February 2009: Permaculture Species of the Month: Sheep

February 2009: Permaculture Species of the Month

By: Doniga Markegard

Sheep
Ovis aries

Welcome to our first Species of the Month. We will explore sheep inputs, outputs, breeds and pasture management. Sheep have been a recent passion of mine, especially this time of year, as it is lambing season on our ranch. During lambing season we anxiously wait as the ewes give birth to their babies. Typically they all come at once, or within a few weeks of each other. This year we had seven lambs born at the ranch. This number is low for us, since only two of our five ewes gave birth to twins.

lambs

As the rangeland here in coastal California has undergone some major changes, such as the extinction of our large herds of native grazing animals such as the Elk and Antelope, we are constantly working on improving rangeland biodiversity, pasture health and productivity. A shift has recently happened in rangeland science, which correlates our healthy, diverse rangelands with the presence of grazing herds, such as cattle and sheep. I like to think of cows as the modern Elk and sheep as the modern Antelope.

I was recently at the Ecological Farming Conference in California where I attended a presentation called "Healthy Pasture, Healthy Animals." One of the presenters was Rob Rutherford of Cal Poly University’s Animal Science program. In his slides, he showed that due to the university's management practices with grazing sheep, they were able to turn a pasture that was completely taken over with Yellow Star Thistle, an invasive non-native species, to be replaced by Purple Needle Grass Nassella pulchra, a native perennial bunch grass, which have roots that can reach 20' into the soil.. This was done without any external inputs and without any extra seed, tilling or sheet mulching, just properly timed rotational grazing practices. What an excellent example of Permaculture in Action! Here is some research.

Sheep serve many purposes to people all over the world. While visiting a hill town in the Swiss Alps last winter, when the ground was covered with several feet of snow, I discovered as I walked the cobblestone pathways of the village that the front door on the bottom floor of a small chalet that I encountered was actually a stall for sheep. The human entrance was up and around the back.

As I peered into the stall, the sight of a yew with her lambs pleasantly surprised me, coming to greet me. Immediately next to the stall, below the human dwelling, was a huge compost pile, waiting to be hauled to the nearby garden. To my amazement, the compost pile was not covered in feet of snow, probably due to all of the wonderful, teaming life within the compost. Later, speaking with some of the villagers, I found out that it is quite common to keep animals under the house. The warmth the animals create warms the people in the house.

Sheep in Swiss Alps

There is so much to write about sheep, I am not sure where to begin. I do hope this species of the month strikes up a conversation so we can all learn more as a community about this wonderful animal. I will address a few categories about the basics of sheepology. There is however, several directions one can go to study about specific breeds, management styles, uses and husbandry.

Sheep Inputs

As we will discuss in the management section of this article, the inputs for a sheep are mostly already provided for on site, as long as you foster a healthy environment for sheep. So, what do sheep really need? They need access to clean water, healthy pasture, a place that is somewhat blocked by the weather, supplemental feed in some settings, protection from predators, minerals and companionship.

Sheep are rated at .2 Animal Unit Month (AUM). One unit translates into the amount of forage needed to sustain one cow, or five sheep or goats for a month. In our area in California ten acres of grassland is needed for one AUM. This means that for us, ten acres are required for every five sheep that we keep without supplemental feeding. This number may be more if properly timed rotational grazing is practiced, or less if there was not adequate feed, or in a drought year.

Sheep Outputs

Depending on the breed, there may be many outputs of sheep. These include wool, meat, milk, pasture management, warmth, poop, urine and fun. Sheep poop makes great fertilizer. In mature food forest and orchards, sheep can be brought in to graze the understory while fertilizing at the same time.

Breeds

Sheep breeds are broken up into two categories. There are hair sheep, and wool sheep. Jacobs is a breed that produces naturally colored wool. Its coat is patterned with black and white spots. It is also raised for its meat and hides.

Finnsheep is a breed of domestic sheep known for large lamb crops. It is not uncommon for a ewe to have three, four, or even five lambs at once. This is a common breed for lamb production. Crossed with Targhee, which are hardy sheep for rangeland in the west, this breed makes a sturdy breed great for marketing wool, meat and hides.

The most common and prolific dairy sheep breeds include the Lacaune, the East Friesian, and Awassi. Some common cheeses are made from sheep’s milk, including my favorite, feta! Sheep milk is actually richer than cow's milk in fat, solids and minerals, making it ideal for cheese making.

Our ewes are a cross between Suffolk and Barbados. These make a great crossbreed for grass-fed lamb. They are also quite savvy when it comes to predators. We have seen the ewes and rams charge a coyote and keep them away from the herd. I would like to experiment with some other breeds, possibly one that we can milk. I think I will wait until my kids are a little older before I take on that responsibility.

Pasture Management

At our ranch we practice regenerative grazing management techniques and show how sheep can be used as a tool to improve rangeland quality. A grazing plan is important to develop when keeping sheep. At our ranch we have six pastures we rotate our sheep through, including our immediate yard where the sheep come in and act as the lawn mower. Observation is key. It is important that the sheep are not kept in a pasture too long. Native grazers are kept moving by their natural predators so they will not overgraze one area, but with domestic breeds, we need to be the ones to monitor the health of the forage and keep them moving when the time it right. This depends largely on a four-letter word that all of us Permaculturists celebrate, RAIN!

There are several directions one can go in the study of sheep, and there is plenty more to be learned about specific breeds, management styles, uses and husbandry. I have addressed a few categories about the basics of sheepology here. I do hope this species of the month strikes up a conversation and encourages some exploration on your own so we can all learn more as a community about this wonderful animal.

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