Oh yes it will bring flies.Big horse flys.And you will get BIG piles of pattys for sure.They get excited getting into thick green grass they get runs too.If they get alot.It will after a while probably damage your lawn too.Thier hooves,wet ground.We raise registered Texas Longhorns.How many cows would it be?we have about a dozen,more of a hobby type thing.were breeding them in June.
They also eat everything.We have a large area on hill all pines.We fenced them off ,they would eat them.They would eat your fruit trees.

OK, now I'm speaking from zero experience and only what I've read. But what about instead of letting the entire herd in, just rotating them through a few at a time and then rotating in chickens to pick through the poop and eat the flies? Of course if you don't have or want chickens that certainly won't work! I had read about someone out on the west coast using a similar set-up for his organic farm where he rotated pastures, moving chickens into the areas where his cattle had grazed. That's just my two cents and it may not be worth much of anything!

Yes, you will have flies!

The chicken idea works well. I have much less flies on my horse farm with chickens free ranging and you will have eggs as a bonus!

Don't let the cows onto the property until the ground is firm so they won't punch holes into it. If you just let them graze for a few days at most, then fence them out, you should be able to keep them from destroying anything from overgrazing. Rotational grazing will benefit both you and the cows.

Fence out the trees. Probably with more than 1 strand of barb wire. They will reach over & knock it down to eat the trees.

M

This ain't exactly a lawn where I live.
It used to be a cow field. We just built houses and started mowing.
This ground is good and solid.
I mow it with a 1949 8N tractor (with ag-bar tires) and a finish mower.
Having cows walk all over it is the least of my worries.

No chickens except what he has in a pen up at his barn.
He keeps about 5 chickens just for the eggs everyday.

If I fence off the area of fruit trees that leaves about an acre for the cows.
And it still leaves up plenty of yard space.
If it were entirely up to me I would fence the whole place off
and let the cows have the run of the whole lot. Front yard and all.

The cows sometimes manage to get out of the ditch and up into the yard.
They are not any trouble, but we live on a sometimes busy road.
The fence is only to keep them in the yard and out of the road.
There would only be 6 to 8 cows at a time at the most.

Maybe I'm just blind to the flys. I don't encounter then when I'm near the cows.
And to me they don't smell. And the fields don't smell.
Or maybe I'm just so used to it I don't pay attention to it.

We're gonna discuss it more today with the cow man.

Thanks for the advice. Keep it coming.

Pooh Bear

Pooh Bear, I say "go for it"

What kind of grass do you have? What kind of cows?

Yes, you will have the average amount of flys, but having chickens will absolutely help. Get your own...sprinkle corn scratch over the cow patties and the chickens will make them disappear in a matter of minutes.

Chickens are your answer to the flys and patties, not to mention the fertilizer and the eggs they provide. The cattle rotation is a good idea, too. Don't worry about rotating the chickens after the cows...let them go WITH them...to do the clean up. Watching the chickens scratch is every bit as relaxing as listening to the cows...personally, I get much more relaxation from my chickens than I do the cows. They are both great, though. And they don't always "moo". Sometimes is "merrr", "burp" or "blaggghhh". They are always entertaining, though.

I don't remember...you have a good water source?

Suzie

Water source? I have the Sequatchie River.
The cows currently have a path to the river.
The man that owns the cows has an easement across one side of
our property so his cows can get to the river.
All I am proposing is fencing off part of our yard/field and
letting cows wonder up in it from the easement and eat the grass.
This would eliminate a huge part of my mowing.
There won't be chickens. Next door neighbor had chickens.
He let them run loose for the most part and they came in our yard.
We didn't mind them, but in flood season one year all the chickens drowned.
So he doesn't keep chickens anymore.
The neighbor with the cows keeps about 5 chickens but they are penned up all the time.
Our yard was originally a cow field. We just started mowing it.
To save some gas this year I want to let the cows eat some of it.

Pooh Bear

There's no law that says every square inch of your property has to be mowed. (At least, I don't think there is!) If you only want the cows to keep it "manicured," why not give up on the mowing entirely and plant a field of wildflowers instead? It'll be a nice habitat for birds and butterflies, and it'll save you a fortune in gas.

As for bringing in some "moo" cows, I guarantee you will get lots and lots of "patties." One cow on fresh grass can poop multiple times per HOUR, nevermind per day. If these cows happen to be on your lawn when it rains (and the ground softens), expect to fins some signigicant turf damage, too. And of course, there are the flies...

So I would suggest you rethink your whole idea of having to keep every square inch of property mowed-- I promise, Momma Nature will be just as happy if you let her work some of her own magic (with a little help from you with a few bags of wildflower seed!)

I talked to the man who owned the cows.
I had to mow this past Saturday and I left the parts
that would have been fenced in for the cows un-cut.
I did this so we could see just how much the cows would get.
The cow owner said it was too small an area for him to fence.
So I'm just gonna let it grow up some and bush hog it.

I used half as much gas leaving that section un cut.
So that helped a lot. It will grow like crazy from now till mid June.
I'll just bush hog it once a month or so.

Thanks for all the advice.

Pooh Bear

Does the farmer make his own hay? Perhaps he would be interested in cutting it for hay for his cows...

He said it wasn't worth cutting for hay. Too many weeds.
It lies in the flood plain of the river and is under water
a few times a year for a few days. pics of the worst flood in 100 years.
The field across the road from us is cut for hay and last year
I went over and asked if they wanted mine too and they declined.
It just won't make good hay. Be great for grazing.
But people don't want weeds in their hay.

I can just bush hog it once ever couple of months.
I think a lot of people around here plan to do the same.

Pooh Bear

Have you considered sheep? I've never tried them myself, but there are some farmers around here (Alberta, Canada) who buy two or three lambs in the spring to keep the yard mowed down, especially around grain bins and such, then sell them in the fall. Cheaper than gas, but you would need a fence. I don't know how they would be with the fruit trees. Does anybody else have experience with sheep?

Sheep are good for grazing down grass. They bite it off neatly and don't pull it up by the roots. Most sheep don't like to browse on trees if they have enough grass.

They leave manure that enriches the soil, rather than destroying it like cow patties.

They are selective and do not eat all types of weeds.

If they are left on a pasture that is larger than they can consume in about a week, they will repeatedly eat the same tender grass over and over, ignoring less tender, higher grass. This means that you need to cross fence and rotate the sheep to different grazing areas every few days.

I'd say sheep are a great Idea, They used to use sheep at the White House, and at the very most you would have to wrap your trees truns with some plastic fencing to keep them from getting scraped, although sheep generally do not go for bark. I'd say start with three lambs, and if thats not enought to keep the yards well maintained get more the next year.