Help with Sheep Questions

[ShadowsFIAL]

I am a year out from buying any sheep but I would love to learn as much as I can. If I get the land I am looking at, the sheep will have an entire acre pasture to themselves. My plan is to have one ram, and four ewes. The offspring will be sent to freezer camp, or sold, we do not plan to keep them.

We are going to have a barn that is 14'x19' for them to get in out of the weather. Inside the barn is where their food trough will be as well as they hay bin. We plan to give them their feed in the evening to coax them into the barn for lockup at night. Will this be plenty of room for the sheep?

I plan to get three painted desert sheep, one ram, and two ewes, this will be the easy sheep for me to find, my big question is, where can I find any Border Leciester breeders in the US, or Welsh Mule sheep. I am extremely interested in the Welsh Mule, I find them to be a very attractive hybrid, or would I have better luck trying to import one? I want to have one or two if either of these breeds, or possibly one shetland.

As for shearing, will regular dog grooming andis clippers work to shear them? I am a dog groomer, so I have clippers on hand, otherwise I will probably purchase the andis sheep shears. How well do these sheep do for milking? I am interested in milking my sheep as well as use their meat and wool.

As far a bottle feeding goes, I would like to bottle feed all of them to get a stronger bond with them, will this cause a problem with the ram? Also I would like to ID them with regular dog collars, would this work fine? I plan to put little bells on them as well.

We will be using a 6-8 wire electric fence. Not sure how many we will do yet, we plan to do at least the first three strands 6" apart.

I am planning to use the regular horse quality square bales to feed them, as well as the dumor sheep feed, and a sheep mineral block free choice.

If I decide to milk my sheep, how often should I milk them, can I milk them and keep their lambs on them? Thanks much in advance!

 

[purplequeenvt]

"We are going to have a barn that is 14'x19' for them to get in out of the weather. Inside the barn is where their food trough will be as well as they hay bin. We plan to give them their feed in the evening to coax them into the barn for lockup at night. Will this be plenty of room for the sheep?"

For a few sheep, yes. That should be plenty of space for overnight.

"I plan to get three painted desert sheep, one ram, and two ewes, this will be the easy sheep for me to find, my big question is, where can I find any Border Leciester breeders in the US, or Welsh Mule sheep. I am extremely interested in the Welsh Mule, I find them to be a very attractive hybrid, or would I have better luck trying to import one? I want to have one or two if either of these breeds, or possibly one shetland."

Painted Desert aren't the best choice for meat sheep. I've also heard that they tend to be pretty flighty/feral. I absolutely love Border Leicesters. We've raised them for 16 years.

Take a look at the American Border Leicester Association website: http://www.ablasheep.org/ for more information about the breed and to find breeders. My farm is listed as "Smith Family Farm" (in VT), although we are now Vinegar Ridge Farm.

I also have Shetlands. Fun little sheep.

As for shearing, will regular dog grooming andis clippers work to shear them? I am a dog groomer, so I have clippers on hand, otherwise I will probably purchase the andis sheep shears. How well do these sheep do for milking? I am interested in milking my sheep as well as use their meat and wool.

I don't think the dog clippers will work on sheep very well. Get actual shears or hand shears. My sister shears with electrics, but I use hand shears.

I doubt the PD will stand for milking. The Border Leicesters are considered a dual-purpose breed (meat and wool) and while they aren't considered a dairy breed, fed and milked properly, there is no reason why they wouldn't make a decent milker.

"As far a bottle feeding goes, I would like to bottle feed all of them to get a stronger bond with them, will this cause a problem with the ram? Also I would like to ID them with regular dog collars, would this work fine? I plan to put little bells on them as well."

Yes and no. I would never recommend a bottle fed breeding ram to a newbie, BUT we have a had a couple bottle baby breeding rams over the years and never had an issue. The key to a safe ram is in the handling. Don't ever let them get away with any pushy, dominate behavior.

Collars aren't the safest choice. Sheep can get themselves stuck and strangle themselves with collars. Ear tags are much better.

"We will be using a 6-8 wire electric fence. Not sure how many we will do yet, we plan to do at least the first three strands 6" apart."

Is this a permanent fence or will you be rotating them?

"I am planning to use the regular horse quality square bales to feed them, as well as the dumor sheep feed, and a sheep mineral block free choice."

I'm not sure what "horse quality" hay means. A good quality 2nd cut (during pregnancy and lactation) is good. Feed free choice loose sheep minerals instead of a block. They can't get enough necessary minerals through licking the block and they can ruin their teeth.

"If I decide to milk my sheep, how often should I milk them, can I milk them and keep their lambs on them? Thanks much in advance!"

If you are trying to get a decent amount of milk, then you will need to milk twice a day and take the lambs away. If you are satisfied with less milk, then milk once a day and leave the lambs on. When the lambs are a couple weeks old, start separating them at night and milk the ewe out in the morning. Put everyone back together again after milking.

 

[ShadowsFIAL]

Painted Desert aren't the best choice for meat sheep. I've also heard that they tend to be pretty flighty/feral. I absolutely love Border Leicesters. We've raised them for 16 years.

Take a look at the American Border Leicester Association website: http://www.ablasheep.org/ for more information about the breed and to find breeders. My farm is listed as "Smith Family Farm" (in VT), although we are now Vinegar Ridge Farm.

