Aria from Aokautere

Hello all from Aokautere in the Manawatu. We've recently bought 90 acres - 50 in 10yo pines (not pruned), 10-15 in medium/steep pasture and the balance in native bush on one side and scrub (gorse) on the other side of a very steep ravine. At the bottom of the ravine is a lovely year-round flowing stream.

The property was set up by the original owner for horses - with tack room, stable, corral and flood lit arena. It also has a great big implement shed - and a greenhouse.

First task has been to restore/renovate the 1930s bungalow which was transported to the site by the previous owner. That should be finished in one month and then we'll move in.

Now beginning to think about stocking it. We've thought about goats to work on the gorse side of the ravine (as we'd like to regenerate the native bush) - but would need to fence them off from the existing native bush the other side of the stream - or tether them - and that I'm not too sure about given it's so dense and steep.

For the pasture, we're thinking about one of the shedding varieties of sheep - or possibly a mix of sheep and miniature cattle. Grass has been kept down a bit in our absence by a neighbours cattle - but they make a bit of a mess given the hill country.

We are thinking we need to get a lifestyle farm advisor in to have a look at the property initially, becuase we've got no animal husbandry skills whatsoever. If anyone knows any knowledgeable folk in the Palmy area that would be great!

Look forward to meeting you all on-line.

Cheers, Aria

hi Aria and welcome to the site
i think goats will take care of your gorse and the native bush .. lol and yep they sure can climb trees lol
I don't think tether would be a good idea on that country
Just Manawatu experience here .. go for Wiltshire sheep if going after the shedding varriety ... not Dorpers , myself and Wiltshire ( from this site) have both found Dorpers have feet from hell on Manawatu soils
We have both found that Wiltshire sheep are very easy care in the Manawatu condittions
I am from Feilding ( and very much still learning ) but if you guys ever need a hand, just give me a yell , happy to help anyone that needs a hand

you will find lots of very helpful and clever people on this site
Never be affriad to ask ( no matter how silly the question may seem) there is always some one on here that Knows and can point you in the right direction

Thanks Stu, for the advice on the Wiltshire vs Dorper. And on the goats - I guess your advice is fence them in good if I wanna keep the native bush! I'd also wondered if goats might respond to those perimetre collars that are used on dogs? Wishful thinking perhaps!

my experience with goats ( lol and yep i still have 2 of them) is Goats can find any hole that even a rabitt has trouble getting threw ib a fence and get threw just because they can
lol and they are very clever at using things like stumps and trees to get enough height to go up and over the fence
and they are the most fun and lovely cheeky wee things to have arround .. lol and you cant stay mad at them for 2 long
But and its fact ... They Will test your patience and they will show you where every single hole is in any fence lol, and yep they will also show you where every dip in the land round the fence line is to
they are actually lovely animals and lots of fun to have ... all be it pains in the butt some of the time lol
The perimetre collars i havent tried ... a sputnik 3 pronged collar with alcathyne pipe and even TV antena type wires on i did try on Cocoa goat ... took him all of 2 days to work out how to get one antena end through fence, then twist head on angles so the other high point antena went through, and bingo he was threw lol, the wire bits when added slowed him down for about 4 days .. then he had that sussed to ... Cocoa loved people and always got out and came up the house looking for people to talk to ... lol he used to get out and come and help us build for the day , got sick of putting hiom back, so he was happy to just sit and watch allday and help when he could lol
goats are wonderfull and fun and very bright animals
My 2 little ferrals are the easiest care animals i have ever had talk to them, give them pats and a few wheat-bix treats, and have had to do nothing else with them

Hi Aria
(and hi Stu)
I'm not too far from you - other side of feilding, between Halcombe and SH1. Absolutely not experienced, but have great advice from my Dad who farmed here for almost 55 years!!
My focus is on fruit and vege hopefully, but I do have two feral chooks and am awaiting the arrival of weaner pigs later in August.
We should have a Manawatu/Rangitkie get-together some time You could meet my neoghbour (and cousin) who grew up at Aokoutere

Hi aria. Sounds like you have bought a place off an old friend and neighbour of mine. We used to live up creek flat lane which I believe is not far along from you! Have now moved over to the sand country. Less wind but I do miss the views. Maybe wrong about that but it sou ds so much like their place with the trees ans steep ravine etc. Too steep to fence in a lot of places. Not ideal for goats because they are likely to escape and get into the natives. It is great for their feet and they love the hills and rocky outcrops though.

Aria, you could get in touch with Russell Lyon who lives right by the Aokatere school.
Will pm you his ph. number. If he can help you he will, or point you in the direction of someone who can advise.

Hi Aria,
It sounds like a lovely spot.

For regeneration of native bush, it can sometimes be good to leave the gorse, especially on steep ground. Is the gorse well established, tall and dense, or patchy and young?
If it is dense and tall it provides very good nursery conditions, and will shelter and shade the native seedlings that birds and wind will be naturally spreading from your existing bush.

Gorse doesn't like to be shaded out, so native seedlings do better than gorse seedlings under dense gorse, and then natives grow up to shade out the older gorse.

You will need to keep gorse off land within 10m of the boundary with neighbours who are clear of gorse though.

Thanks Stikkibeek for the PM and the referral - we'll make that call soon! Your PM prompted me re-look at this thread, and am so thankful for the rest of the advice and comment!

