Should I try getting into sheep?

[violetsky888]

I keep having the urge to get into sheep. I took a class in carding and spinning wool and loved it, not to mention I love taking care of livestock. The problem is we live in predator central and I'm not sure page fencing
would hold a flock. I do have mini horses that fare well with coyotes and the current fence. I've seen many farms in the area with boer goats but they all seem to have electric fencing, Great Pyrenees dogs in addition to page fencing.
Can I get away with having a small flock of 3 of 4 sheep and maybe an alpaca to guard them???

 

[SheepGirl]

Is page wire like woven wire? If it is, it has pretty effective predator control. However, if you have a hefty coyote population, I would suggest a LGD. Alpacas aren't guard animals, they are as likely to get eaten as a sheep! If you still want a fiber guard animal, choose a llama. They won't have as high quality fiber as an alpaca, but they still produce fiber. Then again, would you be able to find someone to shear a llama? Most sheep shearers don't like to shear llamas.

How much land do you have? If you were to invest in a guard animal, I'd recommend increasing your desired flock size

 

[violetsky888]

Llamas un-nerve. A longtime ago I read a story about a camel that was brought out west in some kind of mining adventure that got loose and would kill people traveling through his territory. i don't know if the story was true or not but I tend to give the camel family a wide berth. I have two properties one about 20 acres fenced and cross fenced that I keep a few cows on. The other is about 6 acres, that's where I'd like a few sheep. I have 2 mini horses there and sometimes the odd cow. I don't think of that property as grazing land, and plan to feed supplemental hay/grain. What about a mini donkey??? Im guessing a donkey would just pal up with the minis, but could keep them separate for couple of months to bond???

 

[violetsky888]

Oh, it is woven wire, about 4 inches square 5 feet high.

 

[woodsie]

Definitely LGD...you'll never regret it, well maybe when they are 6-9 months old, but then you'll love and appreciate them for life! There's a reason beyond the big eyes and belly rubs we love those dogs...without them, the farming life would be filled with heartbreak in losing animals we love and work very hard for.

If you have high predator count I don't believe you'll get by with a mini-anything. Even a good dog with packs of coyotes could get injured protecting lambs...2 good LGDs and you'll never have to worry. I think there is a reason most of the local people have a Pyr in the pasture...without one (or another LGD), you'll end up with a lot of missing sheep. We had coyotes digging under our 5' farm and field fence...when they are hungry there is not much stopping them in terms of fencing.

 

[violetsky888]

You're probably right about needing the dogs, it does seem like they are everywhere in the Huntsville Alabama area. Craigsl. always has pups for sale for around $75-100. I already have a bernese mt dog that costs a fortune to feed, so I'm not to keen on having to feed another big dog or two. All the cheap dog food is ground corn based and Teddy can inhale a a $30 20 lb bag of the better quality food in a work week.

 

[CritterZone]

We have a lot of coyotes around here and we have not lost any sheep or chickens to them yet and we don't have any dedicated LGD's (we do have a cattle dog and a german shorthair). We never hesitate to shoot at the coyotes when we see them, so they tend to stay away from the barn.

 

[Bo Peep Soays]

I would suggest getting Soay sheep. They take down coyotes (I've seen them do it), they shed their wool (good for using), are born with short tails so no docking, and eradicate poison ivy, poison oak, or anything in reach. Small, easy to handle, and cute as a button.

 

[Donna R. Raybon]

Coyotes here take cows when they are down calving and young calves. Black vultures do too. And coyotes climb like a cat so please do not rely on fence! When. Llama were high dollar and I was raising LGD , sold a lot of dogs to protect llamas.

 

[Granny Heeney]

I would suggest getting Soay sheep. They take down coyotes (I've seen them do it), they shed their wool (good for using), are born with short tails so no docking, and eradicate poison ivy, poison oak, or anything in reach. Small, easy to handle, and cute as a button.

I just saw a lamb when I googled, so cute! :-o **swoon** How do you pronounce "Soay?" The horns on those rams...w00t...will these fellers chase down and pummel a fat, slow, 50 yr old woman who doesn't know much about sheep yet?