It is time for our bucks to move onto fresh pasture. We are working towards a rotational grazing system, but we still have some work to do.
Our bucks have been in the same pasture since last fall, aside from when Player was busy with the ladies.
Busy Day
I had a to put in a full day of work to make this move happen.
Before moving them into the new pasture, I had to get one of the new shelters ready. You may recall, that when we ordered our barn we also ordered two smaller shelters that will be easy to move.
These shelters are made with steel pipe and metal siding. I needed to add “kick boards” inside to protect the siding from the bucks’ horns. I also added a bunk bed. That was a lot of cutting and screwing… It certainly moved faster when I changed to using 2nd cut slabs instead of 1×4’s.
Next, the shed had to be towed across the fields to its new location. We have a long narrow fenced pasture available. I used temporary panels to block off a section of this pasture. We don’t want the boys to share a fence with the ladies as they are capable of breeding thru the fence.
I will be able to move the shelter and the fencing to use different areas of this pasture for grazing.
Then I used the tractor to move the old shelter off of the built up bedding. Now the original buck pasture can be cleaned up, and rested. The old bedding is already pretty much composted, but I will add it to our compost piles. Eventually the compost will be spread over parts of our hay fields to add nutrients and improve our hay yield.
In 6 to 8 weeks this pasture will be ready and we will be able to move goats back here.
All settled in to the Fresh Buck Pasture
With a little bit of coaxing, I moved the Bucks into their new paddock and settled them in for the night. The are enjoying all the dandelions and fresh grass.
They seem to like the extra space in the shelter just as much as the fresh pasture.
If you would like to learn about rotational grazing, check out this article.
