# Expanding a Pasture on Steep Ground?



## AJ S. (Aug 8, 2016)

Hi, I was just wondering if anybody could tell me if would be OK to expand and raise sheep on a medium-steep terrain? It is wooded so I will be having to clear a bit but other than that, it looks like a great place to expand!


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## The Old Ram-Australia (Oct 12, 2016)

G'day, on our place the' rolling woodlands' are a prized part of our grazing cycle,it provides feed in the heat of summer and the 'freezing 'cold of winter ,one year in a late snow-fall when our ewe's were lambing meant that we suffered NO losses due to the cold.
It may take a little time to get the sheep to enter the shadows and forest(because that's where all the 'bad guys ' are) but once they are confident you will have no trouble and if you run the ewe lambs on their mothers until the next years lambing they will learn that there is No danger...T.O.R.


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## Baymule (Oct 12, 2016)

We live in northeast Texas. The terrain here is slightly hilly, lots of agriculture, hay fields, grazing, cattle, greenhouse nurseries and forest. Our 8 acres is mostly wooded. We cherish each tree and very selectively cut them for maximum shade, shelter and food bearing trees. We spent practically all summer clearing green briars from one acre that was covered with them. Just pulling them out of the trees opened up a lot of sunshine that is able to get to the forest floor and we will plant grass and forbs.

http://www.backyardherds.com/threads/i-hate-green-briars.33715/

due to a hard drought in 2011, we have a lot of dead standing trees and dead trees on the ground. I use them to terrace areas to help staunch the flow of water and erosion. I have also dug shallow, wide trenches, laid the dead wood in them and covered with dirt. This returns the nutrients back to the soil and the rotting wood holds moisture for the grass.

Be careful and selective on cutting your trees. Their roots are holding your soil and keeping it from washing away. You might start by cutting a few and recycling them by laying the trunks on the ground to catch rainwater from going on down hill.


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## Hawaiianhighlandsfarm (Oct 17, 2016)

We have our lambs on rolling lava, lol. They are 5 month old Clun Forests and they act like they're getting in touch with their Mouflon ancestors prancing around and jumping over the hills. I love it because the terrain means I don't have to trim hoofs!


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