CDZ Jumping back and forth between two different arguments

[Leo123]

10 horses is definitely a project. Large pastures help quite a bit. If you don't have that then it's hay and $$$ per bale. (been a while, not sure what a bail of alfalfa/grass goes for these days). We used to buy oat hay as well. Some folks have 'bottom land' with enough irrigation to grow hay and have pastures.

Trust me, you don't want to know what hay is now.

We're feeding sheep now, they'll eat any kind of hay in winter, even rained-on, but the neighbor's son farms now and brings in our hay every summer and off-loads it for us, so we pay whatever he likes to say, Aaaarrrrgh.

Yep, sheep will eat all the grass for sure. Then you have to feed them unless you have enough acreage to fence off multiple pastures. Here, a lot of folks will put others's sheep on their property for weed control then the owners (of the sheep) come get them and put them on another property. Sheep will cut graass...Horses will turn their pasture into a moonscape because they can extend their teeth beyone their lips. They tend to crop plants beyond their ability to recover.

 

[Circe]

We do have a fair bit of pasture and we rotate, and we only give them a bale a day for about 30 head, and a little feed. (Okay, and the kitchen garbage. Who knew sheep ate kitchen garbage? I set the chicken bucket down one day in a pasture and when I went to take it to the chickens, it was licked clean!) In Maryland the forest will overwhelm any cleared land within a very few years (don't ask me how I know) and so we are keeping it clear with sheep. Strangely, they are not as good against wild roses as horses were.​