Need sheep breed recommendation for mowing the lawn.

[kingofnapier]

Looking to get a pretty animal to keep my lawn down so I dont have to mow. Please help me determine what breed of sheep to get within the following criteria:

1. Dont want something that will eat the roots and kill the grass. (wild-growth grass)
2. Want something that will eat the weeds on the outskirts of the lawn.

3. Can get buy on eating one acre of lawn without needing supplemental food (except maybe winter)
4. Want something that is low maintenance.
5. Dont want goats or anything that looks like them because they are not pretty to me.
6. Easy to procure, inexpensive to purchase and care for, and eats rye in winter.
7. Dont want something that will tear up the fence and gets out easy.
8. I live in Georgia.
9. Good with kids.
10. Doesnt make noises at night.
11. Can sell the wool.

Thanks in advance for the help. Just need to know what websites to use to find ones for sale and how to examine to make sure Im not getting ripped off.

 

[SheepGirl]

You have quite the list!

1. Sheep don't eat the roots, but they can/will graze the grass down to less than a half of an inch. They won't kill the grass unless you overstock the area.

2. Sheep will eat weeds, but they do prefer grass & legumes. What kind of weeds do you have?

3. One acre will not support many sheep. So I suggest only keeping 2-3 to do your yardwork. However, they will not be able to keep up with the grass during the spring and early summer growth, so you may need to still mow it or weedwhack the top of it.

4. Most sheep are low maintenance. I go out once a day for about 20-30 minutes and check on them, feed the penned sheep, and top their water off. Once a week I scrub out the waterers because by then they have a thick coat of algae growing and the sheep don't like to drink out of it. (Also it turns the water green, yuck.) Once a year they are sheared and they have their hooves trimmed (takes one morning or one afternoon) and are checked for parasites (we only check eyelids which only checks for barberpole worms...the most common internal parasite; we do not check for other types of internal parasites).

5. Are you interested in sheep with horns or would you like them polled?

6. Crossbred sheep tend to be the most prevalent and inexpensive sheep to obtain. As for rye, they will eat it, but are you talking about rye grass hay or rye grain? However depending on your location and your situation there may be better and cheaper alternatives.

7. What kind of fencing do you have right now?

8. Hot and humid!

9. Sheep are good with kids as long as the kids are good with the sheep. Meaning the kids don't hit, chase, pull their wool, etc. I have brought sheep to the fair and they've never seen kids in their life (they are used to teenagers/older people, definitely not little kids). The sheep were fine, albeit a little scared at first of the little creatures.

10. All animals make noises at night. Usually the only sheep I hear at night is my ram. I don't know what he baas at (maybe the cat) but I hear him while laying on my bed trying to fall asleep but once I'm asleep I don't hear him at all. Sometimes my ewes will baa, trying to find each other in the dark, especially if they are out grazing at night.

11. What kind of wool are you looking to produce? Fine, medium, long, carpet? Who would your customers be? How would you sell the wool? Would you blanket the sheep?

-----

One final note: Having your sheep keep your lawn looking like a lawn will not be healthy for them. Lawn grass is about 2-3" tall, which is much too short for sheep to be grazing. Sheep should have grass 5-6" tall so they have longer pieces of grass to eat (healthier for the rumen), are less prone to internal parasites (which live at ground level), and so they don't turn your lawn into dirt.

 

[boykin2010]

If you scratch #11 off your list I would say go for hair sheep.
I live in South GA, and I can't imagine having wooled sheep... I am afraid they would have a heat stroke.

My Katahdins are a dream. They don't require much maintenance at all, mow the grass well, aren't loud, extremely friendly, well suited to south ga enviroment, and quiet. I only feed grain when the sheep are lactating and I feed good quality in the hay in the winter. Honestly, there isn't a huge market that I know for wool in our area.
Crossbred hair sheep are for sale all the time... I raise purebred and registered Katahdins because I like to know where my sheep come from (lineage, farms, etc.) and the registered sells for more $. I can make a little money off the sheep each year also instead of just paying to feed them and hoping to break even.

