Oogie,
What about Russian Olive trees? They grow well here on the Eastern Plains,
don't take a lot of water, and would provide some shade. On the down side,
they are a thorned tree, but not anywhere near like the Honey Locust. I know
they are considered a 'weed tree', but I sure like mine, and I haven't seen
them spread hardly at all. Very drought tolerant. Plus, they smell WONDERFUL
when they bloom.
Regards,
nanc
Nancy Osborn
Ft Lupton, CO, USA (soon to be Wetumka, OK)
----- Original Message -----
From: "Oogie McGuire" <oogiem@desertweyr.com>
To: <graze-l@witt.ac.nz>
Sent: Tuesday, October 14, 2003 2:09 PM
Subject: [Graze-l] Why Shade at all?
> >We could also get deep into a discussion of whether or not shade is
> >neccessary or desirable in a pasture situation as the shade becomes a
> >"manure magnet." and impacts nutrient distribution.
>
> We do see some slight manure buildup under the tree canopy now but
> not much. Our current trees are 100 yr old apples, planted on 30 ft
> centers. They are open and airy and the shade does move around the
> tree so the sheep move too. Also, my sheep do not flock, so in any
> given time you will only have 1-2 sheep per tree. The key is having
> enough trees so they can spread out like they want to. It's very hard
> to get Black Welsh to flock tightly, they tend to scatter to the ends
> of the fencing and ewes park their lambs under trees. We also need
> overhead protection from eagles and other aerial predators.
>
> We see significant reduction in gains of lambs when they and their
> dams do not have access to shade during the summer. The ewes will
> also end lactation in much worse condition without shade vs with. If
> we have decent shade, the ewes do not need much flushing to bring
> them to breeding condition and I can do it with hay alone. Without
> shade I have to add grain to get the ewes back up to par before
> breeding. We have solid black sheep. heat gains on the black wool may
> be the reason for the differences compared to other sheep. I did note
> that coated sheep, wearing light colored coats, do not need shade as
> much as the uncoated ones. But coats during grazing season present
> other management problems and are not really a viable option at this
> time. We do coat the sheep when we move to winter quarters where we
> are feeding hay.
>
> >Shade promotes over
> >grazing near the shade and poor grazing away from it.
>
> We don't see that result here. About 1 ft around the tree trunks is
> bare soil, actually good for the orchard, and was that way before I
> started grazing there. We actually have more forage, denser plants
> and more grass closer to the trees now than when we started. The rest
> of the area is evenly grazed. My sheep chew cuds during the hot part
> of the day and rarely are grazing then.
>
> >In short, I don't encourage trees of any type in the pasture.
>
> And I've found that they are critical to keeping my sheep healthy and
> gaining during our summer. <smile>
>
> >Off the cuff though, I
> >might suggest cottonwoods or a similar populus spp. as they are fast
growing
> >and widespread in the west.
>
> Also take way too much water. We are in irrigated pastures but they
> are not recommended due to water consumption and the competition they
> provide to the pasture grasses.
>
> >An alternative soule be a mobile share or shed
> >that could be moved with the sheep and located in areas where more
grazing
> >pressure and manure are needed.
>
> We've tried that, winds destroyed the one we tried. We get daily
> winds that change direction, up valley at night, down valley in the
> morning. Wind speeds are quite variable but can routinely reach 40mph
> or more. Hoop houses on skids become kites. Covered wagon type
> trailers (like the Salatin shademobile) turned over here. I can build
> cattle panel hoop and tarp shelters, staked down with t-posts on the
> corners and in the middle but they are not real portable and really
> do become manure magnets.
> --
> Oogie McGuire - oogiem@desertweyr.com
> Weyr Associates - Multimedia and Web Authoring Services & Consulting
> Desert Weyr - CMK Arabian horses and Black Welsh Mountain Sheep
> http://www.desertweyr.com/
> Paonia, CO USA
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