
about 0.5 acre of neighboring land for additional pasture
until 2006.
The
farm also has a vegetable and flower garden (about
1,400 sq. ft.) which is planted to a winter rye cover
crop in the fall and receives chicken and sheep manure
and bedding collected during winter months. The home
is served by a private
drinking water well.
October
2003, moving the sheep to a new paddock on adjacent
neighboring land. |
The
owners have been renovating the pasture to improve
forage species, forage quality and quantity. Lime and
fertilizer have been applied based on soil
test results. White
clover has been seeded to improve soil fertility
and pasture quality.
Portable
electranet fencing and portable battery fence chargers
are used to manage the sheep grazing on a rotational
basis. The layer hens have been raised in a coop with
a small, permanent fenced yard and the manure and bedding
are used in the vegetable garden.
Goals:
April - October: Continue
to improve pastures for
desired forage species, forage quality and quantity,
as well as to properly recycle manure
and protect water quality. Additional soil tests will be
collected to monitor and amend
soil
fertility as needed. The sheep will be rotated between
the home farm and the available pasture located one
mile away. This will allow the pasture area at the home farm
to rest and
re-grow. Making use of neighboring land that
is available for grazing also reduces feed costs.
Electranet
fencing for sheep -- electrified netting.
This fencing system is portable and is key in allotting the amount of pasture
forage needed over a given grazing period.
The owners generally use a two day grazing period which requires a rough
paddock sizing of 65 to 75 feet square (up to 5,625 sq. ft. ) when grazing
all 10 sheep together. The key with this system of grazing is that paddock
size can be changed as needed to provide the required feed for the given
grazing period. Paddock sizing
will change based on the number of animals being grazed, the grasses present
within the paddock area, the effects of improvements being made, soil type,
current weather conditions and time of year. |
The
immediate forefront shows where the sheep grazed prior
to the current fenced paddock. The area to the top-left
of the photo shows where the sheep will move to next
once the existing paddock has been grazed. July
2003. |
White
clover, introduced in the previous year to enhance
soil fertility and pasture nutrition and palatability.
Care must be taken to prevent bloat in ruminants such
as sheep and cows. White clover should not populate
more than 40% of the pasture. July 2003 |
Pasture area recently clipped to eliminate
ungrazed clumps and promote new leaf growth, July 2003. |
Intellishock
20B battery powered fence charger system using a rechargeable
12 volt car battery -- it is very important that fence
chargers are properly grounded and operating so that
the animals respect the fence. |
Solar
panel and 9-volt dry cell battery
was installed in August 2003. The dry cell battery
is much lighter to carry and is not rechargeable.
The solar panel increases the life of the battery.
back
to top
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Grazing poultry: The owners began to graze their poultry during
the 2003 grazing season as part of this project. The benefits include
a more uniform balance and dispersal of poultry manure over the land
available, as well as natural pest control--both with grubs in the soil
and pasture parasites that can affect the sheep (by scattering the sheep
manure and exposing it to the sun).
The
recommended management is to follow up the sheep
paddocks with the poultry where feasible. In the
case of layer hens, this also results in the need for a moveable
coop.
Bird predation from hawks and other birds of prey can be an issue
with this system. Periodic soil testing should
be conducted to monitor nutrient
levels in the soil.
Poultry
net fencing -- electrified netting designed for grazing
poultry.
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For
more information about pasture managment
Pastures,
Fencing, and Watering on Small Acreages: Protecting Our
Drinking Water, Families & Animals, Fact
Sheet 3 of our small
acreage livestock series
USDA
Natural Resources Conservation Service - Warwick,
RI (401) 828-1300
Additional
Resources on Pasture Management
Area
2: Livestock yard management and rain barrels
Area
3: Homestead -
pet waste managment, rain barrels and permeable paving 
Back
to livestock demonstration sites
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