Can anyone give me some advice about Sheep?

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Debby - LB

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I was given some sheep, I said I'd like to have 2 or 3 to mow the pastures and next thing I know there were 3 ewes and a ram delivered when my trailer was returned.. I like them but I've never been around Sheep and know nothing about them. I got them Saturday the 7th and on the 9th one had a lamb. On the 12th I went out that morning at daylight and another had had twins. OMG they are the cutest little things. Right now all I know is they are multiplying. I really did not want a ram I have no desire to breed and have been on pins and needles worrying about a fox or coyote getting these babies. I think maybe buying diesel wasn't so bad after all. Here is a photo of the last babies and their Mom

sheep.jpg

Does anyone have any experience to share? I could sure use some instruction about feeding and tending to them.

I was told they are white Dorpers. I know they are hair sheep but that's about all.

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I really dont know anything about sheep though Ive been in the same boat as you and have wanted 3-4 for mowing. My cousin has a couple and they are dorpers. The only thing I know is they drop their own wool (correct me if im wrong)

Debby - "That photo" is the best, talk about cute
default_smile.png
The twins are actually making a love heart.

Ill be interested to hear what others have to say , so I can look into it in the near future.
 
I know you can't feed them horse feed or mineral. Sheep are very sensitive to copper, so the high levels in horse feeds are toxic to sheep (can kill them).

They are ruminants, so chew cud, can usually eat lower quality hay than horses (might be more sensitive than cattle; we only have cattle, and they get the hay that isn't good enough for the horses around here). Our neighbors use their sheep to clean up their trees and hay storage area in the summer.
 
There is like a heart there! thanks Ryan I didn't even notice that part. I'm glad you said that Chanda, it ran through my mind that I'd heard once that goats can't eat that stuff, so not being sure I moved the old mineral block out of the back pasture, I'm glad I did now. I'll get some decent looking cow hay for them, I've been throwing them in some of my horse hay and they come up and eat it. When I asked the man about feeding, worming, shots, foot care etc he said nope nothing they just eat and survive on what mother nature has out there for them. Hmm, OK No I'll want to make sure they at least have what they need..whatever that may be lol. I did try to read up on this breed of sheep last night and they seem to be a very hardy animal. I wonder if the ram is a full Dorper though since what I read, unless I misunderstood, said they don't have horns, this one does. I don't like thinking about those horns around my horses.They are separate but when I let them out first thing in the am they walk through where those sheep are because since there are tiny babies involved I put them up at the lot next to the barn at night. Once they get a little bigger they'll always stay out back.
 
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If the blocks you have are just basic livestock blocks, they should be ok, however, if the are horse specific, then removing them was a good idea.
 
They are very sweet. They do need dewormed and hoof trims. Some wear their hoovs naturally as horses do but some grow long toes and will need trimmed. Also, if the lambs have long tails, you may want to dock them. I have had sheep with long tails before, and they all seem to build up manure in the wool that hosts pests, including maggots. I only keep a few sheep for myself and it's mostly just to keep pastures clear and put some meat in the freezer. I used to let someone board sheep here, and lend me a ram, and I learned the basics from him. As long as mommas can make enough milk for the lambs, they should be just fine. I do recommend a creep feeder when and if you decide to introduce grain, my ewes gobble it up before the lambs get a taste otherwise.
 
Sell the ram or give him away.

They are hair sheep, so zero reason to dock the tails.

If any lambs are male, have a farmer band them soon umless you have buyers for them in about 3-4mo.

Sheep cannot have feeds or minerals for other animals. If your area is low in copper, a little can be in their mineral mix, but not much.

Loose sheep mineral is best, keep it dry. Most have molasses in it, so you may have to search for one that doesn't.

Sheep are easy and sweet. I love mine. ♡☆♡

They do need to be on dry ground, as they can get foot rot or splitting of hoof and sole, like horses. Some need trimming every few months, some can go longer.

Plain grass hay during winter and pasture during growing season should be fine. My sheep are just as picky about hay as my horses. I don't see a point in feeding worse quality hay just because they are sheep.

I only deworm when they seem to need it, but if you live in an area known to have a geavy parasite load, then you may need to worm regularly.

You lucked out that they are hair sheep!

If you are worried about the lambs being gobbled up or winter freezimg them, which might happen, bring the mom and her lamb (s) into a stall at night.
 
I can't edit through my phone. But I forgot to mention something.

I bought my first sheep for the same reason, to mow.

I now grow and pamper my grass just for my sheep! =D. To top that, I just bought 25acres, you guessed it, for my growing flock!! ♡
 
Depending on how much you are into the "natural" and/or "permaculture" views you might want to check out Dan's YouTube channel - The Grass Fed Homestead. He and his family are starting out with homesteading on a small property on the West Coast (I can never remember which state) where they get snow. They are concentrating on grass-fed sheep and their first year they raised 4 meat sheep. 2 of them were the Dorpers(correct spelling?) and 2 were crossbred. It was fun to watch their first experiences with ANY livestock - things we take for granted were amusing to watch a "newbie" experience. Both Dan and his wife Ashley have some health issues so are doing Paleo diets and pretty much totally organic as they can. That was what started them on the road to raising their own meat.

They feed and offer minerals based on organic type grass and purchased forage (hay). He has a couple of vids where he talks about balancing the minerals to the hay/forage/feed diet he is using. You will have to go thru his video list to decide which to watch. Some of them are a bit graphic - showing the processing of sheep & chickens. Those do have warnings.

Dec 31 - The breeder he purchased his first 4 sheep from called him and - this one is called Weighing & Condition Scoring sheep

Other than that, I know nothing about sheep other than I've totally enjoyed watching his videos for a while now. I'm a little behind again, have to catch up. When they are vlogging, they do a video every day. They took a week off from the 1st thru the 7th.

****

Secuono - have you had goats, too? If so, what breeds/why? We were looking at getting some goats, but now I'm wondering about sheep instead? We don't know, haven't decided. Was specifically looking at small goats (Nigerian Dwarf, Pygmy, Kinder) for milking (& meat?).
 
I had 3 little goats. They were impossible to contain and ruined 500lbs of hay.
They were bottle raised, so super fun, but caused too much trouble.

I like my mellow sheep much better.

Some people like goats climbing on them, I didn't.

Guy up the road has tons of nicely contained boer goats, maybe those aren't spider-goats like I had. Lol
 
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Thank you all so much for the great information! I will just feed them the same hay as I get for the horses then, and I'll go ahead and read up on the wormer I'll need. I see that the one lamb is a female, and then the twins are one of each so I'll need to read up on banding too cause I don't want another male. I will take your advice and get rid of the ram. After a quick peek I'm definitely loving the grass-fed homestead!! wow they have a lot of sheep, I'm jealous they can handle them. Mine are not used to humans. As far as the meat..as much as I love lamb - chops, ribs, Yum NO I can't eat what I raise. If it looks at me and I name it it's safe LOL. I did not make it in the game bird business because I could not process them for meat.

Goats I don't care for, they are better than Houdini at getting out and getting into stuff but the worst part is the smell, I can't stand the smell of a goat.
 
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