Move #7....been a while

Well due to technical issues of various kinds and my usual habit of spreading myself too thin, I have not been able to update but now I can! We shall start where we left off. Lil Boy and Jett moved through the rye and vetch very quickly, moving gradually into denser more homogeneous plots of just rye and vetch which plumped them both up a little bit. They mowed it down quite well, not as well along the fence however. During their time in the rye/vetch patch they were given some mulch hay for fiber just in case. On 6/11/12 they moved again to the former sacrifice paddock above the upper barn. At that time it was noted that their body condition had improved during the rye/vetch graze. Using 3 similar sized plots about 20x30' round with similar vegetation. Broad leaf plantain, narrow leaf plantain, bedstraw, red clover, white clover, timothy, vetch, buttercup, burdock, 1 canada thistle, orchard grass. This area is pretty heavy in clover. In 7 days they mowed through the first plot, devouring the burdock and ignoring the thistle. Once again they left the taller flowering grasses and ate the leaves. The majority of the plants growing against the fence were ignored. On 6/18/2012 they moved into the second plot in the area where they immediately destroyed the 2 big burdocks. Seems to be a favorite. There is no fence at the moment to observe, these plots are a way of seeing the variety of what the sheep will choose to eat, as well as helping the farm team manage the pasture. They are also being trained for their next plot which will actually be in the edible forest garden. They will be used to graze down the bishops weed that has taken over the area. I am curious to see if bishops weed will be enough to sustain them, and if so perhaps they can be used to clean up bishops weed in hard to mow places like fence rows (nudge nudge). I have applied to stay over break in order to process some numbers and try to get a better more scientific idea oh what my sheep have been eating and the like, hopefully I can stay. Other wise I may be lurking around at NorthWoods for the week. Pictures and poorly made video when camera returns with the boyfriend hopefully this weekend. Also......my sheep love getting baths......

move # 4

Well Lil Boy and Jett are getting a taste of the 5 ft tall rye grass and very abundant vetch that had been used as a cover crop in the hoop house. Finally found my notes from pasture 2 regarding the species content for a representative 3x3 plot: dandelion 14, Broad leaf plantain 11, narrow leaved plantain 2, orchard grass 10, clover 6, speedwell 5, buttercup 2. there was also abundant bed straw by the fence and wall. At the end, all but the 2 foot tall orchard grass had been chowed down. The pasture was 132' by 15' and they were in there for 7 days. Pasture # 3 next to the hoop house didnt really have any good spots that represented the pasture as a whole, but here are the notes I have from it : size 71' by 10', orchard grass, dandelion, alsike clover, brome grass, speedwell, 1 rhubarb plant?, and 3 species that I have yet to identify. It took them only 4 days to plow through that patch, and now they are in pasture # 4, measurements to follow hopefully tomorrow. This one has a similar constitution as the last one, but with the addition of butter cups, vetch and 5' tall rye. They only have a thin sliver of the vetch as it is very rich, and are being supplemented with course hay for extra fiber. Jett's body condition seems to be at the right stage, she is plump but not obese. Lil Boy is not fair quite as well, he is a little thinner, but not to an alarming degree. Will be spending some extra time working on my body scoring skills. Hopefully pictures and measurements of new pasture will be up tomorrow!