Farm Animals

Sheep Pasture Management for Welfare

Pasture management directly affects sheep welfare through parasite burden, nutrition quality, toxic plant exposure, and forage availability across seasons.

Key Facts

Mixed sward pastures provide better nutrition and reduced parasite exposure than monocultures
Rotational grazing breaks the parasitic worm lifecycle by resting contaminated pastures
Herbal leys including chicory and plantain have anthelmintic properties reducing worm burdens
Toxic plants including ragwort, rhododendron, and bracken cause serious welfare problems
Poor pasture management in drought conditions causes nutritional stress and increased disease

Welfare Considerations

Pasture quality and management determine nutritional welfare, parasite burden, and toxic plant risk for sheep. Good pasture management prevents multiple welfare problems simultaneously.

What You Can Do

Implement rotational grazing to reduce pasture worm contamination
Control toxic plants systematically through removal or pasture management
Consider herbal ley mixes in pasture renovation programmes
Monitor body condition score in grazing sheep to detect nutritional welfare problems early