 

[kingofnapier]

You have quite the list!

1. Sheep don't eat the roots, but they can/will graze the grass down to less than a half of an inch. They won't kill the grass unless you overstock the area.

2. Sheep will eat weeds, but they do prefer grass & legumes. What kind of weeds do you have?

3. One acre will not support many sheep. So I suggest only keeping 2-3 to do your yardwork. However, they will not be able to keep up with the grass during the spring and early summer growth, so you may need to still mow it or weedwhack the top of it.

4. Most sheep are low maintenance. I go out once a day for about 20-30 minutes and check on them, feed the penned sheep, and top their water off. Once a week I scrub out the waterers because by then they have a thick coat of algae growing and the sheep don't like to drink out of it. (Also it turns the water green, yuck.) Once a year they are sheared and they have their hooves trimmed (takes one morning or one afternoon) and are checked for parasites (we only check eyelids which only checks for barberpole worms...the most common internal parasite; we do not check for other types of internal parasites).

5. Are you interested in sheep with horns or would you like them polled?

6. Crossbred sheep tend to be the most prevalent and inexpensive sheep to obtain. As for rye, they will eat it, but are you talking about rye grass hay or rye grain? However depending on your location and your situation there may be better and cheaper alternatives.

7. What kind of fencing do you have right now?

8. Hot and humid!

9. Sheep are good with kids as long as the kids are good with the sheep. Meaning the kids don't hit, chase, pull their wool, etc. I have brought sheep to the fair and they've never seen kids in their life (they are used to teenagers/older people, definitely not little kids). The sheep were fine, albeit a little scared at first of the little creatures.

10. All animals make noises at night. Usually the only sheep I hear at night is my ram. I don't know what he baas at (maybe the cat) but I hear him while laying on my bed trying to fall asleep but once I'm asleep I don't hear him at all. Sometimes my ewes will baa, trying to find each other in the dark, especially if they are out grazing at night.

11. What kind of wool are you looking to produce? Fine, medium, long, carpet? Who would your customers be? How would you sell the wool? Would you blanket the sheep?

-----

One final note: Having your sheep keep your lawn looking like a lawn will not be healthy for them. Lawn grass is about 2-3" tall, which is much too short for sheep to be grazing. Sheep should have grass 5-6" tall so they have longer pieces of grass to eat (healthier for the rumen), are less prone to internal parasites (which live at ground level), and so they don't turn your lawn into dirt.

Thanks for the responses.

I like polled sheep.

When I speak of rye grass I mean like with goats, you can just broadcast some rye in the cold months and it sprouts for them to eat the rye grass.

There is no fencing up but I was thinking about the standard 5" square field/pasture fence.

I didn't have any wool/hair in mind to sell, just knew that people sheered them for cash annually, but it doesn't really matter to me what their coat is. Just thought the extra cash would be a bonus.

 

[kingofnapier]

If you scratch #11 off your list I would say go for hair sheep.
I live in South GA, and I can't imagine having wooled sheep... I am afraid they would have a heat stroke.

My Katahdins are a dream. They don't require much maintenance at all, mow the grass well, aren't loud, extremely friendly, well suited to south ga enviroment, and quiet. I only feed grain when the sheep are lactating and I feed good quality in the hay in the winter. Honestly, there isn't a huge market that I know for wool in our area.
Crossbred hair sheep are for sale all the time... I raise purebred and registered Katahdins because I like to know where my sheep come from (lineage, farms, etc.) and the registered sells for more $. I can make a little money off the sheep each year also instead of just paying to feed them and hoping to break even.

Thanks!

I guess sheep only lactate when they've given birth to babies?

What websites do I go to to find cheap ones for sale?

 

[bonbean01]

You could put an ad up in your local feed stores ...wanted to buy...and give your specifications of what you are looking for.

