Raising Sheep

[Old Hippie]

I had several thousand of the wretched beasts wandering about the place looking for places to die.

A good sheep'll do that.

For the OP: What do you want the sheep to do? Provide wool? Meat? Milk? Trim yer lawn? Wash yer car? Make more sheep? (Generally that takes at least one each of the requisite genders, but you'll hear a lot of people say, "I started with one sheep a few years ago.' That means something.)

If you're looking for stupid and ill-tempered animals to keep the kids on their toes, I'd suggest roosters. Hens are OK but roosters are only around for one purpose, and it ain't to get yer lazy self outta bed in the morning. OTOH sheep don't crow, but gettin' knocked on yer butt by a ram will sure enough wake you up. You learn how to deal with it. Without leaving dents in the ram.

True story from last year: We had a smallish flock eating the foliage off an acre that we have since turned into terraced gardens. The ram was a pushy little bugger who thought I was his personal bouncy toy. But he'd only charge until he hit something, so touching him on top of the head stopped him. But it got annoying.

We moved the flock in with some others after the ram had done that for which his existence was justified, and he decided to head-butt the other flock's ram. KRAK. Down and out, dead with a broken skull. The other ram shook his head at the impetuousness of youth and walked away, now in control of twice as many ewes.

You ready for that?

:ootd:

[Pleater]

I used to take my Labrador dog for walks twice a day, and usually took one particular footpath through a field at least once a day.

A flock of sheep appeared on the field, and as the Winter progressed I had to rescue cast sheep several times a week.

When the good weather arrived I was walking along as usual and was accosted by the gentleman farmer - who was neither - and told to keep my dog away from the sheep or he would shoot him.

I told him I wasn't about to take orders from a man who had no idea which way up his sheep should be, and that I had set several dozen of them back on their feet over the weeks and he should be ashamed of himself for leaving them untended.

They were Leicester sheep, with long coats which were filthy dirty, and when they were laid over in the mud they were well and truly stuck. If they had not been so skinny I would never have been able to move them.

My dog had wandered off, and he barked - he'd found a cast sheep, so I showed the man the problem and told him he'd better get on with rescuing his beast.

The sheep were gone by the end of the week, hopefully to a more caring owner.

I have never kept sheep - but I think there might be something in the genes.

When you have two rams on the same land you tie them together so that they can't butt eachother with any great force. The chain used for the job is called a ram shackle, and as it is any old bit of chain the term has come to mean something rather less than first class.

Anne the Pleater :ootd:

[Burly Brute]

In spite of my best efforts to ignore this thread it seems that my low profile was, well not low enough!

Well alright there was a time when I had several thousand of the wretched beasts wandering about the place looking for places to die. I fortunately had people to look after them so I had as little to do with the damn things as possible and the wee bit that I did have to do with them----the accounts----did not add to any enthusiasm that I might have had for them!

Having said that, what do you want to know?

I have done a ton of research, but I guess my biggest question was in regards to raising maybe smaller flocks than 1000 haha because there isnt enough land in Arizona for that! I was leaning more towards seedstock sheep, as that seems to allow for the smallest flock to still receive a profit. Is it possible for a person who has no experience with sheep specificall, and if you need to have a ton of funds to generate this whole project. Thanks for giving in and responding ;-) haha.

slainte,

Zach

[auld argonian]

When I was a kid, I saw an alpaca at the zoo and it made a very strong impression on me.

Last year I started looking around the internet - just for a laugh - to see what it took to get an alpaca....holy $#!+!!!! Those things are expensive!

Thus died my childhood dream of becoming a big time alpaca rancher!

Best

AA

[Bugbear]

When I was a kid, I saw an alpaca at the zoo and it made a very strong impression on me.

Last year I started looking around the internet - just for a laugh - to see what it took to get an alpaca....holy $#!+!!!! Those things are expensive!

Thus died my childhood dream of becoming a big time alpaca rancher!

Best

AA

They've got several alpaca and llama ranches out here in Arizona; you could become a hand.

There's also ostrich ranches etc.

[MacMillans son]

I have done a ton of research, but I guess my biggest question was in regards to raising maybe smaller flocks than 1000 haha because there isnt enough land in Arizona for that! I was leaning more towards seedstock sheep, as that seems to allow for the smallest flock to still receive a profit. Is it possible for a person who has no experience with sheep specificall, and if you need to have a ton of funds to generate this whole project. Thanks for giving in and responding ;-) haha.

slainte,

Zach

Well Burly Brute, if I'm not mistaken your neighbors there on the Navajo Nation have a long and distinguished history of raising and tending sheep. They may be a great local resource for you.

Good luck in your quest

[Bugbear]

I know Jock had sheep, but I don't think he liked them very much. He will probably reply to this thread when he gets a chance.

When I was growing up, the cow folk were always complaining about the sheep folk, saying the sheep ruined the graze land. Other than that, I really don't know much.

Good luck.

[David Thornton]

My grandfather raised sheep, my father raised sheep, I did as well till my early 20s. I am sure the game is quite different in Ky with several hundred rather than out west with several thousand, but we managed. I buy a couple of locally raised lamb for the freezer every year. But I probably would not get back into production, winter lambing is too much work for this old man

[B R Gordon]

I've never raised sheep, but years ago in while I was living in Chile, I made the mistake of agreeing to look after some. If it had not been for a neighbor, who had a trained sheep dog, I would have lost all. The lesson that I learned was it's not for amateurs.

[Mike_Oettle]

Well, my family kept sheep on a fairly large scale. We had a vast tract of Namaqualand where they normally grazed, but because of stock reduction during drought the entire flock had to spend two years on our main farm, which was irrigated.
I got used to the constant baa-ing.
I did find that sheep were rather stupid, by contrast with goats, which can be directed more easily.
We had employees who sheared some of the sheep (a large part of the flock were of a breed that had hair as well as wool, and their fleeces were not in much demand).
A friend of my father’s farmed on a much larger scale with sheep (wool merinos) in the Great Karoo, and had a large shearing shed which stood empty for much of the year. But in the shearing season, itinerant shearers would arrive by donkey cart. The sheep would be penned and, one by one, taken into the shed to be clipped at great speed.
We kept the sheep, and goats, largely for meat.
Every lambing season there would be one or two lambs abandoned by their mothers, and they would be taken into our household and bottle-fed.
One lamb became a family pet, and used to run behind our car alongside the dog. But after two years we took her out to join the flock, and she gradually forgot us.
My father also favoured using sheep to keep our lawns short, rather than using a petrol (gas) mower. He had a pen constructed, about 10ft by 10ft, which we would move around as the grass was grazed down.
The grass grew considerably greener having been fertilised by the sheep!
Regards,
Mike