Multi-Species Rotational Grazing for the Small Homestead | Pantry Chat

[@KHomestead]

I'd love to hear more about which animals should follow each other, which ones shouldn't, and about timing. ❤

[@hillockfarm8404]

Old methods on this : first horse (they'd need the best for work energy), then cows who graze evenly but fairly long, then sheep and if you move those quickly enough there will be some left for the geese. How much time between depends on growth, but also what the rest of the management is. If everything is in the barn at night (milking, predators, supplemental feed and so on), you may get away with mixing everything into one herd/flerd/flock. Always though look at your pasture every day and determine how much is eaten and how much the land can handle, when it can't have a playground/winter/bad weather area to let them catch some sun, fresh air, exercise and feed them hay there.

[@bluefiresummers]

I agree! In my case what order for cows, chickens, rabbits, quail and pigs. Plus how do you keep the rabbits from digging out?

[@Cristina-gw5zp]

Would love to hear more and see how you do it. Thanks for sharing

[@spoolsandbobbins]

We’ve been mixing the group: cows and sheep and chickens. But our flock of sheep has grown so we’ll be moving our 2 heifers first, then sheep, then chickens every 2 days.

[@carolinapatriot9651]

Definitely would love to hear more about rotational grazing and rotational planting as well. Thatlnk you both!

[@threetreesfarm]

My partner says we can't be fully self sustaining on our 5.4 acre homestead. I tell him folks do it all the time! I am going to ask him to watch this, proof that we can do it!!

[@tealkerberus748]

You don't need to persuade him. If you can do it, he'll see that you did it. Create a really good design, start with the easiest bit, and move on from there.

[@applewatermelon6561]

I realy love how you try to heal the land and make it better for the next generetions. And feed your family haelhty at the same time.

[@christalambin6139]

We.have 1/3 acre, and we just got our first batch of meat chickens 8 weeks ago and they've been in a chicken tractor and traveling up and down our grass. Today is harvest day!

[@shaylie483]

YES! More on this topic would be great! Doing all the research I can now for hopes of property to properly manage in the near-ish future! Information for rotational grazing for a small scale cattle (and hopefully chicken..possibly pork ;) ) production on 15-ish acres would be very interesting and helpful! Trying to figure out how they all intertwine and work together is an overwhelming thought! Any knowledge from y'all is greatly appreciated. Love that you explained it in terms of God's perfect design and our best efforts to get closer to that!

[@fourdayhomestead2839]

Great topic. The basics to help understand rotational grazing.

[@helenblankenship1571]

You should include pictures on what you discuss such as your cottage garden, a lot of us are visual learners, would love 💕 to see your herbs and garden more, thanks for sharing

[@vivhall6198]

Hadn't gotten to hear a pantry chat for a long time since I somehow got "off the list" and my husband has also been very sick for months. So glad to hear you speak more freely about the Lord in this chat than in previous ones I have heard! Thank you!!😊

[@BeccaS1]

Yes please! More on this and other ways to really use an acre!

[@sherylthompson6170]

Love this video. I would love to hear more on this subject. I also would love to see your rotations in action.

[@wannabeafarmgirl0398]

So interested in this topic. We just moved from a “small-holding” urban setting to 20 acres. We rotationally grazed as we could, but have so much more to learn!

[@patwilliamson4701]

Thrilled to see your pantry chats again!🌹

[@barbaramccullough604]

I love this. We just bought 14 acres in Texas to start Homesteading and are trying to figure out what animals we want that the land can support.

[@SdW.8]

I'd love to hear about setting up a homestead in a way for dividing and sharing/passing it down to children and family. How does that look as generations grow older and jobs change hands etc. Thank you for always bringing such love and generosity to this community. God bless you all!💖🙏🏻

[@SdW.8]

Love the chit chat and the topic today! Much love from the Midwest US 💖

[@sheilaperl4155]

I loved this video, I sure do want to hear more about it!😊

[@teresacahlik6887]

Great info. Would like to hear more about the logged field you are turning into pasture. We had two storms over the weekend and have to go out to stand the corn back up. Luckily it is a small arch this year.

[@nadialoubser4071]

Loved this chat topic.

[@1970jeremiahjohnson]

Stewardship at its best! Well done, and God bless you two and your family.

[@donnaradu9398]

Thanks for this new Pantry Chat! I listen eagerly to each one! But I would be very interested in some outside-based content. For example, a video in which you visit the pastures you discussed today. Also would love an update on your main garden and cottage garden, and the development of the terraces.

