# Contemplating seasonal feeder-lambs



## wolf (Sep 26, 2016)

For years previously, I'd had a few dairy goats. When my kids moved away from home, I sold them. Now that I'm older-still - I look at my old goat-pasture and wonder about maybe getting a couple feeder-lambs every Spring, and raising them to keep all that grass shorn - and then sending them off to a processor to stock my deep-freezer every winter. I'm currently working to repair the fencing outback to make the area secure.
What would I need to know in order to do this? I've bottle-raised kids before, so lamb-age isn't a problem. Any tips or advice? What differences in husbandry are there between sheep and goats?


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## Alexz7272 (Sep 27, 2016)

I raise goats and sheep together, I am not expert but there are not HUGE differences. The sheep will respect the fence line more then a goat ever would, that is not to say you might not get an attempted escape artist. Do you want to know about feed requirements, space, breeds? 
Keep in mind that you can get bottle lambs pretty easily in the spring and usually for a decent price but remember not all of them will survive. Again, no expert here but you have to be very precise in your feeding schedule and maintenance when they are super young. Love them to death though! 
I'll tag some people who might be able to help! 

@SheepGirl @norseofcourse @Sheepshape @farmerjan  (sorry if I missed anyone)


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## wolf (Sep 27, 2016)

With my very first doe, she got sick after she had her second set of twins, and expired. Because the babies were only used to her teats, I had a heck of a time getting them onto a bottle - they just wanted to starve instead of take it. Took a lot of patience and some pushing. After that, I started every kid on a bottle at birth - just in case momma had a problem, I wouldn't go through that mess again. I milked colostrum, and bottled that with a nipple, continued when the real milk came, and continued still until they were weaned. They stayed with their moms, the moms came in for milking and their grain-pan, and they watched me fill bottles as they ate and give their milk to their kids... no one was stressed. Seemed the moms knew the humans and babies shared the milk they produced. 
I've also experienced the habit of some does to drop kids in the freezing-rain - hauled the youngsters in the house, warmed them up, and kept them in a box in my bedroom until the weather improved. Even had one buckling that would sneak into my bed after I fell asleep. I know cupping the top of their face helps them latch onto a bottle easier because it's the same feel they get with mom's bag on their face as they nurse. And like human babies - or most every OTHER baby, they have to eat every four hours or so - and spread that time interval wider as they get older... I'm way familiar with those "midnight feedings".  Also - not every chick in the shell gets to pip, and not every chick that hatches lives to fledge... same with most living things. 

I remember my goats hating to go out in the rain. They'd stand inside the open shed-door and look out, almost pouting like children not able to play outside in bad weather. They'd wait for a break in the clouds, run out and graze like fiends, and then run back if the sky opened up again. I don't know if that was just MINE - or if others get this, too. And I don't know if sheep mind the weather less, or not. 
I can knit and crochet, but can't spin - so I don't know what I'd do with a fleece. But I used to do leather-craft, and I don't think much is cozier than a sheep-pelt to sit crosslegged on with a blanket over my shoulders in winter. I've heard of hair-sheep, but don't know what their pelts are like. And goat and lamb meat tastes different to me - something about the lamb with the fell on - is just heavenly when broiled or roasted! The goat I've had on my plate was stewed.

Do these two critters need the same space? What about shelter during the Spring to late Autumn? Can they stay in pasture like horses and cattle for that time? Or should they have a run-in at least? Are sheep really more grazers, than browsers like goats? Or will they browse, too? Ram-lambs? I still have my elastrator. Hmmm... I've done birthings, and sutures, and hoof-trimmings... what else can I learn? A lot of the stuff I've listed, I want to streamline by only raising seasonal meat. If ya'all can think of anything else I should know about - please, tell me.


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## Sheepshape (Sep 28, 2016)

Hi,wolf.....sheep?  Good call!

Go for a breed with thick fleece if you want them to stay outside. I keep a local breed which has a VERY thick fleece. Lambs can be born outside even when temps. are quite low, providing there is not too much wind and rain. Sheep with a good fleece will often just stand happily grazing in pouring rain as the fleece is very water resistant.
Sheep need a fair amount of space, and they need company of their own kind....they are the archetypal flock animal. They are real grazers....chomping pasture incessantly, but they will also eat any low tree branches,bramble leaves etc.

