This is the tenth year of raising sheep and many lessons have been learned. The first set came from a friend who loaned several of his flock to me to mow the pasture. They were mostly Finsheep and did a great job but since they were another's property very little was learned about them. The following year it was time to get my own so I toured up to Highland County a couple of hours away to a farm reducing its herd. This elder couple plus a friend immediately recognized my lack of knowledge in this area and proceeded to sell me three mother lambs each with twins. I had been quoted by them on the phone a price of $120 for each mother and lamb set but by the time I got there the next day the price was $135. Well it was a long drive to this place in the middle of nowhere and I was not coming home empty handed. I paid the extra money and got my first herd of mostly black face mixed breed sheep. Actually for someone ignorant of sheep I came out very well. They were of a good size and healthy. The male offspring were sold and the female lambs kept for breeding. Then the next problem came up, a ram was needed. Looking around closer home, I purchased a young mostly Dorset ram for $75 from Alpine Farms about 30 miles up the road. We named him Al and he was more than willing to perform. As time passed he became more aggressive charging any human that dared to proceed anywhere close. We loaned him to several other farms for stud service but after a couple of years he was sold. No telling where Al is now, probably in sheep heaven.
With the herd the lessons were quickly learned.
Probably the biggest lesson was that sheep and especially lambs can die quickly
without any sign of illness. Worms seem to be the biggest problem so
worming a few times each year was a good precautionary measure. Trimming
hooves was necessary for healthy feet. And of course getting ready for
lambing in case there's a problem. The problems did come but rarely.
Two trying to come out at one time, large lambs, and a major problem, cold
weather could mess up a nice day. Also baby lambs don't stand up well to very
cold weather. After a few deaths the lessons were learned. One of
the greatest aids was the book "Raising Sheep the Modern Way" by Paula
Simmons. The revised 1989 version published by Storey Books, VT. says on
the front page that over 100,000 copies have been sold. It's a great help
for small time sheep farmers like me and highly recommended . (Try
the following sites for reviews and a copy)
http://www.fetchbook.info/Raising_Sheep_the_Modern_Way.html
http://www.thewoolery.com/coversanimals/raisingsheep.html
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0882660934/026-3284437-6598856
http://www.miniaturesheep.com/resources.shtml
Another great problem for small time sheep owners is
shearing off all that wool which no one really wants. It should be done
once a year and if you rely on others to do it then finding a reliable shearer
at a decent price is sometimes difficult. Shearing is a difficult dirty
job especially with large sheep. It's not for an older person.
Although I had two nice sets of electric shears plus hand shears from England
the job was difficult for me and rough on my back so I hired a local each
year. Lately government price supports have boasted the price of wool but
a few years back wool prices did not pay for the gas to transport it to the wool
pool. Speaking of being dirty and smelly, try wallowing around freshly
sheared wool that has been on that sheep for a year. No one wants to be
around you, including the sheep.
The next stage in sheep raising came with the act of going pure, that is,
purebred. The mixed breed sheep were sold, which was probably a mistake, and purebred Dorsets replaced them. They are beautiful sheep with good manners at a
medium size and easy to handle. Dorsets lamb easy if bred to
other Dorsets and present no problems out of the ordinary. These
were kept for a few years with satisfaction but the problem of finding a shearer
finally made me search for alternatives so one day I sold all of them at a
decent price knowing I would not have to worry about all that wool and how to
dispose of it. After a while I missed the sheep and knew it was in my
blood. Also I was tired of mowing the pasture so I started researching the
remedy.
The present stage in sheep raising started with a Va. Tech farm article in
a magazine on the hair breeds. I had heard of
these sheep which required
no shearing so I decided to investigate. Luckily there was a sheep farm
not too far from here raising registered Katahdins so a visit there quickly
increased my interest into getting back into the sheep business. After
checking out advertisements in the state clearinghouse newsletter I purchased
with a few Katahdins and St. Croix and later expanded to about 15.
These sheep are beautiful. They are smaller than the commercial Dorset or Suffolk and their lambs are small
requiring a longer time before stock sale but they have many advantages.
Of course the greatest advantage to me was not requiring any shearing which saved time and
money. The ewes lamb quickly and easily. They are also very
healthy animals. It is believed their origins from hot climates in South
America and Africa may have contributed to this. Katahdins and St. Croix
are attractive animals in white and different shades of brown. Overall
they require minimum attention and that is what the small time farmer is looking
for. With my overall experience in sheep I would recommend the Katahdin
and St. Croix hair breeds as a good investment.