mfesharne

Do any of our members keep any sheep by any chance?

I'm getting gatvol sick of cutting the grass in my fields & am wondering if a few 4 legged lawnmowers might be a good solution?

liveaboard

Got no sheep, but I use this to mow my lawn and cut the grass and brush in the outer fields.

Pulaski

Goats are easier. They will eat your grass .... and pretty much anything else that grows on your property!

mfesharne

Might be a bit big for my little fields but bring it round & we'll give it a go! lol!

mfesharne

I thought about goats but as I understand it, they prefer to browse rather than graze which would mean they'd prefer to eat my fruit trees rather than my grass & I want the opposite to happen.

Pulaski

Yeah, goats don't give a cräp what they eat.

There are businesses here on the east coast that rent out flocks of goats by the week. A week is all it takes 40 goats to strip an acre of thicket and undergrowth, including thistles, thorns, invasive creepers and weeds like kudzu and Japanese knot weed, and even nuisance plants like prison ivy.

mfesharne

I've tried my neighbours but they all seem to have more than enough grazing of their own so that's probably a non starter for me.

I reckon I'd only need 2 or 3 of them to keep the field in a manageable state.

Pulaski

How about one of these, or similar, instead.

mfesharne

I did even look at cheaper versions of those but even if the price was acceptable (which it isn't) my ground is far too rough for one of those things to cope with.

I also keep ducks & have a system where the ponds (actually old steel baths) are flushed out with hoses & rainwater from the roof & the 'enriched' water overflows into trenches which run to my fruit trees so that'd also rule out an automatic mower....... it'd either end up in a trench or at the bottom of a pond.

peterfc

Hi

Why not find a local Cheese factory who keep sheep and ask at lambing time if you could have a few of the males that normally get killed. When they are big enough i would offer my services and butcher them for you.

Peter

mfesharne

Hadn't thought about that option at all Peter so thanks for the idea & also the offer.

liveaboard

Keeping animals is not a trivial matter; if you want to do that, by all means go for it. Lots of people do.

But if what you need is keeping your grass and brush clear, get an appropriate machine.
You could get a small tractor and a rear mounted brush cutter. Tractors are handy, and available in a large variety of sizes to suit your needs.

Of course Peter's offer might well sway the calculation in favor of sheep... Mutton is very tasty.
A big problem though, is that most people don't feel happy about eating animals that they knew and cared for.
I thought I was a really hard-boiled kind of guy, but I had trouble with that myself.

nogard

Tracking is a tad out on your front left wheel!

mfesharne

We keep ducks, dog & cat now so another few animals are no big deal especially as they eat grass & don't need much feed from the shops.......... and as for eating them, whilst it wouldn't bother me in the least, it bothers the 'management' so we don't do it.

As for machines........ the land is too big to mow, too small & too many javali to farm & although it can be strimmed, I'm sick of spending half my life with a strimmer hanging on me which is why I'm considering a couple of four legged mowers. - Might even just buy one to see how it goes & then buy more as necessary.

macliam

I let the neighbour's sheep keep my grass down - but, they are fussy and like the young stuff - if the grass/scrub gets beyond a certain point they won't touch it.

Last year they didn't cross over due to a problem - and boy did I notice the difference. Back this year, so only the thistles and irises (and the rock rose) to worry about.....