Yes, SandyPines, it will likely be the property you are thinking of. It was purchased from the previous owner by Windfarms - and we bought it from them. We still aren't living in it - as the house renovation has been a big job.... nearly complete, and we should move in in a few weeks. Then the real work begins!!! As far as we can see so far - the paddock part of the property is completely fenced, and in good repair as well... I am amazed that the previous owners managed what they did on the land. We're yet to walk the fenceline in the pine block. And the gorse side of the creek is indeed not fenced from the bush side of the creek - which is why I was wondering whether goats could be trained/responded to those dog collar-type range control devices.

belinda_h, we'd love to join an LSB Manawatu/Rangitiki get together - happy to host a first one at our place (once we settle in, that is!). I'll start a new thread invite in say a month or so.... if no one beats me to it, that is!

Yes, Hawkspur, our gorse in the ravene is thick and dense (just pockets of it in the paddocks) - and we can see it is interspersed with natives here and there in the ravene. So, perhaps one idea is to transplant/encourage some of the natives that are fastest growing from the bush side of the ravene to the gorse side? Bush regeneration might need to be more a 10-20 year plan, eh!

You have a neighbour along Harrison hill road with some goats. The biggest problem up there is the exposure. Goats are much more susceptible to the wind and rain than sheep or cattle. As long as you have good shelter that is well tied down ( whole sheds can get blown away up there) and good supplementary feed I am sure you can get the right type of goat to suit your block. Goats have such great personalities and provide meat milk and even fibre if you are really keen. They do take more looking after than sheep though. Looks like you will need to get a horse to make full use of the arena too! Best of luck. If you host a get together we will come. In fact we could probably have one out here as well one day.

Welcome. My experiences for what they are worth .....
1. Pines. Get a consultant that is not tied up with a pruning gang. At 10 years they are probably better not pruned because that will leave a big pocket of gum stain for the next couple of years at that level in the timber. A professional logger has told me that many customers are getting upset at having this stain in what would be otherwise good timber. Don't thin until about 15 years so that the low branches are kept to a small diameter. Do thin if the weight of the trees makes the ground slip.
2. Goats. If they are tame and you have a good goat dog then you will be able to get them back. Goats have a daily route, so that at dawn they will be at the overnight spot, at midday they will be a kilometer away in the same place every day. Ours move clockwise, coming back to the overnight place each time (usually). If you feed hay in that spot, and put a saltlick there then that will encourage them to stay there.
Woolly goats need clear pasture to avoid getting rubbish in the fleece. Boer goats can have terrible feet problems.
Never, ever, ever have sheep and goats on the same property. Sheep bugs that don't worry sheep much kill goats really quickly.
3. Cattle. Are absolutely essential on steep country to clear up the long rank grass that sheep won't eat. Buy calves so that they can learn about hills. If you buy adults or yearlings ensure that they have come from a hill farm so that they know about slopes and have the correct muscle developement to handle slopes. When the weather has been wet for a time, get them down onto the flats.

If you can ask the neighbours how to farm your property, that can give some really good ideas. It is also worth considering leasing your block for a couple of years to a neighbour, and helping him whenever possible. Leasing value is worth about $100 per acre/$250 per hectare if you contol the weeds and put on the fertiliser (or pay the grazier to do these).

Hi Longridge - thanks for the really use info and advice. Yes, we had thought about leasing the paddocks, not only for the knowledge/experience it would bring us on the animal husbandry side but it would also give us time to concentrate on the garden, the gorse, the possums, tracks and fencing. We understand that cattle have previously been wintered under the pines. Had thought about advertising grazing for horse owners given its original owner set it up for that, but could well be plenty of that available on the flat in this region, and we're 12km from the city centre.

SP, we often see that neighbour rounding the goats back in!! They are a tempting type of stock given the milk, meat and fibre, as you say, and the personality/intelligence. We do have a what I think might be a great goat shelter - bottom floor of a two-story stable built on a hillside. Can't wait for this renovation to finish so we can forget the house and move onto the more interesting things!

Hi Aria

I love the area that you have bought in and have watched the for sale properties with interest. If the property you have bought is the one I think it is WELL DONE. I hope you are happy with your purchase.

Goats are great and you can run them under the pines also. Just make sure your boundary fences are a okay. []

I race through your way with far too many things to do and not enough time every 8-12 weeks so will keep an eye out and wave.

Hi Xartep, yep it'll likely be the property you are thinking of!!! It must have been the most viewed property in Aokautere - as we understand it was on the market for more than 3 years.

We first looked at it about a year before we bought it ... like most people we just weren't at the time prepared to take on the house renovation. Then we sold in Palmy town and ended up renting, and decided to look again. The house renovation will have taken more than 6 months from draughting to completion... and that's just the inside - still decks, landscaping and external paint to go once we move in. But it's been a treat to renovate as the 'good old girl' has really come up well.... and the views from the new open plan lounge/kitchen/dining are just to die for.

Funnily enough - we originally come from Kapiti and spent more than 20 years owning various beachfront properties there. So far the wind is nothing like what we experienced at Kapiti in a N'wester! I'm thinking it's quite good that we got that earlier 'combat' experience.

Hello again folks!

We moved into the house a couple of weeks ago. Lovely lot of neighbours - already housing three cattle for one who like many has run out of grass at the moment. Seems to be a common problem and luckily being as hilly as we are and without stock for the past three months, we've got some!

Now looking to stock it ourselves with Wiltshires in the near future, as per your suggestion Stu!

Looks like we're going to do well with possum fur! Put out three test lines of 10 traps each - nabbing 8, 7 and 6 of the critters respectively.

What sort of timing would suit all the LSB Manawatuvians for a get-together? Weekend, daytime, evening? Let me know your thoughts - still happy to host it up here in the clouds!