Interactive lesson

Rotational grazing, step by step

Interactive lesson: divide the pasture into paddocks, work out how many you need, move the herd with electric fencing and keep it safe from worms and poisonous plants.

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The whole lesson as text

1. Grass height

Grass grows when you leave it alone, and its height tells you when the herd goes in and when it comes out.

Three phases of growth — The pasture is divided into paddocks. The herd grazes one briefly, and the grazed part rests for 3–8 weeks.
In at 15–20 cm — Turn the herd into a paddock when the grass is 15–20 cm (6–8 in). That's when it's growing fastest.
Out at 8–10 cm — Take the herd out when the grass is down to 8–10 cm (3–4 in). Worm larvae live mostly in the bottom 5 cm of the sward.
Goats want longer grass — Goats prefer to browse and don't like short grass. For them, out at 10–12 cm and paddocks with scrub and bushes.

Why: Grass grows in three phases: after grazing it starts slowly, then grows fast, and once it heads it slows down and turns tough. Rotation keeps it in the middle phase, when it grows fastest and feeds best. If the herd stays too long, the next growth is weeks late.

Measure height with a ruler or your boot: the ankle is about 10 cm (4 in), halfway up the shin about 20 cm (8 in).
If the herd goes in too early, the grass hasn't rebuilt its root reserves and the sward thins.

2. How many paddocks, how big

Paddock size and number come from the number of animals, the days grazed and the days of rest.

How much an animal grazes — A goat or sheep grazes roughly 15–25 m² a day, a cow 120–180 m², a horse 100–150 m².
Paddock size — Number of animals × m² a day × days grazed. 8 sheep × 20 m² = 160 m² a day; for 3 days the paddock is 480 m².
Number of paddocks — Rest days ÷ days grazed + 1. In May 24 ÷ 3 + 1 = 9 paddocks, roughly 4,300 m² in all (just over an acre).
Start with 2–3 nets — You don't need 9 permanent paddocks straight away. A perimeter fence and 2–3 lengths of electric netting: every day or every 2–3 days move the netting forward.

Why: The herd stays 1–7 days on a paddock. Rest needs 21–30 days in May and June, and 35–60 days in summer and autumn. A dry, stony or acid pasture needs more area, a lush, well-fed meadow less.

In summer, when the rest needs to be 45 days, the same paddocks aren't enough: the herd stays longer on each or gets hay.
In May make paddocks smaller and cut the surplus pasture for hay; in summer make them bigger.