justusnak
Almost Self-Reliant
Awwww, Nutts!!curly_kate said:
I was really hopeing I had found him a home. If we cant find him a home....then off to the butcher he goes. :/
considering sheep
- Thread starter curly_kate
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I was really hopeing I had found him a home. If we cant find him a home....then off to the butcher he goes. :/Jamsoundsgood
Lovin' The Homestead
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You guys are KILLLING me here. All this cuteness going around and my grass getting higher out back. Now, just keep repeating to myself, I really need a steer or two, I really need a steer or two. But now I want some sheep!
ohiofarmgirl
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hey curly_kate!
i'm really interested in sheep too.. but i dont have the pasture for them. yet.
i was a "sheep are dumb" person too... until i started looking into them. i think ONE person started that rumor and thats how it got started
;-)
anyway - i bought hay off an old timer who had lots of sheep and he liked to work with them just fine. he sold the extra ewes and lambs to an local ethic market and got a good price for them. might be something to look into.. i think he said they take small lots (not very many sheep at a time) so this might be a money making option.
let us know how your decision making goes.. i'd love to hear how you thought thru all the 'what about this' kinda things
i'm really interested in sheep too.. but i dont have the pasture for them. yet.
i was a "sheep are dumb" person too... until i started looking into them. i think ONE person started that rumor and thats how it got started
;-)
anyway - i bought hay off an old timer who had lots of sheep and he liked to work with them just fine. he sold the extra ewes and lambs to an local ethic market and got a good price for them. might be something to look into.. i think he said they take small lots (not very many sheep at a time) so this might be a money making option.
let us know how your decision making goes.. i'd love to hear how you thought thru all the 'what about this' kinda things
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curly_kate
Almost Self-Reliant
After what I've read about sheep's milk cheese & ice cream, I'm really thinking about getting a few sheep when we move! DH & I are finalizing a deal for 30 acres, but we most likely won't be moving until next spring. I guess I can use the time to do some research.
Iceblink
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I love my sheep when they are out on pasture. When it's snowy and they have to be in the barn, they are LOUD! But I have found them endearing, entertaining and useful. Like BBH said, they are wonderful grazers, and are not at all dumb. When mine are scared, they do tend to turn mindless and will run into anything in an attempt to get away, but other than that they are smart enough to be good, and not so smart to get into trouble. Now goats... that's another matter.
Anyway, as far as acquiring them, I highly recommend bottle babies. They do take a lot of time at first, and you have to be careful about certain things, but you can get lambs from really nice flocks where the owner just doesn't have time to bother with bottle babies, plus they can be socialized to whatever you want when they are young and they will be friendlier, calmer sheep when they are older.
I had a wool sheep, and we ate her because I didn't want to deal with shearing, it's a lot of work, and no one in the are will shear just one sheep. I also have hair sheep, and I like them much better. I like being able to see their body condition, and many hair sheep breeds are naturally hornless. I also don't have to dock tails or eye and tag or any of that stuff.
Good luck and let us know how your adventure progresses.
Anyway, as far as acquiring them, I highly recommend bottle babies. They do take a lot of time at first, and you have to be careful about certain things, but you can get lambs from really nice flocks where the owner just doesn't have time to bother with bottle babies, plus they can be socialized to whatever you want when they are young and they will be friendlier, calmer sheep when they are older.
I had a wool sheep, and we ate her because I didn't want to deal with shearing, it's a lot of work, and no one in the are will shear just one sheep. I also have hair sheep, and I like them much better. I like being able to see their body condition, and many hair sheep breeds are naturally hornless. I also don't have to dock tails or eye and tag or any of that stuff.
Good luck and let us know how your adventure progresses.
patandchickens
Crazy Cat Lady
I'm going to have to disagree here... I think they *are* a bit on the dim side compared to a lot of other livestock. I do not think it is coincidence that a bunch of sheep is called a FLOCK, a la chickens, rather than a herd a la horses/cattle/goats 
I mean, they are brilliant at being sheep, I would be an abject failure at it and they are PROFESSIONALS. However their inclination to think or learn seems to pretty much begin and end with the subject of Food. And when they are in a running-away mood, the brain TOTALLY shuts off. Worse than a TB horse, LOL. (Pretty much all the sheep breeders I've talked to this spring feel the same way about this, btw, even though they do love their sheep)
When I just had two sheep, they were not real happy about it. As soon as the other three arrived, the original two just turned into much different and more "settled" critters.
AFAIK the only two likely ways to make money from wool are either a) raise it organically and be a very energetic marketer; or b) take extreme and unusual pains to keep your (special breed) sheep exceptionally, exceptionally, exceptionally clean and free of any vegetation or bedding in the wool, then work hard to get to know your local handspinner/fiber-arts type community.
JME, good luck, have fun,
Pat
I mean, they are brilliant at being sheep, I would be an abject failure at it and they are PROFESSIONALS. However their inclination to think or learn seems to pretty much begin and end with the subject of Food. And when they are in a running-away mood, the brain TOTALLY shuts off. Worse than a TB horse, LOL. (Pretty much all the sheep breeders I've talked to this spring feel the same way about this, btw, even though they do love their sheep)
When I just had two sheep, they were not real happy about it. As soon as the other three arrived, the original two just turned into much different and more "settled" critters.
AFAIK the only two likely ways to make money from wool are either a) raise it organically and be a very energetic marketer; or b) take extreme and unusual pains to keep your (special breed) sheep exceptionally, exceptionally, exceptionally clean and free of any vegetation or bedding in the wool, then work hard to get to know your local handspinner/fiber-arts type community.
JME, good luck, have fun,
Pat
