In article ,
Janet wrote:

That's not so. All you have to do is to ensure that the branches are
higher than the browsing height or the tree is protected to that height.
Yes, the animals will prune the trees to keep it that way, but that's
not a big deal. Goats might be a problem, as they will also eat bark,
but cattle, sheep, horses and their related species aren't.

In my experience when grazing is short in winter, both sheep and
horses will eat bark :-( (Hungry horses made a terrible mess of a
mature birch wood in the winter before we bought it).

Grass stops growing in winter but sheep keep eating; so an enclosed
acre does not provide enough grazing all year round to feed a couple of
sheep. They would need supplementary feeding which isn't cheap.

Well, of course. I was assuming that the stock were not overcrowded
and neglected. Except perhaps for goats, no domestic livestock (or
even deer, hares and rabbits) will eat bark if any better food is
available. Bluntly, domestic animals eating bark is a priori evidence
of mismanagement, at best, and animal cruelty at worst.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.