I switched out our Icelandic sheep herd last fall, in a radical attempt to reset my entire genetics with a low labor/low cost breed that would be parasite resistant in the summer and that would be hardy enough to dig through the snow in the winter and eat stockpiled grass. And, if that wasn’t enough, would also be good eating (meaning – mild tasting). Well, I think we’ve hit on the right breed. We bought a started flock of hair sheep from a grazier in southern Missouri by the name of Greg Judy (http://www.greenpasturesfarm.net/), a renowned grazier who overwinters his flocks and herds entirely on grass.

It’s now the end of February, and I’ve fed very little hay. It’s amazing to see the sheep dig down through the snow and eat the grass. When one thinks about it, stockpiled grass (grass that was allowed to grow during the fall without cutting for hay or allowed to be grazed) is in fact “standing hay”. The idea is to have the animal go out there and harvest the feed themselves, not us humans spending a huge amount of money, time, effort and energy harvesting the hay and bringing it to the animal. Much less costly, much less effort, and the animal is healthier I believe, in the end.

Filed under: Animals, Grazing/Pasture on February 22nd, 2010