[@lucindajacobs2786]

Loved this pantry chat! ❤ Our goal is to set up our rotational grazing system and be ready for animals by next spring. We are newbies. We are starting from bare land, with pasture and forest. We will start with laying hens, of course, but have about 10 acres of degraded pasture to improve and feel other animals are needed to really get the job done. Plus, we are hankering for pastured meat for us. What kind, how many, and how do we properly husband them are some of the starting questions we have. A 10-acre pasture and laying hens are the only givens. We need to chart a course and make some decisions but would love to avoid as many mistakes as possible. We love and appreciate permaculture, regenerative farming, good stewardship, and God's laws of abundance. We've loved your channel for several years now, and we love to see the improvement to your current homestead over the years. It's inspirational to us and has given us much confidence that we CAN do this, too. We've accomplished building a garden and I'm gardening this year! What a joy! Looking forward to animal husbandry!

[@spoolsandbobbins]

Awesome!! We started out with rabbits, then chickens and then sheep and pigs. We’ve had 2 dairy cows for 5 months now and oh, how we wish we’d started with the cows. They’re the Center of a homestead and feed everything else. And they’re not that difficult!

[@mackenzieross5604]

Yes please! I would love to see more information of rotational grazing!

[@americusgill403]

I too would love to hear more about this subject. We have 5 acres that we can have animals on. We have chickens and looking at the next steps. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND KNOWLEDGE! Thank you for sharing both with us!

[@aliciasantana1818]

Yes absolutely we need to hear more about this!

[@Longfamily3]

We loved this topic!! We are former conventional farmers that have been in the city for over 20 years and headed back to a farm soon. We love learning the regenerative and permaculture methods. We would love to see how you laid out your 5 acres that you use to produce food and rotate the animals and how you use it. Videos in the fields or buildings outside would be so helpful!! Thank you!!

[@NaturesCadenceFarm]

"God's economy" Best description of permaculture ever! ❤

[@KPD33311]

I loved this chat ❤. So encouraging. We are getting ready to move to a larger farm and plan to do pasture rotation and your connection to giving and you get back. So perfect 👍🏻

[@HomesteadingFamily]

Sounds great!

[@Mindmaid1]

Thank you for sharing your experience and teaching others.

[@hopefulhomesteader9136]

GREAT topic! I grew up helping my grandfather rotate the cattle daily. I'm setting up my pasture for it now. I'm very interested in multi species grazing. Particularly pigs, cattle, and chickens. Also, other topic suggestions: how does Josh roast the coffee? Growing feed for chickens and pigs. Keeping bremuda grass out of the garden (might be a good one for the compost guy from Alabama). Putting up hay on a homestead scale, the equipment is too expensive to go the conventional route. Firewood processing. Bees. Crop storage in subtropical climates. Oh, the list is long...

[@tiamoore4041]

Very interested in rotational grazing. Would love to see more about how you rotate your animals.

[@andrewphillips1865]

I'm definitely wanting to learn more about rotational grazing

[@ReginakDale]

We have rotational grazed our alpacas, sheep, goats, donkeys and horses on 20 acres for 25 years. It works beautifully!

[@janineburger7230]

Awesome chat thanks so much...!!

[@AuntNutmeg]

Thank you so much for sharing what you've learned on your journey. My husband and I are in the land shopping phase! Trying to learn all I can while we listen for God's cues to buy.

[@conniegraves1773]

I am doing yard maintenance with chickens.

[@AuntNutmeg]

Can you elaborate? What does that look like? Chickens is the first animal we plan to add once we buy our homestead.

[@debbiemoore9069]

I would love to hear more on rotate your different herds

[@vaniafarmar5281]

Would love to see some content for new moms since you’re a pro! 😁😁

[@debmcl37]

I would love to hear more on this subject! With as much detail as possible!

[@maineiacacres]

Ad me to the list of people who are VERY interested to learn more about rotational grazing. I follow Joel Salatin and you seem to use his model as well. You two are very relatable for me. This summer we will be running our first ever batch of pastured broilers as we finish out our cabin to begin life on our 6.5ac recovering hay field, Next year I want to ad 2 or 3 Katahdin lambs for the freezer and maybe increase the broiler production and maybe look into a CSA kinda thing. The Salatin Raken House is super appealing to me too.

[@catherine6802]

Excellent video. We would be excited to see your land in action.

[@Tjamison4647]

Excellent chat! I would love to hear and see more on this topic.

