Pasture management
Pasture management
Pasture management with sheep is challenging and there are certain things to consider in order not to damage the pasture areas.
Sheep are grazing animals that are predestined to find sufficient feed even in barren regions. To do this, they bite the herbs and grasses of the willow very deeply and eat very selectively. This feeding behavior is inherent in them, even when they graze on normal grassland. If the sheep were left to eat uncontrollably on a well-tended piece of grassland, they would eat the tastiest plants over and over again over a long period of time. For the plants this means that they lose the competition against the other plants left by the sheep because they can no longer grow properly due to the constant browsing.
Good pasture management is necessary to maintain the balance of the plants in the pastures, especially that of the flowering plants.
When coping with this task, I orient myself to the rule of "short eating times and long rest phases". The basics of "Holistic Management" also flow into it. This form of grazing comes from the USA and is based on wild herd animals.
When grazing, these stand close together on a small area measured by the size of the herd and then move on after a short time. There are several positive effects of this. On the one hand, there is the trampling of the overhanging and avoided grass. Lying flat it protects the soil from drying out and offers the microorganisms a good climate, which in turn supports the growth of the new grass. And on the other hand, because of the herd cohesion, the animals eat very intensively within a short time, so that even unpleasant grasses are eaten and the original competitive equilibrium is not endangered.
Implemented for the home region this means for me that I allocate the smallest possible areas for the sheep and change them again after 5 to 6 days at the latest. After these days, the plants usually start growing again. If the sheep are left on the area too long, these young shoots will be bitten again and the plant will eventually lack the strength to shoot up again quickly. Until it has replenished its power reserves, the plant has a significantly poorer ratio of light and nutrients to the other plants that are more unwelcome to the sheep.
Depending on the season, soil conditions and weather, new conditions arise that flow into and influence management.