Margali's Griffin Wood Ranch

[Margali]

When checking soil types. ask about any restrictions it might carry. Here in VA there are some soil types and water holding areas that have conditions relating to water shed issues.

The soil allows septic system and is type listed as good for pasturage in the soil survey.

The creek in parcel east of me floods, not my pond. The wooded area is 100yr regulated flood plain. I can install and maintain under 50% solid fences and temporary shelters in the flood zone. Zone X requires 3ft elevation to put permanent structure in.

 

[Alaskan]

do you want to keep the goats out of the pond? or use it as a water source?

 

[Alaskan]

I know some people really like a corridor through the property.

I was never raised with one of those, and have no experience with that.

As a kid my grandparents, uncle and great uncle had cattle ranches, and they didn't use corridors.

Up here in Alaska I have way less acreage and haven't ever used one either. (not saying that they are bad... just I am not familiar with them)

So.... as a kid in a huge pasture we would drive the truck through while honking the horn... then open the gate to the pasture that we wanted to move the cattle to, drive the truck into the new pasture. Then honk the horn a few more times. Take the range cubes out and pour a few lines of cubes on the ground and get into the truck bed before the herd showed up. Stand in the bed and count the cattle. Get back in the truck, turn around, drive out and close the gate.

To load up cattle you would open all of the gates to the small paddock that was next to the barn and cattle chute. Do the same thing as above. Once the cattle were all locked into the small paddock and the truck out, you could start moving the cattle through the different smaller sorting pens, then into the loading chute.

With the cattle in the small pastures closer to the house (so they were close enough that they could hear my grandfather yell for them), we could move them with my granddad walking first shaking a bucket of cubes, and I would trail in the back making sure no one was lagging behind. Even as a tiny kid, since I was new (I only helped out in the summers), they were scared of me, so would easily move away. They were all well trained to come when called, both by truck horn and my grandpas voice, and the shake of the feed bucket.

Back then as a kid my family had the cattle, a few horses, but no goats. The horses were always kept in the pastures around the house and would come when called.

As a grown-up, I have had milk goats and some horses, and we had no need for sorting pens or a loading ramp.

My baby sister is now on part of the old homestead and has a herd of goats. She keeps thinking about sorting pens and a loading ramp but so far makes do without.

If you want a little herd of brush goats, you might really appreciate a set of sorting pens and a loading ramp, just depends on what kind of animals you have as well as how many.

Anyway.... I set up a picture for you....

This one is my fantasy if I had that property:

The idea of building anything where it might get messed up by flooding .... disturbs me... so all buildings are in the "safe" area.

Yellow is the roads, I tried to follow the existing roads as much as possible, roads get spendy quick.
The barn is the big red rectangle with a road that goes through it. Orange is gates.

With the barn I THINK I made the turn out of the barn soft enough to easily make with a truck and trailer... but that should be looked at super carefully and make sure that the turn is easy enough.

The big house is the big blue rectangle with a small screened walkway connecting it directly to the barn... my kind of heaven.

Tiny blue below is the existing dilapidated run-in. Blue rectangle in the top left corner is tiny house or RV.

So... I set it up so:

6. is sacrificial area so you don't have to worry about losing goats when the UPS guy shows up. Also, This way this pasture can stay way brushier and block the view of the road and help you feel more private.

1. is All by itself so that if you want later on you can make that a rental, with the RV or cabin or tiny house, whatever.

7. is the house and garden and chicken coop and such all in a goat free zone. So, there is a nice sized parking pad at the house, and of course guest parking can all be in section 6.

2. is a smaller "about to kid" pasture, or whoever you want to watch closely, and has barn access.

Pasture 3 doesn't have to lead directly into the barn, they can be fed and watered in the smaller paddock 8. Sorting pens could be put into pen 8 if such are needed.

Pasture 9 can water from the pond, or have access to feed and water through the small paddock 8.

You could shift fences so that pasture 13 also connects directly to paddock 8, or leave as is, and they could use the fixed up run in, and water could come from the house. Pasture 13 could be cut in two and have both parts use the same water up by the house fence.

11 is a spot for shelter, and water and a mineral station. Note that 11 opens onto 4, 5, 10, and 12.

 

[Alaskan]

ah... and my question about soils...

I was talking about something like this:

This page doesn't have range on it, but it is for Tarrant county.

Note how a pasture of improved Bermuda grass can yield VERY differently depending on what soil it is grown on. The AUM under "Improved Bermuda grass" stands for one animal unit for one month on one acre. One animal unit is one cow or 5 goats. The far left column lists some of the soil types in Tarrant county.

When I looked though the table, the lowest was 3.5 and the highest was 9.5. Huge difference.

 

[Baymule]

Nice work @Alaskan!

If the soil is black clay, all weather access becomes important in wet weather. Since the fence won’t go up all at once, getting started up front with shelter and pastures will give time to observe weather/soil conditions on the lower parts of the property. Adjustments can be made as needed.

@Margali you have lots of ideas to mull over and time to apply a starting point. The rest can be worked out as you go.

We started with a back yard fence and fenced pasture where the horse barn is. Standing on our front porch, the next fence was from corner of the horse pasture on the left, to the road. Then across the front to properly corner, then along pipeline to horse pasture corner on the right. That gave us an enclosed area around the house . The property line across the pipeline took longer to get done, but we were finally finished.

 

[Mini Horses]

Personally, I have never regretted having the double fenced drive thru area! At first one side up and second planned. Thrilled when it was up. But I had horses and goats. It sure made it easier if I needed to move one group and not wanting to mix them. In winter it let me take feed down alley without followers. I also have underground water lines, marked by one side of fence line. My property much like yours, a rectangle. Lot of gates But worth it....they're on aisle and between fields.

I keep a couple cattle panels in the aisle to use as a cut off in it, if needed. Just connect to fence, swing across. Animals graze it.

 

[Alaskan]

Thrilled when it was up. But I had horses and goats. It sure made it easier if I needed to move one group and not wanting to mix them.

True... without that corridor it would be impossible to move one group without the other.

If we ever wanted to separate groups they had to be taken all of the way to the sorting pens, sorted out... and then 1 group led off (or loaded up) at a time.

 

[Margali]

We will have atleast 4 groups most of the time rams, sheep main flock, feeder steers, chickens. So I think lane is good idea.

In other news, we will be getting a single wide 3bed 2bath at end of August. The RV floor is giving up the ghost .

 

[Larsen Poultry Ranch]

Can you put some plywood or more support joists to help the RV floor last until the single wide arrives?

 

[Alaskan]

We will have atleast 4 groups most of the time rams, sheep main flock, feeder steers, chickens. So I think lane is good idea.

In other news, we will be getting a single wide 3bed 2bath at end of August. The RV floor is giving up the ghost .

Sorry about the RV.

Have you talked to your local extension agent?

I think in your area of Texas native pasture runs from 8 acres for a single cow, up to 15 acres for a single cow.

Now one cow is about the same as 5 sheep... so, it wouldn't be too hard to have a sheep flock....

Of course... if you are going to make the entire property (or most of it) improved pasture, then the property could carry more livestock.