[@joanneward9324]

Love your videos, thank you

[@marlaherrington5320]

I always look forward to all of your videos ❤️❤️

[@bizzybee6342]

Great topic! I would like to learn more about rotational grazing on just 2 acres.

[@user-nw5cr1tl6j]

I love your pantry chats. I am very thankful for all the information you share.

[@catherinekuhl3799]

Would love to learn more on this subject

[@stephengregory7953]

Love your pantry chats and your free information (also we are members of the School of Traditional Skills - Thanks so much.) Please, could you talk about fencing? Low budget fencing. This is our ONLY holdup to getting started with rotational grazing for larger ruminant animals on our homestead. And we are really new to this lifestyle, so what are fencing basics and low-budget options? Again - thanks so much!

[@Annazelfvoorzienendleven]

Yes I find it very interesting also I would like to know when Joel Salatin's class is open on the school of traditinal skills about this.

[@BF4TehWin]

Love the chat! I recently got 3 dwarf goats that Ive been rotationally grazing in my 1/4 acre yard following them with a small flock of chickens. It's absolutely doable on the micro scale

[@user-dm1tv6nl2e]

There's enough grass on 1/4 acre to sustain the goats? I imagine chicke s help disperse goat waste, are they free range or in a tractor?

[@BF4TehWin]

@@user-dm1tv6nl2e I haven't gone through a whole season with the setup yet, but I don't feed my goats for free off the land. I supplement their feed with alfalfa and Timothy grass pellets and spent brewers grain I get for free. I'd say I have to bring in less than half of what they eat. The chickens are free range as my yard is fully fenced in

[@user-dm1tv6nl2e]

@Shark Kawaii interesting. I would think that there wouldn't be enough grass for that many animals. My chickens clear the soil in their area within a couple weeks even with feed. We used to completely free range, but they kept jumping the fence. May try again once we clip their wings

[@BF4TehWin]

@@user-dm1tv6nl2e I only have a small flock of 3 birds so they can't do too much damage. Also the goats are Nigerian dwarf goats that only get about 40lbs. I wouldn't want to put many more animals on my land than I currently do

[@KPD33311]

Please do another chat with some video clip of how to set up the rotational grazing and the dos and don’t

[@susanclair8623]

great topic😊

[@robbasile2448]

Hi Josh and Carolyn. Thank you for this information. I would love to learn more about how to rotationally graze additional species such as sheep and pigs along with cows and chickens. Do you have any suggestions for resources, or are you planning on expanding the topic to include additional species? Thanks!

[@joanneward9324]

Goat and pigs like to browse, so shruby plants, brambles, thistles, docks. Then sheep and cows like to browse so lush soft grass. Lastly the birds will clear up the parasites. The trick is to move the animals on frequently so they don't poach or degrade the land.

[@joydavid8128]

Rolling along+

[@chris4370]

We raised meat rabbits on a 1/4 acre and would use rabbit tractors. Very interested in this topic, im about to be getting 40 acres and we are planning to do this with sheep, pigs and chickens

[@momcomputer6461]

I love your videos! With this one, I was really hoping to hear what animal goes in first, who goes after them and who goes after them. No one addresses this. They just say it's possible. I know sheep can go after cows, but then when do the chickens come in? After the cows, THEN the sheep? I want to make sure that any parasites from one animal are not affecting the next move but are getting eaten up. I hope you understand what I am asking. These moves are really important so as to keep everyone healthy and if there are a lot of different animals, there's seems to be no guide for it. Cows, sheep, goats, chickens, ducks, rabbits, etc... are all a consideration. Please answer if you can. ThanQ!

[@jamiebaker8115]

Great topic! Like others have said, I’d love to hear more about the order of species to run through the rotation. Including goats would be great. I plan on keeping angoras for fiber production, but most people don’t mention goats when they talk about pasture. Also, I’d love to hear more about the logistics of making this work with multiple species on a smaller acreage, and can a garden be included in such rotation?

[@deborahmegquier8678]

How do you drop one of the milking? Slowly or cold turkey? Thank you for all you do. Love your Chanel. God bless you and your family.

[@dlgrilli]

Definitely excited about this information you have presented. Absolutely wonderful information! However, now I'm worried about my 5 chickens in 2 fenced-in runs. I will research making a chicken tractor to move around our 1/2-acre homestead.

[@shannah4633]

What order do you rotate animals? Ie. graze cows followed by sheep followed by pigs followed by chickens?

