# Is it a bad idea to get a sheep with mastitis?



## WindyIndy (Mar 28, 2016)

I was searching CL as I want to expand my flock since I'm raising meat for us and I want to sell. I haven't found too many good deals on CL so I figured I would just keep some of my ewes lambs (and probably will end up keeping a couple anyway), but then I found this add on CL this morning.  I REALLY want the red or black ram as I have always pictured having a red one be my 'Anakin' and black one my 'Vadar". Yes, I'm a HUGE star wars fan, lol!  But I'm running on limited funds right now  

Then I saw the 4 year old ewe for $75, what a deal! I know that it's because she has mastitis, but still, you can't even get a lamb for that around here! My question is, knowing  she has mastitis would it not be a good idea to get her? I could supplement with a bottle. Pics should be in order of the listing.

For Sale Katahdin Hair Sheep
I have 2 ram lambs. One is white and one is brown. The brown one has a trace amount of wool breed in him but I believe he has hair. $125 each, cash
4 year old ewe, Very friendly and would make a good pet. Last year she had mastitis and now only one side of her udder works, but is a great mother. $75 cash
Yearling ewe, all white and may be bred. $150 cash
3 year old proven ram, black. $200 cash
All sheep are up to date on vaccinations and the adults have been wormed as well.


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## WindyIndy (Mar 28, 2016)

She seems to be in good condition. And I forgot to mention that she's a hour and 47 minutes away. Is she still worth it then?


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## Bossroo (Mar 28, 2016)

They appear to be barbados X breds .   A few steps backwards for meat production. As to that ewe with mastitis ... bad idea as well as a money pit!


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## WindyIndy (Mar 28, 2016)

Really?! How can you tell that? I though you could get pure bred red,cinnamon, black katahdins? I know Barbados aren't as good for meat,they grow slower.


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## Baymule (Mar 28, 2016)

A doe or cow or ewe with mastitis is a problem animal. Why buy a problem? I would not buy her, no matter what the price, but that is just my opinion. You could incur more in vet bills than it would be worth, in the long run. I know you don't want to hear this, but don't buy some one else's problems.


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## TAH (Mar 28, 2016)

They deferentially don't look like pure Katahdin Sheep. It depends on what your looking for, if you want a slower growing sheep then you get them, if you want faster growing I would stick with the pure  Katahdin Sheep or St Croix. I am hoping to get some St Croix soon. We had two Katahdin Dorper cross and they grew like fire weed.


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## Ferguson K (Mar 28, 2016)

Take that $75 you were going to use on that doe and put it aside.  Continue saving. It's not worth the risk. There's a reason shes cheap. 

Keep looking.  You'll find something.


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## samssimonsays (Mar 28, 2016)

Ferguson K said:


> Take that $75 you were going to use on that doe and put it aside.  Continue saving. It's not worth the risk. There's a reason shes cheap.
> 
> Keep looking.  You'll find something.



x2 Save a little at a time and you could get a whole lot more at once.


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## Bossroo (Mar 28, 2016)

WindyIndy said:


> Really?! How can you tell that? I though you could get pure bred red,cinnamon, black katahdins? I know Barbados aren't as good for meat,they grow slower.


Hint :  look at your photos and what do you see on the neck and chest.  Look at the conformation-  Not typical Katahdin !  Then compare to photos of Barbados.


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## Latestarter (Mar 28, 2016)

Sorry, I know you're really excited at the prospect of a "really good deal" but normally those are the ones to walk away from. If you were buying it purely as a pet or terminal (freezer) animal, that might be a different story. Save your money and buy quality! breed percentage aside, Don't waste your limited resources on someone else's discard/cull animal. You want to breed BETTER genetics into your herd, not (demonstrated) poor quality with medical issues.


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## WindyIndy (Mar 28, 2016)

You all make a very good point, thank you for your wonderful thoughts!  I'll pass 
Bossroo, thank you for that explanation, I'll try comparing and see what I can see.
 I definitely want fast growing. I have never seen any St Croix or Dorper around here for sale. I was hoping to have Dorper crosses someday. I know they're a hair breed, but then someone who has them said they don't shed out as well and he actually has to shear them a little.  Anyone else find that true?


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## Baymule (Mar 28, 2016)

I have 4 Dorper/Katahdin ewes. They were bred to a Katahdin ram and now I have 5 lambs. I am keeping the 3 ewe lambs. I found a very nice Dorper ram, 5 months old. Since I am such a sheep newbie, I sure didn't want to pay big money for pure or registered Dorpers and kill them with ignorance and inexperience, so the crossbreds are just what suited me. Since I  got them last fall, I don't know yet if they will shed out all their winter wool. I have used a curry comb (horse) on one of them to groom the wool wads off her and she loves it. Another one is starting to stand for a good grooming, but the other two won't.


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## Southern by choice (Mar 28, 2016)

Bossroo said:


> Hint :  look at your photos and what do you see on the neck and chest.  Look at the conformation-  Not typical Katahdin !  Then compare to photos of Barbados.



Not a sheep person so I don't know what they may be crossed with but I do know Katahdins do have hairy chests on the rams... a "mane" if you will. But the ram seems small.


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## promiseacres (Mar 30, 2016)

I bought a ewe that had mastitis prior and only had 1 side of her working udder. She was huge and gave me 5 lambs in 2 years. I bottle fed two ewe lambs when she had triplets. But she raised the boys. Was a great mom but a nutcase. I never had to treat her just made sure lambs did ok. I resold her last year at 9. She was a blackbelly, painted desert. So it worked for me.


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## purplequeenvt (Mar 30, 2016)

WindyIndy said:


> I was searching CL as I want to expand my flock since I'm raising meat for us and I want to sell. I haven't found too many good deals on CL so I figured I would just keep some of my ewes lambs (and probably will end up keeping a couple anyway), but then I found this add on CL this morning.  I REALLY want the red or black ram as I have always pictured having a red one be my 'Anakin' and black one my 'Vadar". Yes, I'm a HUGE star wars fan, lol!  But I'm running on limited funds right now
> 
> Then I saw the 4 year old ewe for $75, what a deal! I know that it's because she has mastitis, but still, you can't even get a lamb for that around here! My question is, knowing  she has mastitis would it not be a good idea to get her? I could supplement with a bottle. Pics should be in order of the listing.
> 
> ...



The pictures they included aren't the best so it's hard to form a good opinion of them.

Here's my opinion:

They all look a bit small, probably due to not ideal nutrition and/or parasites.

The yearling ewe is a little light boned, but shows the most promise. It's hard to judge her body condition with her winter fuzz on. She might be a bit skinny, but some good feed would fix that.

The 4 year old ewe has better bone and doesn't look too bad, but the prior mastitis is an issue. IF you don't mind paying to bottle feed, then go for it. Bred to the right ram, she could make some nice babies for you that you could replace her with.

I don't like the looks of the adult ram. It could just be the angle of the picture, but if I was choosing a breeding ram for meat sheep, I'd want one that was a lot thicker.

The ram lambs don't look all that special either. I've got wool breed lambs that have more meat on them.

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Everyone is going to have an opinion, but ultimately, YOUR opinion is the only one that matters. 

Not everyone has the desire or ability to run a profitable (monetarily anyways) commercial farm. Some folks simply want a small backyard flock (HINT: what's the name of this forum???) to provide them with some meat, milk, wool, or just pets. There is nothing wrong with that.


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