Ideally, weaned lambs stay on their accustomed pasture, out of sight and hearing of the ewes who have been pulled for the milking stand. Sufficient paddocks need to be provided to facilitate this practice. We figure a stocking rate of 3 ewes and their lambs per acre. We have 40 acres divided into 4 ten-acre paddocks divided by a central lane, and 20 acres of smaller paddocks, and a 40 acre wooded area which is permanent pasture. This usually allows enough areas to manage several different groups of sheep.
Pasture plantings are an important part of our dairy management.
Our farm is marginal farmland, with heavy clay soil. We needed to make planting decisions that would work with rotational grazing as well as fit our soil and our climate. We chose birdsfoot trefoil for our legume, as it thrives in our more acidic soil, is winter-hardy, and doesn't cause bloat. We have established stands of semi-upright Norcen or Leo trefoil. They do well as pasture, and are also more easy to make into hay than the vining varieties.