[@ka6148]

Joel Salatin said he was working on a new book for the homestead size grazing system

[@mysty3334]

I definately want more info on how this is done with cows, sheep, pigs and chickens

[@SocksnGreys]

I'd love to hear more on this. We currently have rabbits, but can't pasture them due to RHDV2 nearby. However, we'll be moving next year (to north Idaho, funnily enough) and will be adding additional animals. Timing of rotation would be super helpful to understand; what do you look for in the land itself to see whether it's time to move? Or do you just move regardless? Is there a "fallow" time that needs to happen between different animals?

[@maggieshroads1976]

I love the concept, but have so many questions on the mechanics of it. How often do you rotate the animals? Are they all out there together or in separate groupings of species? And what would be the species line up if they aren’t all together? Would it be something like cows, then sheep, then chickens, then pigs? Do you bring any of the animals back to the barn at night for protection? How does that work? Or do you have corridors leading to each pasture section and you only open the one you want them to go to that day? I would love to hear a series taught on this topic specifically!

[@HomesteadingFamily]

We have more on this topic here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gWKcYax6isyEh8k

[@zoeshorthouse7913]

Good stewardship of the land. I would be interested to know in what order do you run your animals. Do you pasture your pigs? And do you run them over the same land as the other animals? Also, what breed of pigs do you raise?

[@cherylpresleigh6403]

We only have an acre so not enough room for a cow but we are preparing for chickens, egg layers first then hopefully meat birds and we’re trying to figure out if we have room to raise a couple of feeder pigs as well. We live in an area that feels suburban but still very much in the suburbs. It’s in an area that is considered to be unincorporated (outside city limits) so I need to confirm if having pigs is allowed. If so, my understanding is that growing out feeder pigs doesn’t actually require a lot of space. This may seem like a weird question but do pigs have predators we should be mindful of? We have a lot of arias predators like owls, eagles, hawks but I’m not thinking the pigs would be in danger of those but what about coyotes or ??? We are very excited to hear you speak at the convention!

[@jerilynnsfarm467]

How long had you been grazing rotationally before you began to see results? Did you feed the animals outside inputs to get them to the place of just grass fed first? Thank you so much for sharing about this. I honestly had assumed you were grazing a much larger acreage

[@susanharris8072]

Mam I love your hair what do you use to wash and conditioner and how often do you wash it

[@hoofandpeck]

Hey guys!! Serious question. You’ve mentioned you have several ponds (we call them tanks here in Texas), and I know you have small children as well. I desperately want tanks/swales, but we have small children and my wife is terribly concerned about them drowning (which is a very good concern). What is your policy or way you handle the kids and the water? Swim lessons etc? I desperately want the water for more resiliency, but… anyways. What are your thoughts?

[@marisab7]

Swim lessons! It’s summertime, you’ll go for one month and they’ll be able to swim for a lifetime! I actually just got IN with my toddlers and taught them what I know plus a few extra KZbin swim techniques.. get those ponds goin! 🐟

[@melodygranny4883]

What do you do with the sheep? Rotational grazing wise, after which other animals? Also what do you do with them, meat, or fleece? Do you spinm

[@hillockfarm8404]

Sheep like/need short(er/ish) grass (about max knee high for them, but they'll tell you loudly! if they can't/won't eat it), cows need longer grass so they can wrap their tongues around it to bite it off. Horse can eat both, goats are more browsers and not that happy with grass alone. However when given the chance most "grazers" are happy with browse. Your trees/bushes/shrubs are not automatically safe from anything not goat.

[@katiebertling3869]

Curious how you got started rotating on the degraded land? Did you supplement with hay or feed in the paddocks until it got good?

[@Ben-cz5yq]

Question: My biggest enemy with rotational grazing is time. I work a full-time job outside of the homestead and struggle to move the animals as consistently as I should. Can you give some advice on saving time when moving the animals?

[@hillockfarm8404]

Set up paddocks for the week in the weekend. Or set up paddocks big enough for a week.

[@rachellewaddle8744]

What kind of electric fencing do you use for multi species rotational grazing? Do you have different types of electric fencing for different animals, or do you use the same electric fencing for all of the animals/paddocks?

[@mysty3334]

So when do we get to see a tour of all that beauty?