Newborn lambs are very easy to start on a bottle and are greedy feeders once they start to grow. Much like your experience with goats,though, they are virtually impossible to bottle feed after a week or two on the mum. I had a ewe die who had 3 week old twins a couple of years back and they were an utter nightmare to try to feed.
A newborn lamb is both cold and starvation sensitive, but after about 48 hours, lambs with a good fleece are pretty tough.
Ewes are as easy as does to milk (but not always very co-operative).

As for raising lambs to eat, that I can't comment on.....I'm a pretty dedicated vegetarian.

Depending on the type of wool the sheep produces, single fleeces can be sold. (Over here eBay has fleeces for sale all the time).

I hope you enjoy the experience.


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## Bossroo (Sep 28, 2016)

Google Dorper Sheep to learn about their qualities as grazers as well as browsers .  Their hides are prized the world over.  Wool is nice on sheep but sheering is another issue as it costs as much if not more to shear as the wool value. Dorpers shed their wool.  The lambs are very agressive feeders and gain meat wieght very rapidly and finish on pasture with top grade carcasses. In taste competition tests the meat compares very favorably  and often beats  the traditional winners such as the meat breeds of Southdown , Suffolk, and Hampshire.


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## Baymule (Sep 28, 2016)

@wolf What is lamb with the fell on?


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## farmerjan (Sep 28, 2016)

Was gone for a couple of days and just saw your post/question about sheep.  Yes, sheep and goats are similiar so if you have raised kids you can raise lambs.  Consistent feeding schedule for at least the first couple of weeks then cut down the number of feedings and increase the amount per feeding a little.  Again, if you did kids it is about the same idea.  If you don't have a source of milk, and raw cows milk is okay, then a good quality milk replacer.  Most say for goats and sheep on the same bag. Just make sure it is all milk, not any soy based. Get them nibbling on grain asap since the milk replacer is expensive.  You may be able to find some lambs in the 20-40 lb range in the spring as so many are sold nowadays for the different holidays;  or if you know anyone with sheep, try to get in with them to take their triplet off a ewe as most only let them raise 2 so they grow better; get any orphans etc.  
Wooled sheep will graze more in the rain, but if you are looking to be seasonal then the rain won't be that cold in the summer anyway and the lambs will have some size by then.  A run in shed would be nice, anything to give them a little protection .  They have to have some shade from the sun too so a run in shed would work for both, if there aren't many shade trees.  They are more graziers than goats, but also like the broader leafed forage so will eat some of the weedier stuff that cows might not eat.  They will not try climbing the fences as much as a goat, and tend to not be quite as smart about looking for a way out, but will take advantage if there is somewhere to get out.
Dorpers are a hair- breed, they shed their winter coat like a calf or goat.  If you want to put them in the freezer then shearing will not ever come up for you as they will be gone late fall or early winter.  Dorpers are bred for meat, having a heavier blockier body than some of the other breeds in this country. 
Is the pasture big enough to raise a couple of calves?  Could get 2 in the 500 lb range, sell off one put one in the freezer and yor meat would be the cost of butchering.  Lambs could be the same, raise 4 or more, put what you want to eat in the freezer and sell the rest to pay for the milk replacer etc.
If you've done goats, you've got the common sense to do lambs.


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## Goat Whisperer (Sep 28, 2016)

@Bossroo has a good point. Shearing. 
It can be very difficult to find someone who will come out for only a few sheep. Electric  shears are $$$$. 

If you want to have a few wool sheep, make sure you have a way to shear them first. Some shearers will have a limit- they don't want to come all the way out for 2 sheep. Some were booked for over 6 months 
This is something we found when we had 2 sheep 

Not trying to discourage you at all, just sharing what we have found.


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## SheepGirl (Sep 28, 2016)

If I were you, I would skip bottle lambs...just buy weaned lambs at 2 to 3 months old in the March to May timeframe that are 40 to 100 lbs, depending on breed. Wool or hair doesn't matter--they are going to be butchered when they are 6 to 10 months old (Aug to nov or so) so they won't need to be sheared.

