A roving brush crew
Posted: February 7th, 2007 by Lisa
If you live within about an hour’s drive from Marlow, you can have two to ten sheep come visit you for the summer. Many people in the Monadnock or Lake Sunapee regions have enough land that’s gone back to brush that this is an attractive idea.
Icelandic sheep are fantastic browsers. They can help you reclaim a field, clean up a driveway that’s turned to brambles, or just maintain a large yard from getting to that unsightly state. Of course, they will fertilize it nicely in the process! They are pretty hard to intimidate, even when the brush is over their heads. The older sheep will walk small trees, where they bend it to the ground, and all the lambs rush to the tree top. Yummy!
Our sheep are familiar with horses, and pair nicely with them. If your horses are cherry picking your pasture, adding a few sheep works out well.
What is required of you?
- You must be able to provide some shelter from the heat. Often, a line of trees and taller brush along one side is fine.
- You must provide them with fresh, clean water, every day.
- You must be able to keep them safe from dogs and other predators.
- You must provide a strong car battery to power the electricnet fencing.
- You must be able to ground the fence properly if you move it to another area. (We can show you how to do this.)
- Treats are optional, but will be appreciated. They love left over corn chips, apples, carrots. Even very young children can learn to treat the sheep, and be rewarded with nuzzles and friendliness.
What will we provide?
- A consult on how many sheep your area can support.
- A fence charger and enough electricnet fencing to secure the area.
- Transportation of the sheep to and from your place to our farm.
- Lessons in moving the crew as needed to different areas.
- Friendly sheep that are appropriate for your land. You can come out and meet them here on our farm, and pick the ones you like the best.
At the end of the season, or when your area if all clear of brush, we will bring back the sheep to our farm. Depending on the Adopt-A-Lamb program you are in, you then decide what you want done with your fleeces, meat, etc.
It’s a really nice way to have very nice sheep with personalities spend the summer with you and your family, without the responsibility of keeping them over the winter, and keep control of brushy areas in your yard that quickly become an eye sore.
Let’s keep New Hampshire pretty!
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