# Rotating Pastures?



## ArtisticFarmer (Sep 10, 2013)

Is it absolutely necessary to have several pastures to rotate the goats on? What are the pros/cons? TIA


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## bubba1358 (Sep 10, 2013)

Rotating pasture pros:
* You break the parasite life cycle by keeping them off a "used" pasture for >30 days (some folks recommend 6 months, but I think that's a bit much. I go for 6 weeks, but 30 days is a minimum)
* The grass does not become overgrazed, and the plants have time to "heal"
* There is adequate time for the manure to soak in and fertilize, and it prevents burn from ammonia buildup due to excessive localized urine
* You can do it VERY effectively in a 3-week, 3-pasture system -provided there is adequate grow-back in those 6 weeks of rest

Cons:
* You need more land and fencing
* It's more work

I see several fields around here where there a a few horses, sometimes cows or goats, on a small field year round. There's a big bale of hay in the middle constantly. The horses are always walking through these weird 8" yellow flowers that nothing will eat. The grass is less than a half inch long, and they smush their faces right up to the ground to get the newest tiny little growth. The field looks sick and the animals look sick. There are others that rotate, and in the two years I've been in this area, the pastures continue to look healthier.

Rotate if it is at all possible. If you can't, then be very mindful and don't overstock.


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## ArtisticFarmer (Sep 10, 2013)

At first at least, I won't be able to. I have approx. 5200 feet of pasture, and plan on getting 2 ND. I am thinking/planning to take them out for "walks" in the woods so they can play and eat things there.


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## bubba1358 (Sep 10, 2013)

Right on. You'll need to make sure to stay up on parasite control. Feed DE consistently, or get other wormers on a schedule.


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## Bossroo (Sep 11, 2013)

ArtisticFarmer said:
			
		

> At first at least, I won't be able to. I have approx. 5200 feet of pasture, and plan on getting 2 ND. I am thinking/planning to take them out for "walks" in the woods so they can play and eat things there


When you take these goats for their " walk" ...  you might just want to wear your track shoes.  You will need them !


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## Mike CHS (Sep 12, 2013)

bubba1358 said:
			
		

> Rotating pasture pros:
> 
> I see several fields around here where there a a few horses, sometimes cows or goats, on a small field year round. There's a big bale of hay in the middle constantly. The horses are always walking through* these weird 8" yellow flowers that nothing will eat*. The grass is less than a half inch long, and they smush their faces right up to the ground to get the newest tiny little growth. The field looks sick and the animals look sick. There are others that rotate, and in the two years I've been in this area, the pastures continue to look healthier.
> 
> Rotate if it is at all possible. If you can't, then be very mindful and don't overstock.


What are those 8" flowers anyway. Me neighbor has a 5 acre pasture that fits your description to a T and it was covered with those things. He moved 3 months ago and the weeds have outgrown everything and it's a jungle.


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## ArtisticFarmer (Sep 12, 2013)

Bossroo said:
			
		

> ArtisticFarmer said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


*makes mental note*


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## bubba1358 (Sep 12, 2013)

Mike CHS said:
			
		

> What are those 8" flowers anyway. Me neighbor has a 5 acre pasture that fits your description to a T and it was covered with those things. He moved 3 months ago and the weeds have outgrown everything and it's a jungle.


I have no idea. I took a picture of a field I pass by on my commute:

http://homesteadcatholic.blogspot.com/2013/05/rotate-them-pastures.html 

This was in the first week of May. The flowers are still there. This particular field is probably close to 5 acres, and has (I think) 6 horses on it _constantly_. There's another closer to my house that I pass several times a week. It has 3 horses, is about 1.5-2 acres, and is even worse. Both have a giant hay feeder ring that has hay in it year-round. There is also a flock of geese on the one closer to me, and there used to be 3 goats. The goats were always on the other side of the fence, almost in the road, happily eating the grass (no wonder). Not sure why they got rid of them. Maybe because they were starving while fresh food was inches away, and naturally "escaped"? One of the horses' ribs is always visible. Their eyes are glassy. I can see them with their snouts scrunched into the ground, between the yellow flowers, getting 1/2-inch-long blades of grass. IDK.   /rant

But no, I don't know what they are. Not every field around here has them - only the ones that are never rotated.


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## Bossroo (Sep 12, 2013)

If those yellow 8" flowers grow to about 3'...  they are mustard (as known here in the west).  Usually brought into the pastures from weedy hay ( woody white stems with hundreds of their seeds in the hay) or poor quality whole grains eaten by the livestock and the seeds are passed through their manure onto the pastures.  Very hard to get rid of.  I suggest chemical warfare as other methods are next to  impossible to eliminate it.    One of my neighbors has  20 acres of oats that he cuts for hay at the dough stage of the oats. 
there is about an even amount of planted oats to the mustard.  He plows the field 2-3 times a year but will not spray the field. He has been farming this field for well over 20 years, so his methods do not work. He doesn't have many repeat customers due to his hay spreading the mustard. I do NOT buy any of his hay.


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## bubba1358 (Sep 12, 2013)

Bossroo said:
			
		

> If those yellow 8" flowers grow to about 3'...  they are mustard (as known here in the west).


Around here in Tennessee they stay just between ankle-deep and knee-high.


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## sawfish99 (Sep 16, 2013)

Rotating pastures for parasite management is largely a flawed concept in most regions.  Last year, we participated in a parasite management seminar given by Univ of VA Blacksburg with UConn.  The information and studies they provided demonstrated that in our region of New England (and most of the US) the parasites can survive dormant for 9+ months because it does not get hot enough to kill the dormant parasites and until hard freezes come, they are still viable.  Additionally, the life cycle is so short on many of the parasites that animals can only be on a pasture area for 3 days before they risk reintroducing parasites.  So basically, you would have to use a pasture for 3 days and then leave it empty until the next year.  Assuming the winter actually gave you hard freezes.

The seminar was not promoting "scheduled worming" but rather the better practice of fecal analysis and targeted management.  This year we participated in a resistance study and have fecal samples done on the entire goat herd (14 animals).  We used Levamasole to deworm and resample the fecals 2 weeks later on the goats that had high enough counts to be statistically relevant (5 goats).  Of the 5, 4 goats had 100% removal of parasites from a single dose of levamasole and 1 goat had only a 60% removal.  We also saw a disconnect between the famancha scoring and actual fecal egg counts.  Some goats that had a Famancha scorer of 3 had a FEC of 0.   So clearly, nothing works all the time.

Just my input.


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## ArtisticFarmer (Sep 16, 2013)

Thank you for that, sawfish99!


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## treeclimber233 (Sep 17, 2013)

maybe the key to successful rotation is have another species that the worms don't affect to graze after the infected ones.  Like goats first then cow or chicken.  Then rest the area and put the goats back on?


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## goatboy1973 (Nov 26, 2013)

Mike CHS said:


> What are those 8" flowers anyway. Me neighbor has a 5 acre pasture that fits your description to a T and it was covered with those things. He moved 3 months ago and the weeds have outgrown everything and it's a jungle.


In E. Tennessee we call these flowers "Buttercups". They are a sign of a mineral deficiency, overgrazing, and soil that's too acidic if I remember correctly. The high acidity probably caused from too much manure in the soil. When we see buttercups growing, a good load of lime needs to be added to the field. This is what my grandfather did for years and it always worked.


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## goatboy1973 (Nov 26, 2013)

If you don't rotate pastures you'll need to deworm probably every 2 months and you will get internal parasites that will eventually be resistant to all dewormers. Goats should have large areas to graze and if they don't have this, you will need to feed lots of hay and occasional concentrated goat specific feed.


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