Begginer Livestock Help

[Smittenroade]

Quote:
I'm near Texarkana, used to live in Rockwall.
I love Canton! ^_^ Your flea market is one of the coolest places I have EVER been...I'm going to make a trip to go there again soon I LOVE IT!

Are hair sheep the ones you shave for wool? How labor intesive are they? My father doesn't want to get sheep because he thinks shearing them would be too much of a pain. But I have the final word.

What do you guys do for fencing? It seems like a strict electric fence would be the cheapest? Can you even do that? Half of our property is fenced with barbwire but I need to repair it...

Do you guys make any money off your herds?

First Monday is this weekend!

No, hair sheep are the ones that do not have to be sheared. They have more fur like say a long haired cow than wool. They shed their coat out on their own. They are mostly raised for meat. Wool sheep is what they call the ones that need to be sheared. Most of the people I know that have wool sheep show them, so they have all the equipment to shear on hand and do it regularly (lambs are shown sheared down tight to the body), but I do know a few people who but offer shearing services and also a few people who pay someone to shear their sheep for them.

If you have sheep you will probably need something more than an electric fence to keep them in. They can be sneaky little devils. You could probably put up a electric fence to keep a couple of calves in. I know people that DO use electric fences for sheep and goats to rotate them to different sections of their pastures, but they can and occasionally do get out if they get motivated enough. Wire goat fencing would probably be the better option.

Instead of trying to raise an animal to breed right now...how about buy 2-3 weaning aged steer calves and raise them up? You can either sell them for a bit of profit or even have one butchered for your own family's consumption and sell the other(s) to help pay for the cost of processing? Then you can get to know a little more about raising cattle up and see if it is for you?

Oh! Awesome..I didn't know about sheep like that...that sounds like a good idea. I think I'll get a mix of goats and sheep and a pair of steer calves like you said. I can butcher like a champ so I can skip that step. Thank you for the wonderful input, I really appreciate it from the bottom of my heart!

Goat fencing, dually noted.
Goat fencing is the square fencing right? I think I used it on my peafowl run.

 

[Smittenroade]

I've been researching quite a bit tonight and I think I've come to a conclusion...
What do you guys think of the Boer goat breed?
It seems like that breed would fit what I am going for.
Grows fast, large goat, sells for a good bit.
Lot's of ethnic cultures down here love goat, especially the Mexicans.

 

[OtterCreekRanch]

Yes goat fencing is the stuff that has the squares. We even use it for cattle fencing occasionally because it is harder for them to go through (though just as easy for them to go over lol).

I like boer goats for limited pasture space in the area. They sell really well down here. I have thought about raising them a time or two, but the ones I like the looks of are the registered show quality goats and I cannot afford $800-1000 per goat. Unregistered weanlings are usually in the $80-150 range with isn't bad at all if you don't care about papers. I think you will find a good market for them though because like you said, there is always meat buyers for them down here.

 

[Beekissed]

You might check into Katahdin hair sheep in your area. The same ethnic market that likes goat are generally the same that prefer hair sheep over woolly breeds. Many ethnic food buyers are looking for animals that have not been docked, tagged or cut for their religious holidays and the hair sheep fulfill all those requirements. They also like an all white animal and the Katahdins are primarily white in coloring if pureblood. They bring the same price as the goats, are easier to keep~hardier and parasite resistant, have good flocking instincts and so are more likely to be contained by fencing, and they both graze and browse, so they are good on your pastures.