Exploring the Pasture

I talk a lot about moving sheep from one pasture to another, but not much about what’s actually in those pastures.  While we may picture sheep just munching huge mouthfuls of grass, their actual eating habits are very much the opposite.  Sheep move around the pasture selecting the tenderest, freshest morsels while completely ignoring old foliage and tough stems.  They also have plants that they prefer over others.  I’ve gotten my sheep to eat bedstraw mainly by having plenty of it available after the clover, vetch and soft grasses are gone.
Clover is the mainstay protein source in the pasture.  Like all legumes, clover fixes nitrogen from the air and adds it to the soil.   It’s a nutritious plant, and it’s easy to tell when the sheep have eaten it all because a field that once was full of clover flowers suddenly has none at all!

purple clover
Purple Clover

close white clover
White Clover

more clover
Red Clover

Vetch is another mainstay legume in my pasture that the sheep love.  I happen to think that it’s very beautiful, as well.  I wish I knew more about the nutrition that Vetch provides other than protein, or if the dominance of Vetch in some areas indicates something about the soil nutrients or structure.
so much vetchcow vetch
Dairy folks know what this is:  This photo is actually the first alfalfa I’d ever noticed in the wild.  It is certainly the only one that was in this field, so some lucky sheep got to eat this plant.  Alfalfa is the highest-protein legume and is a staple of dairy cow rations.  I’ve heard through anecdata that sheep are picky about it in hay, but they don’t mind eating alfalfa pellets!
my first alfalfa
I haven’t even touched the myriad of grasses that grow in the pastures where the sheep live, but suffice it to say that the legumes have long since vanished by the time the sheep are eating grass.

Published by cloverworks

A Vermont Sheep Farm and Homestead specializing Purebred, Registered Bluefaced Leicester and Border Leicester sheep, in fine yarn and pasture-raised lamb.

4 thoughts on “Exploring the Pasture

    1. Anecdata- It’s like real data, but not? I’m still just beginning to understand all of the bloomings and growings and die-backs of my pasture, and how the sheep interact with them all.

  1. I love the close-up photos, especially of the clover! I’ve never looked at how clover flowers are put together, even though it’s such a common plant, and the image is really arresting.

Leave a Reply

%d bloggers like this: