Help a beginner with some plans!! Please!

[TyRi22]

Hello, I am in Northwest Ohio and I am in the next few years hoping to get into some animals! I currently only have chickens but I barely count that as having farm animals. I plan to eventually take over my grandparents property which is on a little over 6 acres. I was originally interested in just goats for my wife and I would potentially milk them/sell their kids for an offset cost of having them. Recently I have been leaning more towards sheep. I know there are plenty of breeds of sheep that would be great but have found a breed that I can't keep my mind off of which is American Black Belly Sheep. That is where my questions lie now. They would be the pleasure to look at more than anything as far as reason for keeping them but also for their meat. I have read they are skittish and closer to the side of wild with not a ton of need for intervention with their day to day/week to week. I was wondering how hard it is to move them around without them losing their marbles (if that is even a problem) or if they need even higher fencing then normal sheep (I'm sure they do but to what extent?). My biggest question, which I can't seem to find anywhere, is with them being on the more skittish/wild side.. how do you go about slaughtering them? I know most farm animals you just walk up to them and do what you need to do but with them it sounds like you aren't getting close to them to get anything done! So just wanted to hear some if any experiences with them! Thank you so much!

 

[Mini Horses]

I raise goats, dairy & meat -- no sheep. While they appear to be alike, that's only in a few respects. Most animals can be tamed somewhat if handled from babes, treated consistently....they live by routines.

Lotta sheepies in here, mostly hair type to prevent shearing needs. They'll jump in with info.

Welcome to the forum.

 

[SageHill]

They do tend to be flighty, but that's just a tendency. I worked with a lot of them in herding training and trials. Back in the mid 90's they were the breed to have for training dogs. They were "light" but not kamikaze. They are a meat breed, though they are not big sheep. I guess a lot of it depends on where/who you get them from and how you treat them. I did have a ewe that I took to auction the other year - she was a good sheep, but had two strikes - she was getting old and was from a flock that were used in herding trials so not always worked well by dogs. Of all of the 'barbs I've been around none were crazy wild, could easily be penned and moved around as needed.

 

[Show Sebright]

I don’t know if Ohio has a native sheep like Florida does (Cracker Sheep). Those might do better with the climate there. As far as skittish. All sheep are skittish until you get them to warm up to you. Spending time with them will help. The suspicious food lady might become the suspicious friend.

If you like to sheer I say wool sheep are pretty fun! If you are anti hair cut days I would look into dopers. They are really high-quality meat cheap. But I do not know how they do with the temperatures there.

 

[Baymule]

Start small with 3-4 bred ewes. That will give you a chance to get acquainted with the breed. You won’t need a ram right away. I don’t know much about the American Black Belly breed. I raise Katahdin hair sheep.

Read the posts in the sheep forum. You will learn a lot, you can ask questions. There is lots of good information in the forums and it will give you a better understanding of what to expect.