Sheep for Orchard

[oilydan]

Anyone have any experience with grazing sheep in an orchard?

We have about an acre of apples, cherries, plums, and peaches. Mostly pretty mature with first branches above 6ft, but some younger trees in there too. Thick hedge on 2 sides, new post/rail/stock fence on the other 2.

The plan is to get a couple of Shropshires to keep the grass down.

Anyone have any advice on keeping a couple of pet sheep with regards to shelter/feed/health etc?

[Jasandjules]

A farmer friend always says that every morning sheep wake up and see if they can work out how to die that day.....

[EricE]

I was in a similar situation last year. Sheep may be a solution if you are willing to turn this into a hobby. They do need daily care, checkups, vaccinations, a place to stay in winter, etc

In the end we bought an electric sheep and haven't regretted it one bit.


http://www.husqvarna.com/uk/products/robotic-lawn-...

[oilydan]

Robotic sheep would not work; the ground is quite humpy, even the ride-on struggles in some parts.

I doubt the battery would last that long too; its 1/3 of an acre, or about 1125 sq m.

edit for poor maths

Edited by oilydan on Sunday 7th June 13:54

[rudecherub]

Depends.

Provided you are willing to take on board the costs of maintenance - or are prepared to DIY as a Shepherd must then it can work.

So aside from the animal husbandry skills - dipping, shearing, vaccinating et al the more mundane questions would be...

Fencing, you are required to fence against your own stock, if they escape you are liable for the damage they do, and that includes damage to vehicles if they hit them.

The orchard itself, how old are the trees? Sheep like a better bite and will snack on low lying branches. Young trees or low lying may need fencing off.

Also as above sheep are good at dying, you'd need to be sure there wasn't any toxic plants, iirc daffodils don't do them much good for example. http://www.isfaxa.com/herbs

[davepoth]

Goats might be a better option perhaps?

[EricE]

oilydan said:

Robotic sheep would not work; the ground is quite humpy, even the ride-on struggles in some parts.

I doubt the battery would last that long too; its 1/3 of an acre, or about 1125 sq m.

edit for poor maths

Ok, if the ground is too rough then that might be a problem.
Battery would not be an issue, the model I linked (Automower 330) is good for 3200 sq m. The robot will mow for an hour, drive back to the charging station for an hour and then start mowing again.
I am very pleased with ours. It handles inclines up to 45% and requires almost no maintenance. I change the blades once every 3 months, that's it. If it dies you'll have warranty and it won't snack on trees either.

Just something to consider.

[bexVN]

Any farmers nearby that may be happy to have their sheep graze on your land, I know this system is used.

[oilydan]

I don't think Shropshires snack on trees, only low branches/leaves. Goats will ruin the place, apparently. Not friendly either, not like a sheep that you can cuddle up to on a cold, lonely night...ahem.

Looking after them is not a problem; I'm in Saudi most of the time. The wife doesn't work outside of the house an garden so will be able to sort much of the stuff out. We are also only talking 2 sheep in a small enclosure, not hundreds wandering the moors.

How much of the worming/dipping/shearing stuff needs to be done?

[bexVN]

Not all farms have 100's of sheep. They may loan a few but then they would still sort out all the treatments etc.

[Jasandjules]

bexVN said:

Not all farms have 100's of sheep. They may loan a few but then they would still sort out all the treatments etc.

I asked my farmer friend about borrowing one of hers for our garden for a week. Apparently there are all sorts of rules/regs about it?!?!?!

[Turn7]

Jasandjules said:

A farmer friend always says that every morning sheep wake up and see if they can work out how to die that day.....

This....

[bexVN]

Ahh, I knew someone who did do this but admittedly it was a few years ago now! Would figure that red tape be an issue now (prob due to foot and mouth etc)

[softtop]

Young lambs now would go by October. Very little work needed I would have thought.

[Japveesix]

bexVN said:

Any farmers nearby that may be happy to have their sheep graze on your land, I know this system is used.

This is what my Uncle/Aunt do. They have 1 1/2 acres ish of rough paddock. The farmer up the road uses it for a small flock of sheep for a few months of the year and they get a token amount for it.

They're both good with animals but just don't quite have the time and space to look after and own them fulltime themselves.

[oilydan]

We need a County Parish Holding (CPH) number, obtained by calling the Rural Payments Agency and supplying our address or location that they will be kept. Then we can get a movement licence from the Animal Health people to bring the sheep here. Then they give us a Flock Number and we're away.

Once sheep are moved in we are restricted in moving any cows or pigs. That's the MIL out then...

Now to just work out how to curb their suicidal tendencies.....

[Timmy40]

Why not get an older breed? Some Soay or Badger faces, they're much more hardy and less likely to get diseases. Look nice too.

Btw sheep are escape artists so you'll need stock fencing on all 4 sides not just 2.

Edited by Timmy40 on Wednesday 10th June 11:00

[oilydan]

Shropshires seem to be the one that everyone recommends for putting in with trees; they don't tend to strip bark and reach for leaves whereas some of the others do.

The other 2 sides are pretty secure, very thick brambles, Devon bank with stock fence on the other side of it.

Anyone heard of fruit (cherry) trees being a problem? Some sites say that wilted cherry leaves are toxic, but it seems that this might be blossom trees or wild cherry, not the fruity kind?

[Timmy40]

oilydan said:

Shropshires seem to be the one that everyone recommends for putting in with trees; they don't tend to strip bark and reach for leaves whereas some of the others do.

The other 2 sides are pretty secure, very thick brambles, Devon bank with stock fence on the other side of it.

Anyone heard of fruit (cherry) trees being a problem? Some sites say that wilted cherry leaves are toxic, but it seems that this might be blossom trees or wild cherry, not the fruity kind?

I think that's more for small trees though, I've never seen a problem with any sheep bark stripping btw. A lot of Xmas tree growers use Shrops but that's for grazing between small Xmas trees, not in a mature fruit orchard.

[bint]

Growing up the neighbours had Shropshires amongst the orchard, but were old stock from the main flock rented by and tiger neighbour. I'd also agree goats may be easier and less prone to illness/foot rot/maggots etc.