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Our flock of Soay sheep are grassfed, which means that they are pastured year round and do not receive grains. When the pasture growth slows, we provide unlimited amounts of good quality grass hay, along with limited amounts of 4th cutting alfalfa hay for added nutrition. Our sheep have access to sheep salt with minerals year round, to which we add kelp granules. Kelp, also known as seaweed, is a highly nutritious natural source of vitamins and minerals. We have found that our sheep prefer kelp to the sheep minerals. When mixed half and half, our sheep take it more readily, giving them the necessary selenium that is deficient in our area.
Fresh water is something that should never be overlooked in a good feeding program; check their water container regularly to make sure it is at least 1/2 full and is clear. If you see mosquito larvae or debris, it's time to clean out the container and provide fresh water! I empty the water tank and give it a quick rinse with the hose before grabbing a handful of grass or hay... this makes a handy scrubber for scouring out the yucky stuff that will cling to or grow on the sides of the water container, and you just toss the grass or hay aside when you are finished. No manmade scrubber to wash or throw away... this is a truly organic and sustainable method for regular cleaning of the tank. Give the tank a thorough rinse and then fill it up... your sheep will thank you! For a seriously disgusting water tank, I would drag it into the driveway and use a bit of bleach and a manmade scrubber... but if you don't let it get that dirty, this will not be necessary. After bleaching, always always scrub well with liquid dish soap and rinse many many times.
An autumn afternoon in the life of a shepherdess. Above; unloading a bale for the breeding group in paddock #1. Below, a filled hay feeder in one of our back paddocks. The pasture below is being reclaimed from an old and abused garden plot. It is compacted terribly, with a hardpan from years of tilling, and needs more time to recover. The lush green pasture behind is in our raspberry patch, which the geese are allowed to graze periodically.
Sources:
KELP: This can be found in 50 lb bags of granulated seaweed (kelp). Support your local businesses by purchasing it from your feed store. If they tell you that they don't carry it, don't take "no" for an answer; they CAN get it. Even if they special order it for just you, they will find that other farmers will want it and may buy the bag you had special ordered! A smart feed store owner will continue to stock it at this point!
If your local feed store is not willing to order kelp for you, then you can take your business elsewhere. Kelp can be ordered from Tidal Organics.
Many shepherds believe that grain feeding is the best way to raise sheep and other livestock. We did this our first year; even going to the added expense of providing human-grade certified organic grains, which are of higher quality and have greater nutritional value than livestock-grade grains and even conventionally grown human-grade grains! Our sheep, cattle and llamas appeared to be in good condition on this diet, but after reading "Why Grassfed is Best!" by Jo Robinson, common sense required that we make the switch. Upon further reading in numerous publications, we learned that ruminants were not meant to eat grains! Grainfeeding is tied to corporate agribusiness to utilize extra grains not used for human consumption. The USDA requires grainfeeding to get their "stamp of approval," which is not necessarily for higher quality meat or good health, but to support that "good ol' boy network" with the corporate agribusiness giants.
We have found our flock to be healthier and in better condition now that we use the grassfed method exclusively. We have never had a case of bloat, we never need to provide baking soda or other agents for preventing bloat, and we never have to worry about our sheep overeating. Did you know that feedlots buy baking soda by the truckload? Common sense dictates that if you need to feed this to your livestock, then you are doing something wrong!
That said, grassfed is what works for us, and we do not claim that this is what will work best for all shepherds and their flocks... if you are convinced that grain feeding is the right thing to do for your flock, then that is probably the best route for you to take if you do not have the space for pasture rotations. Grass feeding or grain feeding is a personal choice that no one can make for you. But bear in mind that grassfed lambs are healthier themselves, and healthier for you to eat! Grassfed lamb is in incredibly high demand; I get calls from several states away from people begging to buy grassfed lamb from me. If you can provide exclusively grassfed lamb or ram in your area, you will have a ready market and can command a higher price per pound than grainfed lamb!
For folks new to farming, the purchase of hay may seem a mystery. It isn't, really; you just need a mentor in your particular area. Until you find one, we hope this bit of information is of use to you. Haying season is normally June and July in our area, and buying hay direct from the landowner or farmer right out of the field is the most cost effective way to do it, especially if you have a trailer to haul hay on! Finding a good trailer for hauling hay is a good investment; and make sure the sides are low so that you and your hired hands don't have to toss those bales any higher than you have to. Hiring high school kids (or homeschoolers) under 16 or 17 is the norm for farmers whether they purchase hay in the field elsewhere, or grow it on their own farms. We grew up on large farms where we grew our own hay and hired out help during the busy season of getting it in the barn before the rain arrived. With our own little farm, we have made arrangements with farmers that have good hayfields that produce quality hay, and we pick it up in the field once it's been baled. If you don't have the equipment to haul it yourself, you can probably have it delivered for a higher price. Some people have entire truckloads of alfalfa hay or alfalfa/grass mix hay delivered from prime growing areas, and pay to have it unloaded into their own barn. We don't do this and therefore are not aware of the cost involved.
We do grain feed our chickens, of course, as their ancestors' natural diet in the wild consisted of seeds and grains. We buy certified organic whole grains and seeds in bulk and mix our own unprocessed, whole grain feed. Our geese also receive organic whole grains if pasture is not available. For more information on grass feeding and the reasons why it reduces cancer, read the book Why Grassfed Is Best, by Jo Robinson, co-author of The Omega Diet, which can be purchased at her website at www.eatwild.com For more information about a natural diet, and why grassfed meat from small organic farms should be a part of your diet, read Nourishing Traditions, by Sally Fallon.
Useful Links:
- Pasture FAQ Frequently Asked Questions about pasturing livestock. Includes information about plant types, forage yields, stocking rates, rotational grazing and more. It prints out at 28 pages and includes many relevant links.
- Forage Herbs Detailed information on herbal additions to the pasture.
- Selenium All about Selenium; why it's necessary, where it comes from, how to get it to your flock. Map from Cornell University of selenium-deficient areas.
- Canada Plan Service Leaflets by the Canada Plan Service for the following systems may be ordered from the links provided below:
- Hay Feeding Panel Feeding fence which can be used indoors in a permanent situation or as an outdoor portable system.
Fencing, alley-ways, gates, hay carts... here are some photos of how we do things on our farm. Below is my hay cart, which has a couple bales of hay that I'm hauling to one of our breeding groups in the autumn. This photo shows a pair of double gates that open onto an alleyway that has access to several different paddocks. You can see the 4 foot high woven wire field fencing, with 2 strands of barbed wire on top, and cedar posts every so often, with 2 metal posts between the cedar posts. This alleyway used to be a driveway, so we placed our fencing on either side of it and made our gates wide enough to reach across and latch to a corresponding cedar post; we can open or close them as needed when moving or catching sheep.
