Jacob Sheep-6 month update on our sheepies!

[Southern by choice]

I will be looking at some Jacob sheep this weekend. They are <6month old lambs. Ewe/Rams - These would be our first sheep, they are not real tame but will come to the feed bucket etc.

I have never minded horns, our goats all have horns but I've never had sheep and know they are very different from goats. I'm thinking of a Ewe and possibly getting a ram and having him wethered. The person who owns them said we might noy want to wether a ram, that we should think about whether we are going to want to breed the ewe. Can I keep a ram in with the ewe? Are rams mean just in mating season or all the rime. Our Goat Bucks are never mean ever. For those especially that have jacobs, but sheepies in general, what advice can you give me?

My goats do not have parasite issues and I am concerned about the sheep, they seem to have a lot of stuff that goes wrong, especially when being moved to a new home. Advice for that as well would be nice.

Can you tell I'm a bit nervous??? Sheep seem hard keepers to me, I'll stop rambling and let you all pour out your opinions/advice.
BTW- This isn't a sheep/goat thing...one being better than the other, I'm just not versed on sheep.

I met the owner at the Fiber Production Workshop I attended, the producers there were awesome!!!

 

[Shelly May]

I only raise Hair sheep, not jacob but wool sheep breeds have more parasite issue's then hair sheep,
but there are quality breeders out there that have good stock, First check the one's you like, what I
mean is to check their eye's to see if they are dark pink or red, if they are lite pink or white, they will
probable be risky as to good parasite resistence, or well taken care of. Now you know that they have
to be scheared at least once a year. The rams can be just as calm as your goats, alot has to do with
how you raise them, since he is still young get in the pen with him alot and if he walks away from you
a good sign that he is not aggressive as far as being in pen with the ewe same results should happen,
do this all the time as he is young now. build his confidence that you are not their to harm him, if you
feel you need to pet him, always do this under the chin, When you pet a ram on the top of his head
this signals fighting instincks. You will not be able to every put the ram and buck goats in the same pen
as they will fight and LOCK horns and someone is going to get hurt, or worse. I am sure you already
know that. They need feet trimmed about like goats do maybe twice yearly, They need different mineral
as goat mineral has to much copper in it. A lot of people really enjoy the breed. Good luck with your
choices, hope you get good ones. Send pictures of the ones you get.

 

[SheepGirl]

I have Babydoll Southdown x Montadale crosses, not Jacobs...but hopefully Bridgemoof will chime in with Jacob-specific information

I have never minded horns, our goats all have horns but I've never had sheep and know they are very different from goats. I'm thinking of a Ewe and possibly getting a ram and having him wethered. The person who owns them said we might noy want to wether a ram, that we should think about whether we are going to want to breed the ewe. Can I keep a ram in with the ewe? Are rams mean just in mating season or all the rime. Our Goat Bucks are never mean ever. For those especially that have jacobs, but sheepies in general, what advice can you give me?

The thing with Jacobs is they can have 2-8 horns (my old neighbor's friend raises Jacobs and he had an 8-horned 7 yr old ram) and they stick straight out. When rams go to ram into you, they come at you from the ground with their face towards the ground so their horns (or lack thereof) hit you. With horns that stick straight out, that may be a problem, so if you get a ram, I would get a 2-horned Jacob ram since his horns will grow around like a normal sheep.

Trust me, you will want to eventually breed your ewe Lambs are just too darn cute not to have! hahaha but if you can I would get two ewes and a ram. Rams CAN be kept by themselves, though they are happier & less aggressive when they have a buddy. But if they can see the other sheep (or even the goats), they will be okay penned by themselves.

You can keep the ram in with the ewe BUT as long as he's not aggressive towards them. And also I will never have a ram in during late gestation or when the ewes are dropping their lambs. Rams get feed aggressive and when you're feeding the ewes grain in late gestation, the ram will ram into the ewes trying to steal their feed and he may ram them hard enough they have an abortion. Also rams are mean to newborn lambs; some have even been killed. Of course there are always exceptions to the rule. And rams are aggressive year round, you never want to trust one any time of the year. My Hanky panky is a very aggressive breeder won't let the ewes in their shelter when he's in there...well they're actually more scared because he tries to breed them, especially when they have their head buried in the hay feeder and can't see what's going on behind them. But when I'm in there he doesn't go in because he knows I will kick him in the face if he does anything stupid...and he has also learned that when I yell his name with the tone, he walks away. Sometimes I have to shoo him away with my foot (keep in mind my shelter is only 4' tall lol so when I'm in there I'm either hunched over or sitting in the corner haha) but usually that chases him out.

