# Could sheep replace the lawn mower? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [June 6, 2008, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-sheep-replace-the-lawn-mower/452035 "2008-06-06T17:10:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2008, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-sheep-replace-the-lawn-mower/452035/1 "2008-06-06T17:10:56Z")
[http://www.straightdope.com/columns/080606.html](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/080606.html) Having read the article and thought about the problems Cecil pointed out, it seems to me that the main problem is that for any likely sized urban lawn, a sheep is simply too large a grazer. I’m not sure how small ruminants come- maybe a pygmy goat? Or if rabbits can sustain themselves mostly on coarse grass. But definitely it would be better to have greater numbers of something much smaller. You could fine tune the balance of grazers to living space much better, and if they bred prolificly you could reduce your herd to a small reserve of breeders over the winter and have them repopulate in the spring. ---
**Author:** ![essell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/34f0e0/32.png) [@essell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/essell)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2008, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-sheep-replace-the-lawn-mower/452035/2 "2008-06-06T17:23:19Z")
My lawn is about 4m x 5m. My two regular domestic bunnies are more than capable lawn mowers. Like the sheep in the article they are taken away from the lawn in the winter to give it a chance to recover. I’ve had to re-seed the lawn one year due to excessive bunny eating. Their digging does’t help either but at least they don’t have hooves. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2008, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-sheep-replace-the-lawn-mower/452035/3 "2008-06-06T17:37:18Z")
The Master answers the question: [Could sheep replace the lawn mower?](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/080606.html) For anyone who is interested discussion on animals other than sheep, there have been a couple of threads on the topic. One was, [What animal is best lawn mower?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=468739), started by yours truly. The other, started by The Scrivener, [started by asking if rabbits could be used,](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=381103&highlight=lawnmower) and went on from there. Personally, I thought the guinea pigs were the cutest idea. You definitely wouldn’t want to leave them caged in the heat, but the image of roving herds of squee-ing guinea pigs sticks in the mind. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2008, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-sheep-replace-the-lawn-mower/452035/4 "2008-06-06T18:00:44Z")
Obligatory mention that during WWI, [Woodrow Wilson used sheep to crop the White House lawn](http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/grounds/kids/06.html) to save manpower. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2008, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-sheep-replace-the-lawn-mower/452035/5 "2008-06-06T18:27:33Z")
[QUOTE=Exapno Mapcase] Obligatory mention that during WWI, [Woodrow Wilson used sheep to crop the White House lawn](http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/grounds/kids/06.html) to save manpower. [/QUOTE] Damn! That’s what I came in to say. :: shakes fist at **Exapno Mapcase** :: ---
**Author:** ![Ponderoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponderoid/32/19221_2.png) [@Ponderoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponderoid)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2008, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-sheep-replace-the-lawn-mower/452035/6 "2008-06-06T18:30:58Z")
[QUOTE=Exapno Mapcase] Obligatory mention that during WWI, [Woodrow Wilson used sheep to crop the White House lawn](http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/grounds/kids/06.html) to save manpower. [/QUOTE] That pic illustrates Cecil’s point: The caption says that they’re grazing the lawn, but the pic shows them gathered around either a feed or water trough. \*\*\* Ponder ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_Wright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@Steve\_Wright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_Wright)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2008, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-sheep-replace-the-lawn-mower/452035/7 "2008-06-06T19:05:07Z")
A friend of a friend used to hire out a flock of sheep for precisely this purpose - his customers were mostly the National Trust, or other people with extensive grounds they wanted to keep well-cropped. Unfortunately, the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak a few years back, with the consequent clamp-down on animal movements, rather put an end to this scheme. Pity, really. It’s not everyone who gets to pimp sheep for a living, legitimately. ---
**Author:** ![jjen009](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a8b319/32.png) [@jjen009](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjen009)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2008, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-sheep-replace-the-lawn-mower/452035/8 "2008-06-06T19:49:13Z")
[QUOTE=Lumpy] [http://www.straightdope.com/columns/080606.html](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/080606.html) Having read the article and thought about the problems Cecil pointed out, it seems to me that the main problem is that for any likely sized urban lawn, a sheep is simply too large a grazer. I’m not sure how small ruminants come- maybe a pygmy goat? Or if rabbits can sustain themselves mostly on coarse grass. But definitely it would be better to have greater numbers of something much smaller. You could fine tune the balance of grazers to living space much better, and if they bred prolificly you could reduce your herd to a small reserve of breeders over the winter and have them repopulate in the spring. [/QUOTE] Dunno about Turin (or Tulsa) but here in New Zealand people with grass verges quite commonly put a goat on a long chain hanging from a wire (with a little hut for shelter) - works fine! jj ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2008, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-sheep-replace-the-lawn-mower/452035/9 "2008-06-06T20:50:38Z")