[@homesteadincrazy7773]

Where would I find information on black jerseys? I am in the southeast so would they do good here? I am looking at Jersey and Brown Swiss right now. Where would I find one to buy if I made that choice? Thanks so much for the help. K

[@roxannecarson2814]

When you say that you “to move the calf”, what do you do with your calf? I will be milking for the first time this April and have left my calves with my cow, so I am trying to decide what to do to milk once per day.

[@vondablackford1384]

Off topic.... where do you buy the lids for your large jar you have the eggs in (behind you)?

[@nicholehillabush7211]

If you had a grazing pig, like kune kune, sheep, and chickens, what order would you graze them in with this system?

[@thesmiths629]

I just saw a video suggestion from 4 years ago where Caroline was wearing this same shirt combo. Do your clothes just not fade and wear out like mine, or is this one that you keep nice for videos? I'm about to make my own button up shirts because the ones I've been buying wear out within a couple of months.

[@kimcarter9214]

Do you know how to preserve eggs from the store? I will pickle some. Would like to know how to preserve the raw ones. They were washed. I heard they could be preserved with some kind of oil. After that add the vinegar, lime and pickling spices. Thanks

[@DonnaRatliff1]

2 QUESTIONS? I have 10 acres but like you most is forest and I really like to keep it that way. So my homestead for growing most all my own food is only about 1/2 acre garden and only max 3 acres in pasture. I have 2 horses that worn the pasture down so now I'm going to paddock off the area in sections and start putting old spent hay and all thier manure on a few sections at a time until its ok to eat. So currently hay feeding horses. Is this method ok? I'm wondering because I know they won't eat wherever manure is located for a long time, 🤔 I want to run my chickens on the area so grass will grow as the ground is compacted. Though my chickens wont stay in electric netting.Several get out daily and predators, possibly dogs have getting them here and there. I'm stumped to what else I can do? Any ideas?

[@VictoriaChaseCraftyKeepsakes]

I have a few acres and would like to do some rotational grazing on a very small scale however, our septic leech lines are in the worst place ever (was there already when we bought the property). How far do we need to keep animals from that area or do we? I know our garden needs to be quite far.

[@theresahansell3507]

Thank you so much for answering my question. Next question 2 ? What way is the best way to store your butter? Can or have you freeze-dried (it like milk)? My grandmother always said certain kind of cheeses worked best with one morning and one afternoon or evening milking.(equal parts) I've never had the luxury of having this I'm wondering if there's any truth to it?

[@HomesteadingFamily]

Here are some ways to store butter here: homesteadingfamily.com/how-to-make-butter/

[@kimberlybenienministries2715]

AMEN it is God’s provision, His economy. When we watch over and care for God’s creation as He originally intended and charged us, then He will bless the work of your heart and your hands-just as He continues to bless your family generationally. God’s many blessings as you bless His people. And yes, everything you sow into His creation and that includes His people, He will multiply back to you-pressed down, shaken together and running over-Enlarge your tent, drive your stakes in deep. We are in the time of great abundance. Huggs from Texas

[@kckat96]

Question: Is there a place where you can get all the information needed to grow a garden? Things like tomatoes "just before or as you plant" soil should be fertilized with "blank" put plant into the ground and each "week/day/2 weeks" again fertilize the plants with "blank". As the plant takes on flowers change the fertilizer to "blank" and fertilize each "week/day/2 weeks" until fruit appears then either fertilize with "blank" or stop. I've tried research but there are so many different ways that I get confused and either I mess up and the plants die or they don't produce very much. I hate killing plants!

[@cindyandfrankmonea1093]

🙋🏻‍♀️How much space does 1 cow calf pair need to consume 50% in 2 days?

[@quackerfarm1234]

I live on about a fourth of an acre what a mini Jersey cow be ok for that

[@appalachiannana7975]

Hey y'all please listen up...I just had a 2 yr old Midea freezer go out lost a total of 1600 bucks. I have spent a week tri g to find someone to repair the freezer. No one will work on it!!! They say it will cost the price of a new freezer if it's compressor also the ability to get the parts is non existent!! They tell me that these appliances from this company are made to throw away not repair!!!! It's China owed and operated. I had no idea! My husband worked at Lowes and bought it. Now I'm stuck with the loss and a new purchase!!!!...PLEASE DO Not BUY THIS PRODUCT!!!

[@honestymarshall9463]

U really didn't talk about the subject.

[@honestymarshall9463]

You didn't really speak anything about how many animals can be rotating on a couple of acres. I like your chats but would have rather heard more about the topic

[@thehazelnutspread]

14 minutes of jibber jabber. Get to the point of the topic