To me...low maintenance and wool sheep needing shearing don't go together. Here we have Katahdins and Dorper and crosses of the two. Hair sheep have some natural worm resistance, but that will need to be checked time to time. Kind of grass lawn you have is important too...and minerals and salt. We feed a sheep pelleted ration here along with pasture in summer and good guality hay in winter. Not everyone feeds grains or pellets when sheep are on pasture...but...we kind of spoil our sheep and do enjoy them so much and each one has its very own sheeanality...personality doesn't fit me thinks?

You'll need a shelter for them and their hooves have to be trimmed. Our sheep are quiet all night, unless someone is going into labour and then they holler until we get out there with them...or if a predator or skunk is close to them...they look at the house and holler for help. Other than that, they are quiet all night as are our neighbour's sheep and goats and donkey right across the road from us...our roosters make more noise than them at night

Every now and then someone has a lamb that is a bit of a runt and not suitable to keep for breeding...we had one this year and put up an ad on Craig's list for her and her photo and why we were selling her. Woman phoned very soon and very excited...she did not want to breed sheep and already had two little runt ewes she bought for not much money and bottle fed...our little sweetheart was already weaned...woman wanted young sheep that were small and friendly and not for breeding...just as pets and yard mowers. We sold our little Sweet Pea for seventy five dollars and she was exactly what this woman was looking for.

So, put up ads...and watch Craig's list farm section and put an ad up on the Wanted to Buy. Close to the bottom of the index on here, there is a buy/sell place also.

Hope you find what you are looking for and and Sheepgirl's list is excellent to keep in mind!!!! That gal knows her sheep

Take good note of her comment about suitable grass/lawn for your sheep and how high to keep it.

 

[kingofnapier]

You could put an ad up in your local feed stores ...wanted to buy...and give your specifications of what you are looking for.

To me...low maintenance and wool sheep needing shearing don't go together. Here we have Katahdins and Dorper and crosses of the two. Hair sheep have some natural worm resistance, but that will need to be checked time to time. Kind of grass lawn you have is important too...and minerals and salt. We feed a sheep pelleted ration here along with pasture in summer and good guality hay in winter. Not everyone feeds grains or pellets when sheep are on pasture...but...we kind of spoil our sheep and do enjoy them so much and each one has its very own sheeanality...personality doesn't fit me thinks?

You'll need a shelter for them and their hooves have to be trimmed. Our sheep are quiet all night, unless someone is going into labour and then they holler until we get out there with them...or if a predator or skunk is close to them...they look at the house and holler for help. Other than that, they are quiet all night as are our neighbour's sheep and goats and donkey right across the road from us...our roosters make more noise than them at night

Every now and then someone has a lamb that is a bit of a runt and not suitable to keep for breeding...we had one this year and put up an ad on Craig's list for her and her photo and why we were selling her. Woman phoned very soon and very excited...she did not want to breed sheep and already had two little runt ewes she bought for not much money and bottle fed...our little sweetheart was already weaned...woman wanted young sheep that were small and friendly and not for breeding...just as pets and yard mowers. We sold our little Sweet Pea for seventy five dollars and she was exactly what this woman was looking for.

So, put up ads...and watch Craig's list farm section and put an ad up on the Wanted to Buy. Close to the bottom of the index on here, there is a buy/sell place also.

Hope you find what you are looking for and and Sheepgirl's list is excellent to keep in mind!!!! That gal knows her sheep

Take good note of her comment about suitable grass/lawn for your sheep and how high to keep it.

Thanks much! The grass is wild growth, so mostly fescue and crab.

 

[boykin2010]

They will eat those grasses just fine as long as it doesn't get too out of control.

Keep an eye on Craigslist, or you can visit www.katahdins.org
Most sheep on that website are going to be registered though.

What region of GA are you in? I had a few crossbred Katahdins I was selling, but just sold them last week.

 

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