# Sheep and oak trees?



## Calistar (Nov 6, 2014)

Hi all! I was here several months back with some general sheep questions. I'm very excited to announce that I'll be getting my first sheep within the next month or so! I decided to go with Shetlands, and I'm so excited for them to arrive!

Now we're starting to prepare for their arrival, which will include fencing off a permanent pen for them when we're not using them to graze the weeds. Now, the spot I would LOVE to put them is a small hill with several oak trees. It's steep enough that we can't mow with a tractor up there, so it'd be great to have the sheep keep the weeds down (even if it means just trampling them into a dry lot.) and the oak trees are the only natural shade we have. But I've heard some conflicting things about oak trees. (Ours are quercus agrifolia, or coast live oaks, if it makes any difference.) I've heard oaks can poison livestock and I've heard that people pastured livestock under oak trees with no issues. I'm not quite sure which is accurate? I see horses grazing around here in huge dry fields dotted with oaks, but then again, the horses have acres of grazing space. I also know that the toxicity of plants is often exaggerated...but then again, sometimes not.

The sheep will be confined to just the one hill when they're not being rotated around for weed control. I'll be feeding them hay most or all of the year to start, since I'm in California and it's so dry here, and the drought isn't helping anything. Will being on a hay-only diet make them more likely to try to get into the fallen oak leaves and acorns? Will I be able to safely keep sheep near/under the oaks? My other option is to keep them in what used to be a goat pen, on the other side of the property, but there's no natural shade out there aside from the old run-in shed, and I'd have to set up some man-made shade. The hill with the oaks would be so nice if I could make it work safely!


----------



## hastyreply (Nov 10, 2012)

My sheep love acorns and think they are the greatest treat.


----------



## Ozarks Tom (May 27, 2011)

Assuming the trees are mature, you shouldn't have any problems. With young trees that haven't grown rough bark, they'll strip them. We've got over 100 assorted trees in our pasture, and they only go after the young ones. We put cages around those.


----------



## Woolieface (Feb 17, 2015)

Congratulations on picking the nicest wee sheep around 

My sheep don't seem to often pick up fresh green oak leaves but in the fall when they're dry little crunchy snacks they like them here and there. It's never been an issue, though I don't know if there is a difference in oak species as far as toxicity goes. They love the shade in the Summer, and being in California that will definitely be something a Shetland will seek out on a hot day.


----------



## Calistar (Nov 6, 2014)

Thank you for the replies! I'm very glad to hear that none of you have had issues with your sheep and oak trees. I was flipping through one of my livestock books the other day and oak was listed on a list of "10 common poisonous plants", so I'm still a little nervous, but I guess I could start them off in the old goat pen and slowly move them over to the oak trees and see how they do. The oaks around here aren't like the flat-leafed oaks, they have more oval shaped leaves with edges that kind of curl under and are toothed and hurt like crazy if you step on them barefoot! They're kind of crunchy even when they're fresh. I also recently read that ducks will eat acorns, and had been thinking about getting a couple of those for snail control anyway, so it might be an option to keep the sheep in the old goat pen for a few weeks and get some ducks to clean up under the oaks a little before letting the sheep out there. Just thinking out loud 

Thank you all for the reassurances though! I am so excited about getting these little sheep!


----------



## Bytheyard (Mar 6, 2015)

I don't know about sheep but when I was a kid, occasionally we would have calves to bloat on acorns. I like the duck idea. I was going to suggest pigs to put in before the sheep were turned in there but the ducks would be a lot easier.


----------



## patterpaws (Jun 24, 2015)

I was wondering a similar thing about California Buckeye trees. I'll be getting my first 2 ewes soon (Shetland-Romney crosses) and our most ideal pen space is shaded by a couple Ca. Buckeyes... reading very conflicting info online about keeping sheep around the trees. I was reading similar info about the oaks so its good to hear that oaks will probably be okay. I see so many livestock grazing on land that contains oak and buckeye around here despite some sources online warning about toxicity.


----------



## DragonFlyFarm (Oct 12, 2012)

Calistar, I have the pokey kind of Oaks that you are talking about. My Jacob sheep and Angora goats love, love, love them. I feed them the leafy branches when trimming the trees.


----------



## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

> the pokey kind of Oaks


Red Oaks have pointed leaf tips, and White Oaks have rounded tips

The reds tend to have smaller acorns and more tannic acid, which may actually help with parasite control


----------