[QUOTE=Ponderoid] That pic illustrates Cecil’s point: The caption says that they’re grazing the lawn, but the pic shows them gathered around either a feed or water trough. \*\*\* Ponder [/QUOTE] Makes for a better picture that way, though. I have to assume they weren’t there all the time. ---
**Author:** ![doug\_l](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/51bf81/32.png) [@doug\_l](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doug_l)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2008, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-sheep-replace-the-lawn-mower/452035/10 "2008-06-06T21:47:55Z")
Years ago while travelling through New Zealand I noticed that along some roads one could see what appeared to be doghouses. Eventually I found out that they were shelters for goats that the highway maintenance folk employed to keep the growth down. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2008, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-sheep-replace-the-lawn-mower/452035/11 "2008-06-06T22:38:28Z")
Note: I’ve merged Yllaria’s thread with Lumpy’s on the same topic to keep things tidy. Carry on. ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2008, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-sheep-replace-the-lawn-mower/452035/12 "2008-06-07T15:49:45Z")
I can’t find the news article, but last summer the city of Seattle rented a herd of goats to clear blackberry bushes from freeway hillsides. ---
**Author:** ![meek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ce73a5/32.png) [@meek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/meek)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2008, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-sheep-replace-the-lawn-mower/452035/13 "2008-06-08T05:31:45Z")
The City of Fort Saskatchewan near Edmonton has a sheep grazing program every year. Here is the [link.](http://www.fortsask.ca/ftsk_thingstodo/SheepGrazingProgram.aspx) It seems to be quite popular. . ---
**Author:** ![monavis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e0b2c6/32.png) [@monavis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monavis)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2008, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-sheep-replace-the-lawn-mower/452035/14 "2008-06-08T11:43:43Z")
We raised sheep in a 5 acre field, they did keep the grass down, plus we had to feed them grain and hay. They also ate our grapes and anything leafy. We kept 3 until our children had left home, then our yard turned into a big forest like area with a lot of trees and shrubs. We cleared it out and kept some trees for the birds as there are cherry, mulberry,buckthorn, apple, honeysuckle and Asian dogwood. We cut around the trees and it is a lot of work, but it looks like a park. We do alot of the work by hand,We do cut the grass and pick up some of the leaves with a riding mower but we also do a lot of raking. If we went back to the sheep we would have to put up better fencing, and shearing them, feeding and delivering lambs is also a lot of work,plus the electric it takes to pump the water that they need so either way it is a lot of work. If we cut down all the “weed” trees it would also mean getting rid of the wood, if let to grow there is a danger of fire if some one went by and threw out a cigerette butt. Monavis ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2008, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-sheep-replace-the-lawn-mower/452035/15 "2008-06-09T14:35:07Z")
> [@](#): > > Could sheep replace the lawnmower? I don’t care who they are, if they break it, they’re on the hook to give me a new one. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2008, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-sheep-replace-the-lawn-mower/452035/16 "2008-06-10T19:40:56Z")
[QUOTE=picunurse] I can’t find the news article, but last summer the city of Seattle rented a herd of goats to clear blackberry bushes from freeway hillsides. [/QUOTE] Those guys are from Vashon Island, where I live. Here’s the website: [http://www.rent-a-ruminant.com/](http://www.rent-a-ruminant.com/) ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2008, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-sheep-replace-the-lawn-mower/452035/17 "2008-06-10T19:50:46Z")
[QUOTE=Cervaise] I don’t care who they are, if they break it, they’re on the hook to give me a new one. [/QUOTE] Well that’s all right with me, but how are you at catching mice? ---
**Author:** ![bonzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/45deac/32.png) [@bonzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bonzer)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2008, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-sheep-replace-the-lawn-mower/452035/18 "2008-06-10T23:14:09Z")
The [Sawtooth Ramps](http://www.art-in-partnership.org.uk/cms/index.html?topic_id=94) piece of landscape art alongside the M8 in Scotland has a flock of [brightly coloured sheep](http://news.bbc.co.uk/nolpda/ukfs_news/hi/newsid_6521000/6521149.stm) cropping its grass. Apparently easier than trying to mow the sloping sides. [sub](And, why yes, this post _was_ prompted by the Andrew Graham-Dixon item in tonight’s _The Culture Show_ on BBC2 …)[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2008, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-sheep-replace-the-lawn-mower/452035/19 "2008-06-11T16:11:37Z")
Just chiming in to say that dear Cecil kinda glossed over the notion that you could sell any wool after shearing, or [wash/card/dye/spin](http://www.kswpa.com/woolprocess.htm) it yourself for knitting and such. Goat’s milk can also be harvested if you go that route. Bi-products of use and worth are not something you can get out of a lawnmower. ---
**Author:** ![nd\_n8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/439d5e/32.png) [@nd\_n8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nd_n8)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2008, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-sheep-replace-the-lawn-mower/452035/20 "2008-06-11T16:36:17Z")
I’m just enjoying the picture of **Hal Briston** , napping in a lawn chair while one of his sheep eats his hat. Only two more days until that goes away though. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-sheep-replace-the-lawn-mower/452035.md?page=2)