Sheep pasture layout & other questions

[mygoldendoe]

Hi
We have a pretty rectangular shaped 5 acres and 3 of it is going to be dedicated to the sheep (we still haven't nailed down a specific breed so we were making judgements based off larger breeds just incase) but most articles I find that suggest layouts seem overly complicated.
Does anyone have a favorite resourse for tested and good working layouts for 3acres?
We were thinking of starting out with 2-3 ewes and 1 ram. We liked the idea of having a rotation grazing to help with feed costs (but still haven't looked into the actual cost differences yet.) Our land is mostly pine with oak and maple woods. The heavy leaf litter for years means no grass at all so we have planned to seed orchard grass throughout for sure bc it can also be used by rabbits we currently raise.
I'm just having a hard time trying to figure out a Hassel free layout to work a house, rabbit house, and sheep pasture... but all the pasture layouts online I find look like it's a lot of either wasted space, sickbaye too close to others, or the walkways/feeding stations too complicated for 1 person to maneuver by themself when changing paddocks.

 

[Latestarter]

Perimeter fence the three acres to start. Then make a "common area" that you can connect to three ~one acre pastures that you'll create by cross fencing. Keep the goats (SHEEPS!) and their housing/hay/water in the common area and keep them in there for security at night. Then open the gate to the particular pasture you want them using each morning. You can rotate them through simply with gates. Leave the gate open so they can get back to hay/water/shelter/shade/etc. during the day.

ETA: Gosh... goats... alpacas... lamas... sheep...Yeah, that's what was said! SHEEP!

 

[CntryBoy777]

One suggestion I'd make to ya is to have the soil tested before ya seed it. Ya can go to your Extension office and they should help ya with this for a minimal fee...ours is $8/sample. If the nutrients and conditions are not right in the soil, then whatever is seeded will not grow and the $$ spent on the seed will be wasted. They can also reccommend the better blend of grasses for sheep, as opposed to only 1 kind of grass. It is much easier to lime and fertilize before the fencing goes up. This is why I suggest this to you now. The Extension office should also be able to give reccomendations on a rotational system and set-up. Not that @Latestarter didn't do a great job, but so ya can get a diagram of different ways to do this. I know he said goats and you said sheep, but he has had a lot going on and has goats on his mind. Keep us posted on your developments, he and I are thinking about adding sheep to each of our places , so what ya find out can aid us too, among others.

 

[greybeard]

Hi
Our land is mostly pine with oak and maple woods. The heavy leaf litter for years means no grass at all so we have planned to seed orchard grass throughout for sure bc it can also be used by rabbits we currently raise.

'mostly pine..'
That can be problematic..the pine.
There are 2 divergent schools of thought regarding pine land, especially land that has had pine trees on it for a very extended period of time.
1. Pine trees shedding their needles has caused the soil to become highly acidic.
2. Pine trees grow predominantly on already existing acidic soil, but scientific research has shown no significant proof that the fallen needles contribute to any soil's acidic profile.

I have tried growing pine trees in a location with soil pH nearly neutral or somewhat alkaline and had very poor results, but I tend to believe the truth is somewhere in between 1 & 2.

Grass does not do well under pine tree canopy, and in most cases in very shady areas under any canopy. I planted a southern pine (loblolly) sapling in my yard here about 5-7 years ago, with Bahia and Bermuda grass all around it. Now that the tree has gotten about 15' tall with a canopy width of approximately 8-9' diameter, all the grass has died out under it.

You will likely need to find a forage that likes acidic soil or condition the pH of the soil to better suit forage growth. Soil test will tell you what the current pH is and how much lime will be needed per acre to bring it what you need, as well as what (if any) trace elements of fertilize (NPK) will be needed. (don't be surprised if the recommendation for liming is '___ TONS per acre' and not lbs per acre)
pH conditioning takes longer to work (as much as a year--sometimes more) and accomplish than fertilizing, so get the pH right first. In many cases, soil needs little or no fertilize if the pH is correct for what you intend to grow.

 

[CntryBoy777]

@greybeard makes a very valid point. If there isn't any grass growing there now because of trees and leaf litter, then sowing anything is a waste of $$. It sounds like sunshine needs to be added before ya put in fencing.

 

[mygoldendoe]

We just had 2 truck loads of trees knocked down and hauled off but the mill didn't like the wood (hollow inside) so we have to wait to get quote for how much it'll be for the rest. Husband had planned to knocked all but a few oaks for shade there is fencing around total acreage with a gate to open for driveway area.
Thanks for recommending using a corral area and using gates. I finally came across an outline for one like you described
but how far off do ppl put their quarantine pen/shelter? I know rabbits have to be housed minimum of 5ft quarantine bc of how far slinging snot, urine, and ear crust from mites- do sheep have a limit like that? Bc so far I haven't came across a plan for a quarantine area, unless that had em connected but I wouldnt think that would be smart..
Thanks for the suggestion of soil testing before we plant, I hadn't figured the pine would have affected it that much. I'll definitely look into it. I figured husband wanted to do a mixture grass but wasn't sure what all my options were. I just knew for sure I wanted orchard bc I knew I could get double use for the rabbits

 

[Latestarter]

If you have 3 pastures, you can always put the quarantine animals on one side, the regular crew on the other and keep the middle pasture as the buffer. Now that's all well and good unless you bring in truly diseased animals and they spew that all over the pasture they're in and hence your farm is now infected. The alternative is to section of a very small dry lot area away from the regular common area and pastures and use that for all quarantines. Once the animals are cleared they can join the larger herd. If they do turn out to be contaminated with something, at least it doesn't affect your main areas, just the small dry lot area.

As for the rabbits, If you build it so there is a wall then cages on either side, you can use the one side as your normal caged area and the other side for quarantine. You can put a roof over both sides to protect them from rain/snow/etc.

 

[mygoldendoe]

Yeah we planned to do our rabbit house there as just a larger version of the one here.
I just wasn't sure how ppl did larger livestock than rabbits bc I don't like idea of passing internal parasites and what have you. That ad we have friends who go to auctions and who knows if they pass something in their shoes..I just dislike the idea of using piece of land that's regularly used otherwise. But it's hard for me to come up with a good layout..the way the road is laid out to the land I don't want my quarantine upfront for passersby to see..I guess I'll have to make those lil graph cutouts and move things around till I get something that works.