Do I have enough land?

[bic]

We have about 5.5 acres, but are only wanting to sacrifice about .5 acres or so for sheep. Ideally we would only have one ram and one ewe (if that is okay? - fill me in as I'm a newb). The lambs will be processed and not kept.

Side note, we have access to a pretty much unlimited free supply of grains (corn & wheat mostly) from a friend that works at a mill, so we're not overly concerned about grazing, but don't want to turn the land to crap like our chicken area. It would be nice though if they could supplement their diet by grazing or to know that they could graze more if our friend were to lose his ability to get the grains.

 

[Southern by choice]

I no longer have sheep. I do have a bajillion goats though.

As far as the 1/2 acre. The 2 sheep will graze that to nothing in no time.
The feed, although it is great that you have a deal like that, sheep DO NOT live off grain. It will kill them if that is their diet. Feed is used as a supplement.
Sheep must have grass/hay. They are ruminants.
Sheep are also GRAZERS that is what they do and what they eat.

You can dry lot sheep but you will need to provide good quality hay 24/7.
You will also have to have a place for the ram when lambs are born and growing. Also any ewe labs you have will definitely need to be away from the ram so they are not bred too young and they have not gone to market yet.

Rams can be very aggressive and very dangerous. Keep that in mind. Of course some breeds seem to be better than others in that area.

With 5.5 acres why not open it up for them? They will not destroy that if you have just a few.

Maybe taking this wrong but when you say "sacrifice" 1/2 acre for the sheep my first thought was are you sure your cut out for livestock?

 

[bic]

Thanks for the comment. My wife is the real push for the sheep that's why I said sacrifice. We live in an interesting area where to one side of our house are 4-5 one-two acre lots. The rest of the sides of our house are all 10+ acre lots, so being stuck between the two, we do have a couple neighbors and I would like to have some privacy (we planted 500 trees within the last couple years). So giving up more room for the sheep would be less privacy and less trees. We could do 1 acre as a compromise. I seem to see on the internets that others are making that size work. Thoughts?

 

[Latestarter]

Greetings and welcome to BYH @bic If you don't want to "sacrifice" your best laid plans for property, just build the sheep a small enclosure, say 50' square and do a "dry lot" for them with a run in shed for housing. You can take them out to graze with supervision where and when you want, and not have to worry about having a huge area of nothing but dirt. Of course you will have to feed them, and find some way to deal with the manure. If you split the dry lot right in 1/2, put the ram on one side of a VERY sturdy fence, and the ewe on the other. Split the run in shed in 1/2 as well. Actually, since you do plan to breed them I'd make the ewe side of the shed 75% so you'd have room for lambing in it. I mean really it comes down to what you'd like to do... You can make it work.

Anyway, glad you joined up and hope you'll show us/share some pics of what you do when you eventually get it done.

In case you haven't seen this: http://www.sheep101.info/201/dairysheep.html And I know @SheepGirl had a link that specified exactly how much room was required for sheep, but I didn't save the link (thought I had) and can't locate it. Hopefully she has it handy and can provide it for you. We have quite a few active sheeple here as well, so if you have questions, don't be afraid to ask!

 

[Ponker]

First, what kind of sheep are you looking at getting? The size of the sheep matters. Wool or hair? I am guessing hair since you say 'process the lambs.'

Sheep can graze under trees. Mine love their shade trees. What kind of land do you have? The nature of the pasture matters. Is it arid or lush? Do you get tons of rain? Does it stay wet or dry quickly? What is the land used for now? If you want to keep the land from being completely denuded, like your chicken area, you can move your little flock around. I use several 100' lengths of electronetting from premier1. https://www.premier1supplies.com/p/electrofence-plus-11-48-12-electric-netting?cat_id=53 I can move the sheep around to different areas easily. I also have a Port-a-Hut that I can drag around for shelter. http://www.port-a-hut.com/hut.cfm Some people don't offer sheep shelter. The most important thing in my book is offering them shade in the summer and a place for little lambs to get out of cold weather. I also use a permanent shelter attached to my barn with a small area 75' x 100' fenced with 4"x4" woven wire. There is grass in the permanent area and I have 7 growing ewe lambs right now. There is a lot of versatility out there to make any land workable. Sheep want to be on grass. It's cooler, they like to munch on it, and they stay cleaner. I'm not a fan of dry lots.

Understand the parasites that all shepherds face. Every area is different. There are variables from farm to farm. Learn and attend a FAMACHA class, know the importance of fecal exams, learn the difference between the anthelmintics classes.

I own sheep. I have 3 rams and seven ewes. They are kept separate because I want to control breeding. I want to know which ram has settled which ewe, and when.

Take your time looking into the breeds and the strengths and weaknesses of the ones that catch your eye. Some wool breeds are also known for their fine flavor. The wool can be marketed and if you choose registered stock, another market opens to sell offspring as breeding stock for other farms.

Knowing the mineral requirements for your area is also important. They will need supplemental minerals.

And for certain - ensure you choose to buy sheep from someone who tests their herd for OPP, Johne's, CL, and Scrapie. These diseases can steal your sheep and create contaminated land. It is worth the extra cost to buy and maintain healthy flocks.

I have seen flocks where the ram was kept in with the ewe until she lambed. Some rams are ok with having little lambs running around, some are definitely NOT. Most people elect to separate their flocks to control breeding and protect their youngsters from mistreatment and from being bred far too early. A ram needs company just like any other herd animal. Putting a ram out by himself is torture for him. He will pine and develop nervous tendencies. A wether is a good choice for a friend although you need to watch to ensure the ram has manners and does not mistreat his friend. This holds true with an ewe. She will need company when the ram is separated from her.

