Sheep and chickens grazing together - chicken feed?

[Sarahal88]

Not sure whether this goes in the livestock section or the chickens section, but I'll try here.

I have a flock of a total of about 19 chickens. Right now they are split into two coops with runs, but I want to move them all into my sheep pasture. However, it dawned on me that I need to be able to offer the chickens their feed somehow where the sheep can't get to it. Besides the simple problem of the sheep overeating while the chickens go hungry, I think chicken feed has copper in it which is toxic for sheep. So it is really important that the sheep never get to the chicken feed. I also hope to have goats in there eventually, and that will be even more of a challenge.

Any good ideas? I think my best idea so far is to make a pen with field fencing big enough for the chickens to walk through but not the sheep....

Anyone had a similar puzzle?

 

[SunHwaKwon]

You are on the right track. Luckily it is sheep not goats because I know goats will go through a chicken sized opening somehow to get to the feed so people have to make tunnels for the chickens. I don't think sheep are the same way.

 

[Sarahal88]

You are on the right track. Luckily it is sheep not goats because I know goats will go through a chicken sized opening somehow to get to the feed so people have to make tunnels for the chickens. I don't think sheep are the same way.

Well, I do want to get a couple of dairy goats eventually. Unless I can figure out how to milk my sheep. That'd be nice since they are so much easier to contain.

 

[SunHwaKwon]

Don't you know you can milk anything with nipples?

 

[Sarahal88]

Don't you know you can milk anything with nipples?

Yes that is true. But in all seriousness, I am trying to milk one of my sheep but she's not a dairy sheep and her teats are so tiny. Haven't been very successful so far.

 

[SunHwaKwon]

Do sheep have to be bred to produce milk, like cows do? (make them have a baby then take it away so you can milk them, I mean)

 

[Sarahal88]

Do sheep have to be bred to produce milk, like cows do? (make them have a baby then take it away so you can milk them, I mean)

Yes they do. My ewes still have their lambs with them, so they're still in milk . Otherwise that would definitely be an exercise in futility.

 

[SunHwaKwon]

I thought so. Probably a dumb question. I was just making sure lol.