Anybody else have sheep?

[boilerjoe_96]

My hay is 80%+ alfalfa... normally my hay is in the 16-20% protein range....My mom's horses get pretty fat on it. Sheep won't?

 

[greyfields]

I guess I can't answer that question. In general, my sheep do not like dry matter and would rather graze low quality grass to the nub during winter. Yearling sheep can barely eat hay with only a couple teeth.

 

[rebecca100]

I used to have a purebred Jacob ram and 2 purebred Suffolk ewes, but last Feb. we lost our house in a tornado and 3 weeks later we lost out milk goats and sheep and chickens, ducks, geese, etc. to the neighbors dogs. Looked like a bloody massacre went on. Especially since everything was penned and easy prey. Still haven't gotton anything from the neighbors for repayment and I guess I probably never will since I don't have proof their dogs did it. Anyway DH said no more goats or sheep.

 

[Oreo]

You might not get as much for lambs in the southeast, where I live, as you might up north and west. But they are surprisingly easy keepers (mine, anyway). For those of you who don't know, there is an excellent sheep forum not unlike this one. It deals with anyone from high production on down to owners of individual sheep, so don't be scared off by the seemingly production mentality. The chief moderator on the board is really helpful and friendly. My user name on there is also Oreo, same as on here. That;s the name of our cynical old ewe who has a black face with a white stripe down the middle. Here's the site:

http://edgefieldsheep.com/bb/index.php

another good site that shows the breeds of all farm mammals is:

http://www.ansi.okstate.edu/breeds/sheep/

Good books for raising sheep and any other farm animals including chickens can be found at your local Tractor Supply store.

I recommend the Storey's Guides series for raising farm animals, and for sheep I have a good book called "living with sheep" by Chuck Wooster.

 

[cgjsmith]

I have babydoll sheep and I love them to death!! They are so funny to watch. I would almost sell all my pygmy goats to keep my sheep they are so much easier to take care of. I have 5 babydoll weathers, 2 rams who need to be weathered or sold, and one babydoll ewe. I need to either weather the rams because they have horns and babydolls are suppose to be polled. Crystal
heres my chocolet last yer hes a bit bigger now ha ha ah

 

[MissPrissy]

I would love to have 2 ewes and a baby. Why don't any of you people live near me?

 

[TheOLDNewChick]

I'm currently researching, wanting to get myself a couple ewes as well. Can someone take pictures of their setup (fields, barns, etc.) and post them, please? I'd like to get an idea of what all I'll need.

 

[MandyH]

We have 15 sheep at present. A couple are mixed, then we have katahadin (sp), barbados, and shetlands. We have a 2 month old pure katahdin ram lamb that has got to be sold asap. They don't need much grain due to bloat problems, and everything I have ever read or known is that sheep do much better on grass than anything else. In the winter we supplement hay with alpa-oats, alfalpha pellets, chops, and beet pulp shreds.

 

[Oreo]

Quote:
In your climate you don't need much except a good shed or lean-to for shelter from the weather and sun. I recommend four-foot high woven wire fence around the entire area you intend for them to graze, and use an electronet with a fencer to subdivide into smaller sections for rotational grazing. I also recommend you get at least three sheep together if possible. We bought a three-year old ewe and two baby ewes. Some people say sheep, since they are flocking animals, don't feel psychologically complete unless there are at least three of them together. Just how anyone determined that, I'll never know. . . . I recommend you check what breeds are kept successfully near you and choose on of those breeds. My wool sheep are a little uncomfortable in the hot weather, but shorn they do ok.