I also have Shetlands. Fun little sheep.
I simply like the painted desert's for their color honestly,and for the gorgeous rams. To me the meat is just a bonus to raising them, much like our flemish giant/newzeland rabbits. I don't know many other hair sheep breeds with that much color on them and such stunning rams. The sheep are all basically going to be pets. I didn't want too many wool sheep since I have never shorn before and didn't know how tough it would be. However Border Leicesters are on the top of my list! I might have to take a road rip and get a lamb from you haha! Possibly a Shetland as well. We shall see.

I don't think the dog clippers will work on sheep very well. Get actual shears or hand shears. My sister shears with electrics, but I use hand shears.
Thanks for the info! Do you know which cuts smoother? I would like to be able to give my wool sheep fun cuts sometimes and not just shear the entire thing. They are going to be pets too after all.

Yes and no. I would never recommend a bottle fed breeding ram to a newbie, BUT we have a had a couple bottle baby breeding rams over the years and never had an issue. The key to a safe ram is in the handling. Don't ever let them get away with any pushy, dominate behavior.
So basically you have to train them like you would a stubborn german shepherd haha. I guess I will have to give it a shot, or get a newly weaned ram. I just want them to still be personable and somewhat easy to handle when I need to trim hooves and check them over. I would be happy if they would come up for petting and a feed bucket.

Collars aren't the safest choice. Sheep can get themselves stuck and strangle themselves with collars. Ear tags are much better.
Okay, I wondered about that. Do they also do ear tattooing like rabbits instead? I always worry about the tag getting ripped out.

Is this a permanent fence or will you be rotating them?
It will be a permanent fence. It will be hot wire, pretty much always on, I am looking at at least 1 Joule.

I'm not sure what "horse quality" hay means. A good quality 2nd cut (during pregnancy and lactation) is good. Feed free choice loose sheep minerals instead of a block. They can't get enough necessary minerals through licking the block and they can ruin their teeth.
Thanks for the advice! I didn't know that about the block. @_@

If you are trying to get a decent amount of milk, then you will need to milk twice a day and take the lambs away. If you are satisfied with less milk, then milk once a day and leave the lambs on. When the lambs are a couple weeks old, start separating them at night and milk the ewe out in the morning. Put everyone back together again after milking.
I am happy with less milk. I would be happier, and the lambs would be happier, being able to drink from mom. I am just wanting to experiment with cheese, butter, and soaps.

 

[Bossroo]

Why would one milk a non dairy breed of ewe and then bottle feed the ewe's lamb / lambs ? When one bottle feeds the lamb, more often then not, it will be of a inferior quality as a ewe raised lamb and will cost more to raise in terms of money and labor. Besides, most ewe breeds only produce milk for about 5 months after lambing. As for bottle feeding a ram lamb, one is asking for trouble and / or injury to you or yours when it's hormones kick in, often starting after 5 -7 months of age . I would castrate the ram lamb asap .

 

[Roving Jacobs]

I shear 70-100 animals (sheep, angora goats, angora rabbits) a year with andis super 2 speed dog clippers. Use a ceramic #10 blade and keep it clean and sharp and it works just fine. I like the close smooth shear it gets with no risk of cutting the sheep.

I can't imagine trying to milk wild little painted desert sheep but @norseofcourse milks her icelandics and might have some advice for that.

 

[ShadowsFIAL]

I shear 70-100 animals (sheep, angora goats, angora rabbits) a year with andis super 2 speed dog clippers. Use a ceramic #10 blade and keep it clean and sharp and it works just fine. I like the close smooth shear it gets with no risk of cutting the sheep.

I can't imagine trying to milk wild little painted desert sheep but @norseofcourse milks her icelandics and might have some advice for that.

Lol I guess painted deserts are pretty bad personality wise? I have three andis 2 speed clippers, so I think i will save one for my sheep and try it out. I also have #15 blades that I might try.

If the painted deserts are so wild, I might try out a ram and ewe, then get a border leicester, a welsh mule, and then a second border leicester, welsh mule, blue faced leicester or a shetland. They are all going to be pets, and half the sheep on craigslist are mix breeds anyway, but I really want a gorgeous ram with horns. I also really like color, so the welsh mule is really interesting to me, but I think I would have a hard time finding them here, all the websites I find about them are in the UK.

 

[ShadowsFIAL]

Well it looks like what I might do is get three sheep. One ram and two ewes. I think my top choice is the Welsh Mule, they are supposedly a good all around breed and I really like their looks, then it would be the Border leicester, then the Painted Desert, then the Shetland. If anyone can suggest a breed that is similar to the Welsh Mule, I am all ears. The Welsh Mule is a cross between the bluefaced leicester and a Beulah Speckled Face Sheep. All I can seem to pull up online is in the UK and it is actually not finding them on the site aside from welsh pony crosses haha

 

[Baymule]

If you like colorful sheep with horns, then you need to look into Jacob Sheep! @Roving Jacobs has fabulous sheep and the 4 horns are fantastic!

http://www.backyardherds.com/threads/rovings-2016-lambs.32710/

 

[ShadowsFIAL]

If you like colorful sheep with horns, then you need to look into Jacob Sheep! @Roving Jacobs has fabulous sheep and the 4 horns are fantastic!

http://www.backyardherds.com/threads/rovings-2016-lambs.32710/

I thought about jacobs, but I can't stand the uneven horns. My OCD killed them for me haha

 

[Baymule]

Where in Texas are you? I am north of Tyler.