Newbie lamb'er

[CrealCritter]

So how does a guy go about learning what it's going to take to raise some lambs. I'm totally green, never lambed before. I guess I need a soup to nuts book or something???

First obvious questions

1) How much is a newly weaned lamb?

2) Do they need medications.

3) When do you buy them? Spring I would guess???

4) I assume they need food and water duh... But is grass it or do they need supplements?

So many questions... Where do I turn for answers?

 

[baymule]

Lamb Lady to the rescue! And @Beekissed too! Check Craigslist for lambs. I recommend hair Sheep, either Katahdin or Dorper, and probably a wether or ram lamb. You can also look at Facebook groups for both breeds and see if anyone in your area has them.

VERY IMPORTANT!!! Get 2 lambs, same sex. One lamb by itself will be very unhappy, will feel vulnerable to predators even if you keep it in a steel cage, and won’t thrive.

Newly weaned..... wet weaned means just taken off momma. They take a dive, worms bloom, they lose weight. If possible get a lamb that had been weaned, wormed if needed and given a chance to recover. If you get a wet weaned lamb, put on a medical glove, and dig for doo-doo for a fecal sample. Take it to the vet. Or you can follow the lamb with gloves on to catch said doo-doo for a fecal sample. Just don’t pick some off the ground, it’s contaminated unless you just saw it hit the ground and you snatch it up quickly. Put in plastic bag. Vet will tell you worm count, go from there.

If you pasture your lambs, they must have a good fence and protection from predators. You may get by with a good fence and close them up at night in a barn or shed that coyotes can’t get into.

Feed. They should do well on good pasture. At night, provide hay and water. You can give them about a cup of feed, that way they will quickly learn to come running when you shake a Feed can.

I have 5 pastures. Only 2 are attached to the sheep barn. I move them across our yard with a red Folgers can and a little Feed. Right now they are in the horse pasture to eat the weeds(horses in another pasture). When I take them “home” I put Feed out for them, calling SHEEP! SHEEP! SHEEP! They start yelling, I walk to the gate, open it and they RUN to their barn.

Aaaaasnnnndd....... join backyardherds there is a great Sheep forum there.

 

[Beekissed]

I'm wondering about your goal for sheep? If we knew your goal, what amount of land you are running them on, etc., we might better give advice on them.

 

[Beekissed]

Still a ways off from puting my first hoof on the ground but this article from 2002 is pretty good (for me).

https://www.backwoodshome.com/dorper-sheep/

Read a bit more about Dorpers from other corners before you make a decision? They tend to have hoof problems more than other hair breeds, the rams are notably more rammy than the other HS breeds also~haven't heard many report a docile, easy to work with Dorper ram, plus that lack of shedding off well results in most people having to dock the lambs to prevent flystrike. Nearly every pic of Dorpers you can find on the net shows them docked.

All of that adds up to more problems than a newbie lamber may want to deal with.

 

[baymule]

I studied hair Sheep and decided on Dorpers. I got Dorper crossed with Katahdin ewes, bred. Then I got a Dorper ram. Somewhere along the way he got sorta mean and would ram me every chance he got. With my little granddaughters running around, I couldn’t have that. I changed his name to Ramburger and he was quite tasty. Plus all the above reasons that Beekissed mentioned, I changed my mind to Katahdins. MUCH calmer.

 

[Beekissed]

I used to want those with big udders, but I think I'm changing my mind. After watching Greg Judy talk about the grass to milk conversion rates and how heavy milking cows maintain the worst conditioning, I'm starting to see things differently. Now, if my goal was just milking sheep with a little meat on the side, I'd breed towards milkiness.

But, I've one ewe in my small flock that has proven Mr. Judy's opinion on milkers vs nonmilkers. Rose has a gorgeous udder, would do a milk goat proud, and is feeding twins....and looks like a starving refugee. She looks like a goat or a dairy cow, with bony hips sticking out, ribs showing, etc. The sheep with smaller udders are not losing conditioning like she is. When I first got Rose she had weaned off triplets and looked pretty bad, while Shine had fed twins and looked sleek and well rounded. Shine has a horrible looking udder...smaller, saggy, lopsided, sort of flaccid looking compared to Rose's lovely fullness.

It's not enough sheep to know for sure, but I'll be watching those with larger udders vs. those with a medium udder as we go along to note if the conditioning of these two types of ewes are affected by the greater milk production. I do know this....all the lambs seem fat and sassy, so everyone's getting plenty of milk, so big or small udders don't seem to make a difference in lamb nutrition.

 

[Beekissed]

My goal is to raise them for table fare. I want to start small no more than 6. One male (ram?) And the rest females. Butcher 3 females and be left with two females and a male to breed for next year's butchering. You know self sufficient kind of thing. I will have two pastures at a minimum. A 6 acre and a 10 acre. Just want to maintain small "herd". maybe those pastures are to big?

Yep, you'll never keep down that much pasture with that small a flock. Better to buy some ram lambs for wethering and butchering this fall, keep one for breeding and get yourself a handful of ewes to start and see what your grass will stand, then keep ewe lambs to build from there. Depending on your area, sometimes ram lambs cost the same as ewe lambs...I picked up a few this season for $125 ea. Just got to watch the livestock pages on FB for your area, as soon folks will be unloading all their weaned lambs.

 

[baymule]

I would recommend that you get just 2 to raise for the freezer to start with. That will allow you to figure things out and go from there.

 

[Beekissed]

Is it true sheep need to be dewormed monthly?

Should I Get Sheep? Pros, Cons, and a To-Do Checklist for Hobby Farmers - HomeAdvisor

When you think about home improvement, livestock may not be the first thing that comes to mind. However, as our society turns to re-embrace sustainability and self-reliance, some families are choosing to renovate their outdoor spaces to accommodate small livestock, like chickens, sheep, and...

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Nope. That's a great way to breed resistant worms rather then resistant sheep. When that happens, then you have no more options available when they get a heavy worm burden. Then sheep die.

Don't do wool breeds....I've tasted their meat and I'll give it a pass.

 

[baymule]

Wool sheep, nope. The meat leaves a taste in my mouth that makes me feel like I need to sandpaper my tongue