You'll want to consider a ram, wether, and two ewes. Living on an acre is doable. Make sure they have good fresh hay available at all times and a small supplement of alfalfa pellets or lespedeza pellets can reduce the amount of grass they consume.

I love my sheep. They are calm, affectionate, and well mannered. My sheep have never escaped (knock wood). Just be sure they are happy and satisfied inside their area, whether it's permanent or movable. I'm very happy to hear you are considering sheep. They can be fenced rather easily.

 

[Southern by choice]

Like everyone said above look at the different breeds. Ours escaped constantly. Yhey were a primitive breed, not affectionate but not mean to us at all. If picking a wool breed make sure you have access to a shearer. Very hard to find shearers, and often many will not come out for just two sheep.
Make sure you have a good sheep vet locally as well.

Keep in mind not all rams need a buddy. Many sheep farms we go to the ram is kept in a pen because either he is dangerous ( not uncommon) or they have several rams that will NOT get along.

Also... when you have your first lambs ... yeah, no way your eating them. Just sayin'
You all will be like "I just can't, they are our babies, our first lambs" especially ewe lambs!

Our sheep loved the woods and the trees.

 

[SheepGirl]

We have about 5.5 acres, but are only wanting to sacrifice about .5 acres or so for sheep. Ideally we would only have one ram and one ewe (if that is okay? - fill me in as I'm a newb). The lambs will be processed and not kept.

Side note, we have access to a pretty much unlimited free supply of grains (corn & wheat mostly) from a friend that works at a mill, so we're not overly concerned about grazing, but don't want to turn the land to crap like our chicken area. It would be nice though if they could supplement their diet by grazing or to know that they could graze more if our friend were to lose his ability to get the grains.

A half an acre would be okay for two sheep. I currently have 27 sheep & lambs on 1.5 acres. We fenced in an additional 1/4 acre when it got really muddy and they had it grazed down within 3-4 days. Their 1.5 acre lasted them about 2-3 weeks. So we are back to feeding hay in addition to letting them graze the pasture and weeds. I'm currently downsizing my flock, so my numbers dwindle every so often.

You can feed corn to them, as a treat, but depending on the breed, they may get too fat if you feed them too much. Also if you feed them corn with grass hay (or pasture), you need to make sure you provide a good quality mineral with quite a bit of calcium to offset the phosphorus levels in the corn.

And you're going to want to get more than two sheep Maybe two to three ewes and a ram, to make the expense of keeping the ram more "worth it" as his costs of upkeep will be spread over more lambs.

 

[Ponker]

A dangerous ram should be culled. Just like dangerous bucks. And I'm of the school that when you separate any herd animal and make that animal live alone, don't be surprised if it becomes mean and unsocial. Raising a ram from a dam raised lamb is an ideal. You can teach him as he matures but I'd sure want him to have a pal. My three rams live in harmony. Georgie, Casper, and Holstein are gentle and wonderful. I spend as much time in their pasture as I do with the ewes. They are sweet and affectionate but not amourous. Never be foolish enough to turn your back on an intact male of any breed. Trust is one thing, foolish another entirely.

And looking around, meeting different breeders is preferable. Some will show you flocks that are wild and rather aloof. Others will have flocks that are pets who will come when called, nibble treats from your hand, and answer back bbaaaa, when they hear their name. Take the time to find lovely sheep from someone who loves their sheep.

Like Southern by Choice mentioned, when she had sheep, they were wild and mean. Make sure you know the breed before settling on a choice. If there are handspinners in your area, the wool can fetch some pretty handsome prices. And fear not the shearer, using a stand, it's possible to shear a few tame sheep. Learning the positions of doing it old-school is daunting but there are actually workshops for it. It's part of an ever growing niche industry around the resurgence of the fine fiber breeds.

I love my sheep and spend my time interacting with them and preening their wool. When they see me, they come running over and we talk. LOL

Our small ruminant vet covers both goats and sheep. Join a few local sheep groups of facebook and get in touch with the local university ag division. They're great help and always have up to date and accurate information.

 

[Southern by choice]

Southern by Choice mentioned, when she had sheep, they were wild and mean.

Mine were NOT wild or mean. Just not social. The most we could do was scratch their chin, feed treats.
They were mean to my goats and had to be separated from ramming pregnant does. Of course that is comparing them to goats that climb in our lap give kisses etc.

If I got sheep again I would get a different breed. Probably Katahdin or Katahdin cross. No shearing, not primitive.

I really like the wool breeds. I love the wool! The expense for us for 2 was not worth it. We paid a shearer and she came from out of state.
I did shear mine but it is alot and the proper equipment is expensive. Regular clippers with blades take hours and the amount of lanolin will affect the blades.

 

[Baymule]

Since your space will be limited, you might not want to keep a ram, especially since you don't want but a couple of ewes. I would recommend two ewes and buy a young ram. When the ewes are bred, butcher the ram. Then you won't have the expense of keeping him, the trouble of keeping him separate or the possibility of him turning mean and becoming dangerous. Futhermore, since the lambs will be terminal, that is, "gone to freezer camp" you could even keep one of your own ram lambs, let it breed your 2 ewes, then off to freezer camp with him. Rinse. Repeat.