Lambs can be finished on grass but usually blackface breeds and large framed Whiteface breeds need grain in addition to pasture to meet their nutrient requirements for their level of growth.


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## wolf (Jul 27, 2017)

OK! _Very_ late update!
In May, I came home with a pair of Katahdins from the next county over.

 
The ewe is the red-pied. The ram will stay until he's become a sperm-donor, and then go to freezerland. Next Spring, I'll see what she births, band any sons, and get a new intact baby ram from the same fella, to cycle that over again. My aim is to have a rotating meat-factory.
I've recently been taking them out to the cutover in the back of my land, and letting them clear a trail and widen it. I move them further down as they get the trail cleared. I sit in a chair with my coffee and a book to read, the dogs lay nearby, and the sheep work down the blackberries, green briar, and brome grass. They also limb up the small trees. Great Work!


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## wolf (Jul 27, 2017)

Baymule said:


> @wolf What is lamb with the fell on?


When a lamb is skinned for meat, there's a very thin parchment-like membrane covering the muscles. When I was a youngster, back in the '60s, the meat at the store came cut into roasts and chops with this membrane intact - and is what gives the "extra lamby taste" to the meat. Somewhere around the '70s - '80s, the "city folks" claimed they didn't like that "gamey taste" to their meat, and the commercial butchers started stripping that Fell OFF while cutting chops and roasts - so the meat would sell to those kind of people. I hated when they did that, because I loved the real flavor and the crispy coating the Fell became as it cooked. It's sort of like the skin on a roasted ham - only a lot thinner.


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## Baymule (Jul 28, 2017)

Would that be similar to the membrane I cut off deer meat?


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## wolf (Jul 29, 2017)

Baymule said:


> Would that be similar to the membrane I cut off deer meat?


There's a membrane you pull off deer meat??? I've dressed deer before, and all I've ever pulled is the hide and the guts - never stripped anything else off it. I've rinsed a fresh carcass with cold hose-water and scrubbed the surface with a newly-bought "floor brush" to get all the loose hairs off before cutting up, and I may trim extra fat off cause it's so waxy - but I've never pulled any membrane off a carcass. I just layer bacon on meat I've trimmed fat off of.

But if you want a natural finish on any wood projects, that rendered deer fat from the trim is GREAT! The waxiness makes a great finish and the warmth of your hand melts it just enough to soak into the wood fibers. Polishes up to a nice satin finish! I render by boiling, chilling the pot, and removing the hardened fat off the top - store in a lidded coffee can.


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## frustratedearthmother (Jul 29, 2017)

Maybe it's this that Bay is talking about:

*Silver skin* (more precisely, fascia) is a thin membrane consisting of many layers of fat and collagen. Think of fascia as *meat's* girdle or spanx- helping to lift and separate muscle groups so they can easily slide past each other.


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## wolf (Jul 29, 2017)

Then the Fell on a sheep-carcass is the fascia between the muscle and the hide.


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## Baymule (Jul 30, 2017)

I haven't slaughtered a sheep. I can slaughter chickens and hogs, but I haven't gathered up my cojones to kill a little lamb.......I could skin, gut and cut it up, but the killing part has me taking them to the slaughter house.


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## Mike CHS (Jul 30, 2017)

I'm like @Baymule - we don't butcher young lambs but we also don't send them off to the butcher till they are full grown.  They get a lot of hands on time so they all have left their imprint but after 7-12 months of watching them grow, I can't do the deed myself.


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## Bossroo (Jul 31, 2017)

I have the hardest time in pulling the vegies out of the ground or cutting their heads  off at ground level.  I have planted their seeds months ago , tended after them for days on end  and gave them my blood, sweat and tears.  Then to actually kill my babies...  NO WAY !  So, I turn the lambs out onto the garden so that they can get fat, then I make them smile from ear to ear , then send them to freezer camp and eventually warm them up on  my BBQ and finally onto my plate.


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## Baymule (Jul 31, 2017)




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