Yes foxes will take an adult gander as large as a toulouse, I used to run mine free range but one night lost 20 of them all ages my whole flock to the foxes. It is a terrible sight to walk into a field and see all your animals laying dead on the ground very gory too! Yes they will take a ewe or lamb too if they can they're not fussed a meals a meal.

I've done to kaid lambs too they are good fun but can be hard work and to lose them at 6 - 8 weeks is heart breaking some just die overnight for no reason.

On the pig front the gloucester old spots and tamworths are known for their aggressive nawty nature, where as the large blacks, saddlebacks and the middle whites are very placid pigs, with the large blacks farrowing and rearing free range outside in arks all year round they don't suffer from sunburn due to their black skins and can tolerate very cold temperatures.

If he's brave enough a fox will attack any bird or small animal (up to lamb size). My mate lsot four geese in one week to a fox. Would strongly advise you shut them away at night.

KirstyS
:D
Also not trying to cause trouble but unless your grazing is excellent you should have aminimum of an acre per pony if you're seriously thinking about it and rememer you'll need to do all the usual tihngs like worming with ponies too. They can be a huge committment (horse owner myself) and you need to be really aware of things like posiounous plants (in excess quantities even buttercups can be harmful to ponies) and laminitis.

Not trying to put you off - sorry if that's how it sounds.:)

That's a good point thanks, it would not feel right keeping just one as it would get lonely and I wouldnt really have room for two (unless I get miniature horses which I love, but they are really expensive i think).

Are the plants that are poisonous to ponies also poisonous to sheep and donkeys does anyone know?

Also, does anyone know if foxes tend to take chickens during the day? as it would be nice to let them out to roam around the paddock or garden. I guess you can get their wings clipped so they don't leave home, but would be better to leave them unclipped so they can escape predators. I had a budgie once with clipped wings but I let them grow out as soon as I could as I felt sorry for him not being able to fly.

Cheers
Alex

Foxes will take chickens in the daytime if they are not afraid, or it is quiet and remote enough.

Goats or Donkeys should help keep the fox away from the chickens... they are pretty teritorrial and dont spook easily.
QT

Ponies are very selective grazers, so you'll probably have to go round with the strimmer every so often anyhow to mow off the long bits. They can chase (and kill) dogs if they're so inclined. But are very loveable.

Yes, foxes do take chickens in the day time - we've lost hens , geese and ducks this wayin spite of all precautions.

Personally I wouldn't clip a hen's wings - they don't usually go far anyhow, but suppose some breeds are more flighty than others.

Sheep can graze small ragwort rosettes which are lethal to horses, but apparently sheep can cope with them when young, and are an easy way of getting rid of ragwort. There are so many other poisonous plants, I'm not sure of the comparative toxicity of the others.

Sheep suffer from fly strike (maggots), worms, bad feet and they know 1001 ways to die, but are quite delightful otherwise - Jacob (piebald) sheep are charming especially when young, they tidy your field, you can spin the multi-coloured wool, maybe enter a show or two if you are so inclined. The meat is out of this world. They get totally addictve.

There's a fair bit of responsibility attached to whichever you choose- like anything else, the pleasure you get out is proportional to the amount of time you put in .

There's also the heartbreak when they die, of course.

Jo and the Casblaidd Flatcoats

I shut mine away, I have seen them during the day corner a fox and they will bite my Dobes if they turn their backs on them but for some reason sleeping ducks, geese, chickens etc don't seem to have any sense of preservation.

Their care is fairly minimal - secure night quarters (rat proof if you are going to feed them in there), clean water, a large pond is not necessary and I have various children's paddling pools spread around. They only bathe in them when the water is fresh, otherwise they drink it - sounds the wrong way around. I always give mine grain and have the benefit of eggs in the spring/summer.

Christine

You can stop a pig routing your land up by ringing their noses. Went to see some Large Blacks last week and fell in love and they were all out in long grass with piglets of only 2 weeks and weaners in another field. All registered pigs have to have their ears notched as a form of identification for their pedigrees, some breeders ring their noses at the same time.

They are relatively cheap to buy too but a pig does not do well on it's own and a gilt needs to be in pig twice a year otherwise her fertility is lost. If you do the rare breed pigs then you will get a good price for their meat from the RBST butchers, as long as they are registered, had large black pork chops last night and they were huge and soo tasty.