My goats do not have parasite issues and I am concerned about the sheep, they seem to have a lot of stuff that goes wrong, especially when being moved to a new home. Advice for that as well would be nice.

Sheep do tend to have parasite issues. However, ask the breeder how often their sheep NEED to be dewormed. My old ewe (she'll be 7 next spring) has never been dewormed. My young ewe Ali needs to be dewormed about once every other year (shhh my neighbor doesn't know ). My lambs (the class of sheep most susceptible to parasites) haven't needed to be dewormed yet (knock on wood), and they've been on pasture most their lives. This is all thanks to my neighbor's selection program for low-maintenance sheep: once a year they are caught and they get sheared, have their hooves trimmed, vaccinated, and are checked for barberpole worm (that's the only worm he would check for). The sheep that needed to be dewormed were treated but they were usually shipped after they weaned their lambs. The sheep were left to die in between yearly checks if they had parasites. In fact, one of my ewes ended up dying in between yearly checks. I was so paranoid I checked over all my sheep and Ali needed to be dewormed so I dewormed her.

Can you tell I'm a bit nervous??? Sheep seem hard keepers to me, I'll stop rambling and let you all pour out your opinions/advice.

My sheep are veryyyy easy keepers. My sheep and the flock my neighbor had were very healthy sheep, because he let the sick ones die rather than treating them. (I know it sounds morbid, but a long-time commercial shepherd like him who ran hundreds to thousands of ewes has it ingrained in him to let the healthy ones live and the sick ones die.) Me on the other hand, I name the sheep I like, and so I do my best to keep them alive Though of course it isn't very hard, considering I got my stock from a great flock whose shepherd knew what he was doing. My old ewe has never had any health issues and the only health issue Ali's had is a bacterial infection, and that was when she was a yearling. Katy Perry's never had anything wrong with her, but Lady Gaga's had a bacterial infection that settled in her joints and she also had fly strike when she was an itty bitty baby. If Ali & Lady Gaga were my neighbor's sheep, he would've just let them die or send them to auction to be butchered.

BUT I think you will be fine and I hope you end up getting the sheep you want! (P.S. don't let straw talk you out of getting them!! lol)

ETA: Don't forget to QUARANTINE your new purchases and hit them with three classes of dewormers so they are as worm-free as possible and then keep them in a dry lot or pen for at least 30 days so they don't drop those worm eggs on your pastures. You don't want your goats to get them!

Oh and check out my Basic Sheep Care Guide (link in my signature)

 

[BrownSheep]

I would say you are probably fine keeping it a ram. We had three rams that stayed with the ewes pretty much 24/7 this year. The only agressive ram we have is a former bottle baby who has no fear or respect of humans. Even then he is never agressive to the ewes or lamb. He's even been in the the ewes during lambing season. He's always been much more of a sweetie to the lambs than the other ewes are actually. Our rams are actually lower down on the totem pole than most of ewes. During breeding season our the only thing I've noticed of our other rams is they are WAY more distracted and pay me much less attention.

My sheep get wormed maybe once every other year. The lambs get cd&t and the ewes get boosters once every other year. I have never had trouble with transport issues. Weve hauled a ram 2 hours in the back of a truck with stock racks. If you can raise chickens trust me you can raise sheep. They are by far one of the easiest of my animals.

My only complaint about sheep is shearing. Drives me up the wall batty. You have to realize I shearing over thirty sheep. If it was just one or two I would be a happy camper.
Maybe get two ewes and see if they would provide breeding services? Trust me you will want lambs!

Ps. Lambing is a generally easy. I have never have had to help a ewe yet. It's generally wam bam there's a lamb sort of deal.

 

[CocoNUT]

Oh Southern! I'm so jealous....jacobs! Hopefully Bridge will jump in with jacob-specific info...

I'm hoping you'll be regailing us with stories of your fiber workshop! PLEASE!

Good luck with your new charges....and remember....Photos are required!

