July 25, 2023 – Just finished week 1 of grazing the horses, chickens, and sheep together. So many lessons have been learned in that short amount of time. Wayne Knight from Holistic Management International says that across all the producers he works with, multi species grazing is what’s “killing people.” But there are so many environmental and production benefits to it. Maybe writing down my experiences will help me learn, remind me of how far I’ve come, and help other producers walking down the same trail.
Lesson 1 – The horses are driven mad by the flies. Around 10 or 11 am they start running the fenceline. The first day out there I brought them in around noon and they both were covered in sweat and beside themselves in agitation. They had been used to free choice access to the barn (using the old alley system) and they aways chose to come in and stand inside each day from about noon to 6. Tim made this glorious mobile horse shelter for the pasture but they do not seem to understand that it is for them or that it will provide some relief from the flies. Not to mention, the sheep rapidly took up residence in the horse shelter and I’m not sure the horses believe they can push the sheep out.
Lesson 2 – The sheep took over the horse shelter. They have completely abandoned the Sheep Cabanas. They laze about in there all day like a European family on a beach vacation. I think they like it because it is much more open (taller), and they like going toward openings. Also, they can all be together and I think I underestimated how much they like to be together. But this leads us back to Lesson #1, in which the horses do not believe they have a shelter.
Lesson 2 – The sheep will eat the chicken feed. I’ve caught multiple ewes with their heads stuck in the chicken door and lambs trying their best to climb inside the coop. We started out by hanging the feeder just inside the coop. That was way too easy pickings for the sheep. So I move the feeder to an inside corner. Sheep figured out how to turn their heads so they could reach it. It turns out that sheep love chicken feed.
Lesson 3 – Summer weather puts my chickens into predator danger. Every evening I need to close up the coop. Last night at dusk there were multiple bolts of lightening streaking across the sky, thunder rolled from multiple angles, the tornado warning siren sounded in town, and my phone was telling me to take shelter in an interior room because hail was on it’s way. I entertained the possibility that if I walked out across my ridgetop pasture to lock the chickens in that I very well might not make it back alive. I debated, but then decided that my own life was worth more than $40 in chickens. I left the coop open for the night, realizing that in the morning I probably would not have any chickens but that my neighborhood coyotes, raccoons, and possums would be well fed. This morning when I went out for morning chores, the chicken fencing was decimated, tossed around like someone had a dance party with it and the chickens were nowhere to be seen. I thought, well, I’ll need to buy more chickens. But lo and behold, hiding inside the coop were my two new teenage Rhode Island Red pullets. They looked terrified but alive. I thought, easy come easy go. A week ago I had only two chickens, and now I’m back to two. But on the way back to HQ from chores I saw Roostie, Crooked Tail, and my new Copper Maran hen wandering around a corner of the pasture. They looked dazed, but alive and walking. I cannot believe I got so lucky. All this to say I don’t know how to deal with summer lightning storms making it so I cannot close up my coop (if the coop was at HQ, lightning would not worry me because I would not have to go out into the pasture).
Lesson 4 – I hate moving those sheep cabanas. They have to be turned upside down on the tarps, drug into position (by hand, by an old lady), tied together, and drug. Then I have to reverse the whole process at the new location. So much time, sweat, and strain on the back.
Lesson 5 – Sheep like horse salt. The horses need access to plain table salt (good ol’ NaCl). I put it in a feeder on the ground, and the sheep love it. I don’t think it will hurt them, but they are gobbling it up like candy. Which means there is none left for the horses. I fill that thing every day, and the next day it’s gone. I will lose my paycheck to table salt if this keeps up.
Lesson 6 – I need some better towing arrangement. The gator hauls my supplies, the coop, and the sheep cabanas, but just can’t pull the horse shelter. The tractor can do the horse shelter, but the tractor cannot haul my supplies. The truck can haul supplies and move the horse shelter, but will get stuck in wet grass. So I’m driving out there in the gator, setting everything up, then driving back to HQ, switching to the tractor, moving the horse shelter, then driving back to HQ to switch back to the gator. Not only is this a major pain in the butt and a waste of fuel, but it also gives everyone that many more chances to escape (attempts occur every single time I open the fence. They are always spearheaded by Nana, who will go to the butcher as soon as her lambs are weaned. I don’t think I’m going to miss her, after all).
I have to say that writing these actually makes me feel better, because for each lesson I think there is a potential solution. At least, there are some things I am going to try:
Thing I’m going to try for lesson # 1 – Convince that horses that their mobile shelter is a good thing, and convince the sheep that it’s scary. I just spent $400 on livestock fly curtains. I’ll staple gun them to the shelter. I’m hoping this will both keep the flies out and make the shelter cooler (thought it will cut off the breeze). I’ll have to teach the horses to walk through the curtains, but they are smart girls I think they can learn it pretty quick. If the girls can learn there are fewer flies in the shelter, hopefully they will hang out there during the day (and drop all their beautiful poop in the pasture and not in my barn, which I then have to shovel and haul to the compost pile, which I have to scoop again and haul again and spread again at the end of the year). I’m hoping they fly curtains make the shelter dark, closed off, and foreboding enough that the sheep don’t want to go in. Also, maybe they are too dumb to learn to walk through the curtain?
Thing I am trying for lesson # 2 – I hung the chicken feed on the other side of the coop, next to the nest boxes. Let’s see the sheep try to get their noses in there. I’ll be impressed if they do.
Things I am thinking about for lesson # 3- Still a work in progress. One possibility is a solar powered coop door. That eliminates the need to walk across the pasture at night. The other option is LGDs. With two of those, could I just leave the coop door open 24/7? Or is that just asking too much from an LGD team?
Solution to lesson # 4 – No more sheep cabanas. I’m building a sheep shelter on wheels. A mini version of the horse shelter. On wheels. So I can just drag it. Hooray.
Thing I am trying for lesson # 5 – Just let the sheep keep eating the NaCl until they’ve had their fill. Eventually they won’t crave it anymore, and the consumption will return to something financially sustainable. If that never happens, maybe there is a way to attach a horse feeder to the horse shelter high up enough that the sheep can’t reach it?
Things I am thinking about for lesson #6 – According to the manual, it is possible to tow the gator (if I stay under 25 mph, which I’m sure I can manage in the pasture lol). How about I tow the gator with the tractor? Then I’d have all the vehicles I need with one trip out. I sure wish I could get good at removing and re attaching the 3 point hitch for the bushhog. Then I could drive out there in full view of my neighbors with just the tractor and the gator. Otherwise I am pulling a train of tractor, bushhog, and a trailing gator full of tarps. I’m sure the neighborhood will get a big kick out of that one. Plus I’d have to figure out how to turn such a train. Or I could put the gator in front of the tractor and drive backwards with the bushhog leading. That would make an even better viral video. I wish I had a storage box on the back of the tractor, or a method to ratchet strap supplies to the top of the bushhog?
The Tranquility Ranch 