Rotational grazing

[machslammer]

I have 15 cows and 10 calves and about 15 acres. 3 paddocks 5 acre each. Now, is it better to run them 2 days and move through every paddock or leave about 3 to 4 days and move? They will eat it closer to ground in 4 Daud versus 2.

 

[dun]

When thew grass is growing fast you rotate more frequently. As the growth slows you stretch it out a little longer.

 

[AllForage]

buy some geared reels with polywire and posts. Your paddock sizes are infinite. Play around with sizes and durations. Only you can see what height your residual should be during each particular season and weather.

 

[regolith]

I have 15 cows and 10 calves and about 15 acres. 3 paddocks 5 acre each. Now, is it better to run them 2 days and move through every paddock or leave about 3 to 4 days and move? They will eat it closer to ground in 4 Daud versus 2.

You'll always optimise regrowth with a fast graze down and move them on: ie, 2 days rather than 4. Fence them off the grazed area and let it grow.
What Allforage said. With polywire fences your paddock sizes aren't limiting you - though access to water every day can be challenging. Pasture will need a long rest between grazings in winter/drought, shorter time in fast growing seasons.

 

[machslammer]

I polywire now with removeable stakes, but don't wanna have to be moving it them daily as i work and live an hour away. Do any of you guys have or what do you think of this idea. Planting a cool season in 2 paddocks and crabgrass in the other paddock for rotation? Will it work? Mine have rolls of hay year round in case grass slows to much but just curious what most think about grazing crabgrass over bermuda or sudax? Need something when the fescue slows down and really would love to thicken my grasses up where they got picked to the ground prior to rotation grazing

 

[Banjo]

I have 15 cows and 10 calves and about 15 acres. 3 paddocks 5 acre each. Now, is it better to run them 2 days and move through every paddock or leave about 3 to 4 days and move? They will eat it closer to ground in 4 Daud versus 2.

If you have 3 paddocks and you move them every 2 days, you will be back to the first one in 7 days.
You need about 40 to 50 days recovery time from here on out IMO.
If you moved them every day, they would probably need about 1/3 of an acre a day if the grass is decent. Or if you can't do daily moves then about 1 ac. every three days.
If you did each paddock at 2 weeks each that would give you 6 weeks or 42 days, but they will start eating new growth in that length of time.

 

[machslammer]

Oh yeah and this ground has not been worked in years so this grass stand is minimal at best but trying to get it improved. It has shown more improvement this year with paddocks versus full field grazing. I have the ag extension guy coming tomorrow to see what else i can do to improve it or what not. I really feel if i had a thick stand of grass it would suppo t the 15 head that's on it esp with keeping hay out year round. I need to design a way to make a small area for when feeding hay that they are not abusing that one paddock the rings are in, over and over again.

 

[Lucky_P]

What AF & Banjo said. Cut 'em up into smaller divisions; with your numbers, you can stretch it out more.
Paddocks here are approximately 5 acres. 75 cows+20 spring calves...moving 'em about every 1.5 days, some paddocks have better cover, and they spend 2 days in 'em before I move them. But,in a typical summer, we'll get to the point that they're moving every day...at that point, paddock recovery time will only be about 21 days before they return; not ideal, but it's what I've got.