>>>>>had large black pork chops last night

Schip - sound like normal pork chops after I've cooked them :D

No Sara they have the black skin before you start to cook em lol not after!

My Uncle keeps pigs (Gloucester Old Spot???) and they are the scariest creatures alive. The boar is such a miserable old sod he tries to kill me everytime I go and see them.

He's also got a pair of Donkeys and they're lovely. Very gentle and friendly :)

Fiona
x x x

Hi Alex,
We let the farmer up the lane graze his sheep on our land once but my weimaraner dog was made very ill by eating the sheep dung!!! My bitch didn't eat any but he found it irresistible I would definately give my vote to the ride on mower.

[Link]http://www.intelligenthorsemanship.co.uk/forum.asp?action=forum&cmd=msg&f=sheep&tid=1536[/Link]

Alex,

Just a thought, but if you have a sanctuary close by that is willing to foster out to you, maybe they would do a short term foster on several different animals (at different times obviously) while they are waiting for permanent homes, that way at least you could do a trial and decide which species you like best.

Good luck!!

Sarah

A few quiet deer is another option, would need high fences though but they are pretty low maintainance and good grazers too, would need some used to dogs but that is possible. No shearing or hoof trimming, just in food wormer occasionaly and some sort of shelter/shade
Ted

Roe deer (the European type) are very small. We call them dog-sized over here. They roam many people's fields and the fences are only about 6 feet high. Still, fencing an entire field in chain link or something like that would get expensive fairly quick.

re: native ponies. These will often get a foot problem called laminitis on good grazing. Its a dreadful problem, veryt expensive to treat and once contracted is almost always contracted again and again and necessitates them being taken off grass completely, keeping ponies is a very skilled business, I wouldn't recommend them as lawn mowers unless you have experience.

Hmm perhaps you're right, a friend lost her horse with laminitis and it was awful :-(

Actually all you need is a whippet! The following is 'true' <Honest>

A WHIPPET NAMED MACE

A mechanic, who worked from home, owned a Whippet named Mace.

Mace had a bad habit of eating the grass in the mechanic's lawn, so that he, the mechanic, had to keep Mace indoors. The grass grew so vigorously that eventually the ground became overgrown.

Unfortunately one day the mechanic dropped his wrench in the tall grass.

He searched for several hours, but could not find it amongst all the grass stems and weeds that had grown there.

That night, Mace escaped from the house and ate all the grass in the garden. The following morning, when the mechanic awoke and looked outside, he saw his wrench glinting in the sunlight.

Realizing what had happened he looked towards heaven and said in a quite quiet voice:-
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
A grazing Mace.

How sweet the hound,

that saved a wrench for me.
.
.
.

It really is a True Story!!!! <Honest>
<<<<<<<<<G>>>>>>>>

Hi Alex

This thread has got so muddled that I will ask down here - have you come to any conclusion as to which grazing animal you want yet?

Christine

Hiya

No not really :-( getting more confused! Especially as I like most animals. I have ruled out pigs as they might root, goats as they are not good grazers, horses because I don't think I have enough land, and llamas as too expensive.

I love birds and would like to get two or three geese but hubby is scared of them and trying to put his foot down! :rolleyes: Maybe if I fence off an area for them so they can't get to him... (and then if he gets into my bad books I can threaten to let them out :-D ) I have various books on ducks and geese and keep trying to tempt him as I think they are wonderful characters.

I love sheep and donkeys so I can't decide what to do. Sheep seem to be hardier than donkeys on some ways and don't need grooming and unlikely to attack the dogs, they sound exceelent at grazing, also they would be easier to handle and transport (although I would need a DEFRA holding number and stockbook), but donkeys are lovely and it would be good if they got all territorial and discouraged foxes away from my chickens.

I am going to do a donkey sanctuary donkey-care course and buy some books on sheep and then hope that I can decide one way or the other, the trouble with sheep is there are so many different types to consider.

At the moment we might not be moving as we just got the survey back and it was terrible and the mortgage people are holding a retention back until we get loads of stuff done :-( Everyone keeps saying we're mad but we are determined to get it all sorted and go! :-)

All the help and advice on here has been brilliant, people think of things which the books don't tell you, so thanks everyone. I will let you know what we end up with (probably something totally different altogether like ostriches! :-o)

Cheers
Alex

P.S. I love these smileys !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!