Grazing Rotation
🐐 Herd tab → ☰ → 🌿 Pasture Rotation
Rotation is moving goats through paddocks on a plan rather than leaving them on one piece of ground. Herd Manager records the moves and keeps the history.
Recording a Move
When you move a group, log it — which paddock they left, which they entered, and when. The app builds each paddock's grazing history from those moves.
What the History Gives You
- Days since last grazed per paddock, against the minimum rest you set
- How long the current group has been in against your maximum grazing days
- A season's pattern — which paddocks carry the load and which get skipped
That last one is usually the surprise. Most farms have a paddock that quietly gets grazed twice as often as the others because it's closest to the barn.
Why the Rest Period Is the Real Number
Rotation done for grass is about regrowth. Rotation done for goats is mostly about parasites — larvae concentrate in the bottom few inches of forage and die off over time on rested ground.
Moving animals before they graze too low, and not returning until the rest period is genuinely up, is what breaks the cycle. Coming back early undoes it.
Larval die-off depends on temperature and moisture — it's far faster in hot dry weather than in cool damp conditions, and can stretch to months in some climates. There's no universal number. Your extension service or vet will know your region.
Pairing with FAMACHA
Rotation and FAMACHA scoring work together: rotation lowers exposure, FAMACHA tells you who still needs treating. Doing both means deworming fewer animals less often, which slows resistance.