New member who wants to get sheep soon.

[mystang89]

Also are sheep just as bad as goats about escaping?

I'm afraid I can't help as far as the amount of acreage being sufficient or not but I can say that I have never had a ewe escape. Again, we won't talk about Rams, but ewes are just fine wherever I put them, whether that be stall, small confine or pasture. I know @Baymule has Rams that you could put on a leash, walked life a dog, and cook you dinner so there are Rams out there who are nice and stay put too. That's really what pushed me to get sheep as well. I had read that goats were notorious for escaping and I didn't want to have to worry about it. I haven't had to worry.

 

[Baymule]

Haha, Ringo won't cook dinner, but he sure enjoys eating treats!

My sheep don't escape. They go where I want them, they follow a feed can.

 

[Baymule]

2-3 acres should be enough for a small flock. Figure in the grass needed for weaned lambs, you will have to separate them from the ewes. You will also have to separate the ram as you don't want indiscriminate breeding going on. Time lambing so that when you wean, the grass is in good production. You will need to cross fence to rotate pastures. I find that my contrary idiots will ignore lush growth and return to the same patches again and again, eating the grass down to the roots. I put my horses on one pasture to eat the lush rye grass and evened up the field.

I have a portable building that we built a 20'x24' lean to roof off one side of the building. All sides are open except one. We used radiant heat barrier under the metal and there is a marked difference in the heat of summer. I have it sectioned in 3 parts with cow panels. There is the big part for the ewes, a small part for the ram and another small part for weaning lambs. Both the small parts have pens. If you want to leave the sheep in particular pastures, you can put up hoop shelters with cow panels, t-posts and put a tarp over the cow panels. Since the cow panel shelters are not permanent buildings, the tax man cannot hit you with taxes. LOL

 

[Jmiller89]

Thanks for the info. We will probably have to go with something permanent as our yard is slopped and we will have to grade off a space for shelter.

 

[Baymule]

If you can, make it centrally located to make pasture access easier. Study your property, visualize the barn and pasture access, draw it out on paper. Design it for ease of movement and for loading up in a trailer. If you have to, build a holding pen close to trailer access. Sheep can always be lured with a feed can-except when loading when a time limit is imperative. LOL LOL We built a semi permanent loading chute from cow panels that goes behind the portable building and we can back the trailer up to it.

I put mine up at night and let the dogs range. Coyotes are terrible here. Closing the sheep up at night gives the dogs "time off" and they can patrol better knowing that the sheep are secure.