I would first find out what the predator problem is like in your area before bringing home your first flock. Do other farms have trouble with neighbor dogs or stray dogs harassing their livestock? Are there coyotes in your area? Do the coyotes live peaceably with the sheep farms? Whether or not you bring home an intact ram is based upon your purpose in owning sheep. Breeding is the only reason to have a resident ram. If you have a ram, then you also need to have a wether, a castrated ram whose sole purpose is to live with the ram.
Rams need other rams and do not thrive when they must live alone. Some people leave their ram in with their ewes year round, We do not do that here on our farm. We keep several rams on our farm that live year round in different quarters from the ewes. The only time the rams go in with the ewes is for breeding season in the fall. Rams can become aggressive and difficult to handle. Are all rams aggressive? Certainly not, rams may be gentle as well, but I never turn my back on a ram.
If caught off guard, they can do serious damage to you if they butt you. You may want to read my Living with Rams post for more information on how we raise our rams. If this is your first experience with sheep, I would think about holding off on breeding as well. Our first year with sheep, we did not breed. This gave us time to learn about basic sheep care and attend the sheep workshops offered around the state before we jumped into lambing.
I would also visit other farms to see their sheep and their set up. I learned so much by visiting other sheep farms when we first started. Our sheep eat grass in the summer and a high quality second cut hay in the winter. The only time they get grain is for about three to four weeks after lambing. I do this to ensure the mom has adequate nutrition for lactation. I would find a hay source before purchasing your sheep. If you are concerned about the quality and nutritional value of the hay, you can also have the hay analyzed by a lab.
Your sheep will also need fresh water daily. You also need to consult with your local vet, local feed store, and other farms to determine if your soils have sufficient minerals to meet the needs of your new flock.
Most areas of the United States are deficient in selenium, a critical mineral to sheep health, and so it must be supplemented. We give a mineral mix supplement and kelp year round on our farm. Sheep need shelter from sun in the summer and from winter winds.
What is your budget for sheep? High Maintenance Sheep. Those are just some goals to get you started. Be sure to take some action. After you have made a few goals to start with, start with choosing the breed you want. Go here to read about the breed of sheep I have been raising for nearly a decade. Will you go to the sale barn or a breeder to buy your first sheep?
You want to buy the best quality breeding stock you can afford from the beginning. Know where the sheep came from. I recommend finding a reputable shepherd or breeder who manages their flock the same way you would raise your own. Visiting other farms will allow you to make connections and meet people within the industry. From there, you can make your decision on what you want to get and even make a contact of a good breeder to buy your first sheep from. You might be toying with the idea of buying younger sheep if the price is right or older sheep who are already hardy.
Also, if you want fiber sheep, know that not all fiber is of equal quality. Again, buy from a reputable breeder and be very careful. Finally, start small. Start with just a few to help get you started that you can grow from. Some of the top cattle breeders in the country that I know started out with one or two head of cows.
Be sure to find the best you can that matches your goals to start your flock. Growing in size is the easy part but finding the quality you want can be very difficult.
The next thing you need to know before you buy your first sheep is what equipment you need. Sheep need shelter, fencing and veterinary supplies. Woven wire fence is expensive but it will last a very long time with sheep. We also put a strand of barbed wire above the woven wire to keep out any predators. A place to get out of the weather is also needed.
Sometimes, this can be as simple as a thicket of trees or a cave. But other times you need to make them a shelter to protect them from the elements. But it needs to do its job of protecting your sheep.
A Winter lambing barn should be warmer than a summer rain shelter. Along with the shelter, a good shepherd needs to build catch pens and a chute system to work the sheep. Sometimes, we just scrape together whatever gates we can make in our alley way for a catch pen to sort the sheep.
Really, you need fencing, shelter and a way to catch them. You need a good place for deworming, vaccinating, sorting and weighing if needed.
Also, if you get wool sheep, you need to keep shearing in mind. You can hire a shearer to come shear your sheep. A shearer needs to be lined up 6 months in advance. If you want to shear your sheep yourself , find a good mentor to help you learn. This mentor can also help you learn about sheep care and nutrition. For any living thing, nutrition is critical to the health and wellness of your sheep.
It is not worth it. Other times, you may have a hard time getting a straight answer. Buying sheep with a shady background could mean that you wind up with animals that are sick, aggressive, or injured in some way. A sheep with minimal fat and muscle on the ribs and backbones is in low body condition and will be at a higher risk of disease and death.
Ideally, you want a sheep that has a good level of muscle and fat, with rounded ribs and hips and top of the backbone. Finally, before you make the sale, check the wool, teeth, and udders of the animal. Have the sheep been sheared of late? Feel the texture, tugging a bit. Is this the texture and color of the wool you want?
If there are any broken or badly aligned teeth, it could indicate that the ewe is very old — it will make it harder for her to feed later on. The udder should be small with two prominent nipples as long as she is not pregnant or nursing. There should not be any hard spots or lumpiness, as this can indicate that she had mastitis in the past.
You will also have to watch out for odd-shaped or oddly-spaced teats, which can be a challenge when it comes to nursing little ones.
There are benefits and disadvantages to both but it helps to know the proper sheep terminology. Lambs are sheep that are less than a year old. A yearling sheep is a sheep that is a year or two old, and after 2 years, that sheep is considered a ewe. In most cases, you should not breed a yearling ewe. They can be nervous and have additional birthing difficulties. If you decide to purchase lambs, know that they will need to be wormed and rotated on pasture more often since they are more likely to acquire internal parasites.
That is because they have a smaller blood capacity. I recommend starting with slightly older sheep in most cases. A final option is to buy a bred ewe. When you get your sheep home, try to feed them a similar feed ration to what they were eating before. If you make any changes, do this gradually to make sure they are not stressed. Hopefully, these tips will help you out as you set off on your journey in shepherding.
0コメント