Lamb mowing

Maybe cuteness can improve our mental health, while regenerating soil.  

John S
PDX OR
https://getpocket.com/explore/item/the-surprising-benefits-of-switching-to-lamb-mowers

And rentable goats!

I think the idea is fascinating!

I wonder how robust the fencing has to be and how long they need to be on a particular plot to get a decent 'chew job' done.

Sheep would need to be fenced away from any other plantings as they like to browse as well as graze. Our geese do a good job of lawn mowing

My experience with sheep as lawn mowers this past summer was pretty hit and miss. Sometimes they would eat it down nicely, and other times they would leave it pretty uneven. I had them moving around with a 2 strand polywire fence. Once it’s eaten down (in their opinion, not yours) they need to be moved or they will move themselves to whatever looks most appealing to them. You will want a more substantial perimeter fence.

You won’t get the whole yard done at once unless you’re bringing in a large group temporarily, so you may have a patchwork of more or less recently grazed areas.

If you’re grazing at the edges of the season, you may need to clean up the poop yourself (like cleaning up after the dog), if you’re concerned about such things. It doesn’t break down very quickly, if at all, once it starts getting cold. In the summer it seems to break down pretty quickly. I still would clean up or keep them out of areas such as kid’s play yards.

If you don’t care about a golf course type look, they’ll keep the yard from growing wild. You just have to adjust your expectations.

Maybe after the sheep eat what they like then it is time for goats to have their turn?

Anne Miller wrote:Maybe after the sheep eat what they like then it is time for goats to have their turn?

Goats should probably be ahead of or intermingled with the sheep, they're more browsers than the sheep are.

I should also mention that I have a flock of Icelandics; other breeds may give different results when it comes to attempting a clean mowed look.

A former coworker who spent a lot of time in Switzerland said they used sheep there.  It was hard to get any real details, he told the story as a humorous anecdote. FYI - this guy bought 20 acres "in the country" and spent every weekend on a mower cutting it because it was almost all in grass.

They put a temporary fence up, add sheep, and check on them every few days until the grass is suitably eaten. It sounds like they put more sheep in a than is sustainable then move them around insuring that the sheep eat everything, then move them. It's like a farmer cross-fencing his fields - if you let the your cattle access the entire field they'll eat the best food, then the less desirable plants grow & take over. Leave them in a small area and they'll eat everything, then the farmer moves them to a new area, and in his spare time the farmer also works to eliminate the less desirable plants.

Oh - and I presume they don't use goats because they have the same issues as sheep & are harder to contain, however they do munch on woody growth if that's an issue.

I have read that goats prefer tougher food than sheep. They may eat a lot more of blackberry vines for example than sheep and less grass.  Maybe it depends on what you are growing, intentionally or not.

John S
PDX OR

John Suavecito wrote:I have read that goats prefer tougher food than sheep. They may eat a lot of blackberry vines for example than sheep and less grass.  Maybe it depends on what you are growing, intentionally or not.

John S
PDX OR

... and I've heard they LOVE poison ivy.

-MikeW

I use sheep for mowing and pruning.    They do an excellent job, it just takes management.  You can mob graze them through an area and they will give an even cut to the grass and good fertilization.  It helps to water after the sheep to get the nutrient into the soil and help the worms be more active.  

The sheep need control to stick to their task or they will wander off to other areas.  If they find a tree or shrub they like, they may strip bark.  A strong fence that you can easily drag across the lawn works well.  

Fence the area you want mowed and watch them closely.  As their bellies fill up they will take longer to mow an area.  

They can prune too but you have to watch to make sure they do not go too far or strip bark.


These sheep can easily keep this lawn mowed.  You can see longer grass in the foreground, that is the next place I will move them to.  If there are undesirable plants or weeds, I will let the sheep over-graze and trample that area and re-seed to grass if needed.  

I put out way too much water in buckets and dump the water when I move the sheep to a new patch.   Alternatively, you could run a sprinkler after the sheep.