Baymule
Herd Master
Thank you @Bossroo for the input on Sheepgirl's lambing thread! I respect your opinions and knowledge. I was posting this reply on Sheepgirl's thread, then realized I was highjacking, so decided to start a thread of my own.
I have seen Dorpers in pastures, but not up close. What is your opinion of Katahdins? I am leaning hard toward hair sheep because I would probably have a difficult time even finding shearers around here and if I did it, the poor sheep would look like it was attacked by a rabid squirrel with broken teeth.
The land we are buying is mostly wooded, and grown up in greenbriars and brush. I was thinking about goats to clean it up. But you're saying the Dorpers would browse like a goat? That would be wonderful! I have a tractor and can bush hog to knock down the worst of the mess, so grass could grow. The trees are not real thick, underbrushed, I think there would be some grass. What about poison oak, will they eat that too?
We will be in northeast Texas, hot summers, cool winters with dips into the 20's, sometimes snow that lasts a couple of days. The soil is sandy. There are lots of pines and oak trees on the land, will Dorpers eat the acorns and will the acorns be bad or good for them? There is also wild persimmons on the property that we are not cutting. I figure free forage for the chickens if nothing else.
Will the Dorpers eat the bark off trees? I want the brush gone, but not my trees!
We have to fence the whole place. Going to use 4' horse wire 4"x2" on 7' T-posts with 2 strands of barbed wire at the top. We have a Great Pyrenees, a black Lab/Great Dane and Australian Shepherd. The Pyr and Lab/Dane are both great chicken guards and I expect them to be good with the sheep after an introductory period. The Aussie just wants to bite the chickens, so the Pyr hates her and wants her dead. LOL Also have 3 horses and a mule. I figure on having to keep the sheep separate from the mule as she might not take kindly to them. going to fence the garden area first and put the horses in it for the winter, then start fencing the rest of the place. We'll be moving at the end of the year and can't wait to get going!
I have seen Dorpers in pastures, but not up close. What is your opinion of Katahdins? I am leaning hard toward hair sheep because I would probably have a difficult time even finding shearers around here and if I did it, the poor sheep would look like it was attacked by a rabid squirrel with broken teeth.
The land we are buying is mostly wooded, and grown up in greenbriars and brush. I was thinking about goats to clean it up. But you're saying the Dorpers would browse like a goat? That would be wonderful! I have a tractor and can bush hog to knock down the worst of the mess, so grass could grow. The trees are not real thick, underbrushed, I think there would be some grass. What about poison oak, will they eat that too?
We will be in northeast Texas, hot summers, cool winters with dips into the 20's, sometimes snow that lasts a couple of days. The soil is sandy. There are lots of pines and oak trees on the land, will Dorpers eat the acorns and will the acorns be bad or good for them? There is also wild persimmons on the property that we are not cutting. I figure free forage for the chickens if nothing else.
Will the Dorpers eat the bark off trees? I want the brush gone, but not my trees!
We have to fence the whole place. Going to use 4' horse wire 4"x2" on 7' T-posts with 2 strands of barbed wire at the top. We have a Great Pyrenees, a black Lab/Great Dane and Australian Shepherd. The Pyr and Lab/Dane are both great chicken guards and I expect them to be good with the sheep after an introductory period. The Aussie just wants to bite the chickens, so the Pyr hates her and wants her dead. LOL Also have 3 horses and a mule. I figure on having to keep the sheep separate from the mule as she might not take kindly to them. going to fence the garden area first and put the horses in it for the winter, then start fencing the rest of the place. We'll be moving at the end of the year and can't wait to get going!