 

[Roving Jacobs]

I have Jacobs and they're fantastic sheep. My rams are very respectful and have never threatened me, although I would never turn my back on them for safety reasons. Some of the big, tall horns can seem a little scary but in general they are well aware of where their horns are and are fairly careful with them. They're also small enough that if a ram gets uppity you can grab a horn and knock him over easy enough. The only time the tall horns bother me is during shearing but I shear with them in a stand instead of on the ground now and it makes it easier for all of us. If you are worried about getting poked in the eye with horns you can stick some tennis balls on the tips too.

Jacobs are a good beginner sheep because they really do not have a lot of problems. Mine have never had any foot problems and need to be trimmed way less than my goats, and they are fairly parasite resistant. They lamb easy and usually I'm more tired from worrying than they are actually having the baby. The only ewe I've ever needed to help was a small yearling with a hernia who was trying to deliver a massive ram lamb and even she only needed a quick tug.

They are clever, for sheep, so they'll figure out you're the one with the food quick enough and start to follow you around. They may never want to cuddle like goats do sometimes but some of my girls will stand around for hours getting their cheeks and neck scratched.

If you join the Jacob sheep breeders association they send you a huge packet of information on Jacob conformation, how to select stock, and what the registration process is like. They're a very helpful group and very friendly. The email list jacob-list is good too if you need more info.

They're such awesome sheep, I hope things work out with these lambs you're getting!

 

[Southern by choice]

Thank you all!

I pm'd Bridge this morning! She was very helpful! THANKS BRIDGE!

I am VERY nervous about this. The sheep are actually for my DD. She has always wanted sheep. We went to the workshop together. She wants to spin and use the fiber and also eat the meat. Right now we are just going to look at them, I know they came from very good stock and are registered. I do not know if we really care about the registration part. We will discuss that when we get there. I have a checklist to go down and of course lots of questions. I think Straw is going to come with us, mostly to hold the sheep. I don't need to make any decisions yet. My DD has always, from the start wanted Jacobs. We did meet quite a few people there and have many other options, which is really nice too! I prefer a breed that is on the ALBC list. I liked the fiber from the Heritage Leicester.

I'm thinking it might be best to stay away from a ram. I would have to have a completely different area that no one can go into. That is a pain. Might just stick with a ewe.

I am also wondering if this is a bad time of year to transport/bring in a new animal. I've never brought in an animal in December.

ETA= I don't think my DH is too keen on this. :/ I look at his eyes and can see him going- cha ching, cha-ching $$$$$ how much is this gonna cost??

 

[CocoNUT]

Oh Southern....don't worry about DH! Mine gasped when I talked about brining home Snuggles..."what are we going to do with a lamb?" he said. He rolled his eyes at the DD and I when we brought her home. Rolled his eyes at me putting diapers on her...now he chases after her, laughs at her, feeds and changes her...even cuddles with her! (Snuggles has AWESOME fiber!)

I do love the jacob fiber too though.....and all those horns....they're so cool!

 

[Bridgemoof]

Okay Southern! StrawHat has got to be fit to be tied, first you post the recipe on the INTERNET, and now you're getting SHEEP! hahahahah

But there you have it, a sound testimonial from Roving Jacobs and others, including me! I think they will be a great introduction into the sheep world for you, because they are the breed of sheep most similar to goats. I also think you should get the ram, get the ram and have babies!!!!!!! Yeah!!!! Your DD is gonna love them.

I would not be so concerned with the parasite load. I don't think they will be that different from your goats. You guys seem to be pretty careful about keeping animals that are parasite resistant, so I would assume your land probably doesn't have a huge worm load. I think you will find it will be a very easy transition for you to go from goats to sheep. Their care level is quite the same.

Stop worrying so much! You will see, it will be great! I've got some very exciting sheep news to share myself, but I'll post it over in my journal, as soon as I finish getting this farmer's market stuff together.

 

[Straw Hat Kikos]

Okay Southern! StrawHat has got to be fit to be tied, first you post the recipe on the INTERNET, and now you're getting SHEEP! hahahahah

LOL *real actual LOL'ing*

Well I finally gave in to the recipe and I guess I'm ok with it. Hope you guys like it. haha

And while I'm not a big fan of sheep, I've come around some. Firstly, I do like Jacobs. I mean, 4 or more horns!! Seriously? That's my kind of sheep. And I just think they are some pretty neat sheep. I've seen them in person before and they're pretty cool. And I like Romneys too. But I've come around a bit.