Thinking of buying some land and sheep

[michickenwrangler]

I've always wanted sheep and now that land is getting very cheap by us (some as low as $1200/acre), I've kicked around the idea of buying a few acres and putting a small flock of sheep on it. The sheep would be out of my sight, a few miles north of us. I would also get a llama or donkey as a guardian animal since we do have coyotes around here and wolves and mountain lions are occassionally spotted depite our DNR's insistence that they aren't. Sheep would be used for meat & wool with milking excess in lambing season.

Has anyone done anything like this? Advice? Warnings?

Thanks

 

[Katy]

I grew up with sheep and unless you are there to keep an eye on them I wouldn't waste your money. During lambing you need to check them several times a day and night and have shelter for them. Even when it's not lambing season I wouldn't want them where I couldn't check them easily.

 

[aggieterpkatie]

Hm....I kinda agree with Katy, but think that it would work if you were diligent in checking them.

 

[michickenwrangler]

Any advice then, for talking my husband into letting me get a few mini-sheep on our place?

 

[missfitch]

I grew up raising sheep and showing in 4-H, I LOVED sheep, and my children will also have sheep someday......hopefully soon!
I think it depends on location, We never had an issues and lived in Ohio.

 

[michickenwrangler]

I talked to him about it today and he said that if we can buy the lot next to us, I can get sheep. But the neighbor that has it doesn't get along with us.

Long story short: her weird 40-something son always stumbles over drunk and wants DH to drive him to town and get more beer. When he came over when DH wasn't home, I let him have it (verbally, no profanity). His mom also was afraid that DH sue her for taking our daughter for rides on the ATV on the dirt road in front of her house.

So, DH wants to buy that piece of land so we don't have to hear any more from her. And he said I could put sheep on it. Problem is, we don't know if she'll sell, or sell at what we could afford.

 

[Laurieks]

... we don't know if she'll sell, or sell at what we could afford.

buy via 3rd party?

I just heard that wool is going up in value, for use in 'green' insulation. That would be cool as you wouldn't have to worry as much about 'vegetable contamination' (weeds etc sticking in wool).

I would put a guardian dog or Llama or donkey or emu or something with them. I have goats and no room for sheep, and neighbors with dogs all around us, so very few predators and no personal experience with what guardian works best. My goat friends have guardian dogs or llamas. A farm down the road has emus with their geese & sheep.​

 

[michickenwrangler]

How could you buy via 3rd party?

Long story short: DH's family bought the land back in the 1960s, originally close to 12 acres. House was given/sold (not sure) to DH's older sister. She ran into financial problems and sold off 6 acres (northern 3 and eastern 3, so kind of an inverted L) and the property that was not sold ended up back with DH's parents and then eventually to him. So the lot that DH wants to buy was originally his dad's at one point, but it was sold and bought legally. This neighbor in question thinks that our driveway is on her property (it's not) so there is a surveying issue.

Advice is appreciated.

I think I would go with a donkey. Do NOT want an emu, llamas aren't that friendly.

 

[Cara]

To second what Katy said, my FIl always describes sheep as 'looking for a place to die'.

 

[Laurieks]

How could you buy via 3rd party?

Ask a good friend to buy it and then sell it to you... or a lawyer might be able to take care of it so they have no idea it's you.
The guy in Last American Man (true story, by the author of Eat Pray Love) did something like that I think; I forgot the details and got that book from the library so canna look it up.
Or *evil grin* wait for it to foreclose and get it cheap. *gasp* did I type that out loud???​