Need a quality source for red meat

[Chic Rustler]

Our family of 6 hasn't had to purchase meat since November of last year, but we are about out now. If we hadn't been gifted 1/2 a slaughtered calf we would have been out a couple months ago. We did get 3 deer last season so that helped. I haven't got to do any fishing. That would help.

Anyway, we have rabbits and chicken, i can get a feeder pig and hunt every year but i need a good source for more red meat. The place is 3 acres. I could fence off an acre with barbed wire but 2x4 wire would be very expensive. And then theres feed. Gonna need them to eat mostly grass from the yard. I dont have a barn to store hay.

Seems like im looking for goats or sheep. What would you recommend and whats it take to get some food out of it?

 

[tortoise]

Usually 1 lamb for a yearling ewe, and 2 after that. Triplets and quads are possible, but in those cases only 2 lambs are left with mom and the others are artificially reared. Gestation is 138 - 159 days.

We breed November for March lambs and can slaughter at the end of the grazing season. We process our own, so it's more dependent on freezer space, weather for hanging, and what's going on with deer hunting. DH likes to process everything at one time, so he'll wait until he harvests a deer and then slaughter lamb/mutton on the same day.

 

[Beekissed]

Hair sheep....over and over and over....hair sheep. The best qualities of sheep and goat wrapped up into one wonderful, easy to keep and frugal on feed sheep. Katahdin is the breed I've noticed that gets and stays fat on hay and graze, no extra grain purchases necessary. And it doesn't even have to be especially good hay...they seem to eschew rich hay for nasty, weedy junk hay if allowed a choice.

They can be bred 3 times in two years, hair sheep don't have a certain heat season like woolly breeds. You can purchase a ram lamb for breeding when needed and then turn right around and sell him at market for meat and not lose a dime on the whole process, thus negating keeping a ram around all the time. Just need to hook up with a good breeder of these sheep in your area and you may be able to even rent a ram.

They carry their barns on their backs but appreciate a place to put their backs to the wind during winter months. They shed their wool in the spring, so no shearing. You can even milk them if you have a notion...supposed to make the best cheese in the world.

They don't challenge fences like goats, as they have incredible flocking skills...which is why you don't see goats at herding trials, but more and more you are seeing primarily Katahdin sheep at those trials. They stay in fences better than a lone cow will....cows are herd animals too and will seek out companions if you have neighbors with cows.

They are prone to twinning and even triplets, are parasite resistant, hardy in all weathers and you can sell your extra lambs you don't eat to defray hay costs for winter. Around here, hair sheep and Boer goats sell higher by the pound than cattle, as more of these animals are wanted for religious feasts here in the US cities there is a higher demand for their meat.

For the money, they are the easiest and cheapest livestock I've ever kept, especially for small acreage. They are easy on pasture as their weight doesn't pug the grass crowns, they will not eat around weeds like cows...they tend to nibble it down anyway, but it goes right out the side of their mouth like they are sorting as they eat. This makes for lovely pastures in their wake, whereas cattle form repugnance zones around their manure piles and also around weeds...which means their pasture needs mowed a couple of times a year to preserve the good grasses.

For sustainability, having hair sheep beats buying a feeder calf hands down and twice on Sunday. But...like Barred Buff, I'm biased towards the Katahdin sheep.

I've raised bottle calves and the Kats and found the sheep to be the best bang for the buck, not to mention easier to transport or even butcher on your own than the calf.

http://www.sheep101.info/hair.html

 

[Beekissed]

Can the ewes and rams be together and just breed when they want to or do they have to be separated?

How much grss land do they need per head?

It's not recommended, as the rams can breed the young ewes too early/too young or breed the older ewes back too soon for good health.

As for the grass, that depends. I'd check with local sheepherders with similar pasture and see what they recommend. Not all grass/pasture is the same, so giving the usual formula doesn't always work out and folks overgraze their pasture in that manner....then it can be a long road back.

As always, I recommend going low and slow and then increasing numbers as you see what your pasture can handle over various seasons and weather conditions.

 

[baymule]

We have Dorper/Katahdin cross sheep with a Dorper ram. We have 5 ewes and are keeping 3 ewe lambs from this year's lambing. We sell lamb for $8 a pound hanging weight and have 3 wethers sold when they get to slaughter size. Our pastures are not good, we are working hard to improve them. We cut green briars out of a one acre "pasture" last summer. The sheep loved them!

For shelter you could build a hoop shelter from cow panels.

Our lambs like the Hawg Hut I built.

I like cows and have had cows. I chose sheep because they are small, can thrive on small acreage, gestation is 5 months and are ready to eat in 8-12 months.

 

[tortoise]

We have both goats and sheep. GET SHEEP. Fence is much, much easier. Goats eat browse (branches of woody plants), but sheep eat grass.

We feed hay November - April, and feed pregnant ewes grain. We end up with a couple bottle lambs every year, so make sure you can care for them or sell them immediately - with 24 hours of birth - to someone who can take care of them. Other than the PITA of bottle lambs, when there's grass out all we have to do is put them in new pasture each week and fill the water trough. Easy Peasy.

You'll need shelter, a lambing "jug" that's protected from drafts, electricity for a heat lamp if you breed for early lambs in a temperate climate.

 

[sumi]

I had a few sheep years ago and found them easy and mostly hassle free to keep. Heck, the last one I had was a complete unplanned impulse buy that shared a decent size above ground dam (empty of course) with a pig, which was another complete, unplanned impulse buy. Notice a pattern here?

We fed her and pig alfalfa and grass and whatever kitchen scraps we had on hand (for the pig mainly) and she did fine in there for a few weeks, until we decided to slaughter her. The meat was simply out of this world. So tender!

Now, I don't recommend keeping pigs and sheep in dams (we really had nowhere else suitable), but it shows that they can be flexible in a pinch.

 

[BarredBuff]

What type of pasture do you have available? How does it look throughout the year?

I think if you the have the quality pasture for it then a calf would be your best bet. I will preface this in saying that I am biased toward cattle, but I think a calf would meet your needs better.

You could fence using temporary electrified fencing which is relatively low cost compared to welded wire. Then intensively graze your acre to get the most out of it. I think you could you divide it into four paddocks, and then rotate the calf into the pastures.

As far as procuring an animal, if you live in or around Dairy country you could source a low cost holstein bull calf to bottle raise. They are sold for near nothing, and will produce quite a bit for a family. They're just not efficient for commercial production. They won't gain weight, and marble as well as an Angus. However, for a self reliant family they serve the purpose.

Housing would be limited with a place mainly to get in from the weather. It will take some time to finish the animal. It will be around 18 to 24 months of age before it reaches a good size for slaughter. You'll need some grain to grow it early on and finish it near the end. Depending on the season and your pasture, hay could be needed. But if you're worried about storage, a few round bales will go a long way and can be stored under a tarp.

I'd be cautious on sheep and goats. They are hard to fence, and they don't yield as much, but again I am biased toward cattle....

 

[tortoise]

Hey now, sheep are easy to fence. 2 strands of electric fence keep ours in (with the exception of the fence line separating ewes and rams).

 

[Chic Rustler]

Ok. How does raising sheep go? How many lambs do they birth, how long do they carry and how long before slaughter? I have eaten plenty of lamb. Its not bad. Goes great with a rich red wine