I am confused by your question. Are you asking what a lamb should sell for to make a profit? Or how much income the ewe has to produce to offset the expense of keeping her? Or how to determine how much it costs per animal per year? Or how to figure if a particular ewe is worth keeping?
If you want to find the cost of keeping your sheep flock, do not figure in the purchase price you paid for them originally. You will figure that out later.
Instead, you need to figure how much it costs you per animal in feed, winter hay and concentrates (bag feed), minerals, bedding, vet costs including worming, meds. syringes, vaccinations. You can also figure in how much water if you pay for the water otherwise figure expense of pumping from your well. You need to know how much water a ewe normally drinks when she is open, when she is pregnant and when she is lactating. This will also vary according to the season of the year. A lactating ewe will drink about 4-5 gallons of water per day.
You can figure the cost of all feed, wormers, vaccinations, syringes, ear tags & usable items per year. Deduct the amount of all feed, wormers, etc. you have left after the year end. That will be the cost of keeping your flock. Then figure the amount you made from selling lambs. You cannot deduct a loss on the dead lambs you bred since according to IRS you have nothing in them. The amount of feed and expenses you have in the lambs you are selling will be included in the annual cost of the flock.
The amount of $ you realize from sales of lambs will be gross profit less auction % and yardage charges or advertising if you sold privately. The amount left over will be your net to compare against the cost of keeping the flock.
That amount of income from sales does not break down per animal. If you want to see if a ewe is paying her way, remember the Shepherd's Rule - one lamb for the flock, one lamb for the bank. You need an average of 2 lambs per year per ewe to maintain IF you are able to graze most of the year. If you are buying all your feed (feed lot situation like me) you will not make any money on your lambs no matter how many you can produce. On the other hand, for the first couple years you can file a farm return with all losses, and it will help with your tax obligation from other sources. Then you must show a gain of at least $1.
All the sheep, equipment, housing, non-usable goods (like syringes, tags, etc.), fencing, etc. should be on the list of depreciable items. The depreciation helps with taxes even though it is not income.
I am not sure what exactly you are asking.
