My Sheep Journal~ I'm a grandma! Black Betty had twins!!!

[Beekissed]

2. Choose your desired method of feeding/pasturing your sheep.

More and more folks are getting back to rotational grazing. In the past, this has meant having several permanent paddocks in which to rotate stock, but now more folks are getting into what they call "intensive" rotational grazing.

This usually involves moving sheep at least every 3 days, sometimes more in drought seasons. Usually this is most easily implemented using permanent perimeter fencing and even permanent line fencing, combined with electric strand or netting as the paddock walls.

Usually, they adhere to the "one bite rule" when managing this type of grazing. If an animal has to take more than one bite or grazes the grass to less than a two inch height, it damages the grass and makes for slower growth of new grass.

I have been free ranging all over my acre this spring, summer and fall but will be implementing smaller paddocks this spring. I want to try regular netting as a visual barrier as opposed to electric netting~just to see if this is effective. I may try to use some hog panels as well.

Wish I had more pasture.....but I hope to make the best of the small amount I have now.

 

[big brown horse]

Hi Bee!!






:bun :bun :bun :bun

 

[Beekissed]

Hey, BBH!

How are your sheep doing this winter? Anything new that you have learned and could add to my journal?

 

[Beekissed]

3. Be prepared to monitor your animals closely for desired traits for sustainability and good performance on a natural program.

For example, how much is needed to keep them on a relatively light, or even no, parasite load? Are they fertile? Do they have easy birthing? Do they reject their lambs, consistently have only singles, problems with mastitis, repeated illnesses or hoof problems, do poorly on just pasture/hay or do they seem to always need supplemental feeds to stay in good condition? Do they do well in extreme weather conditions without pampering, suffer from frequent bloating or scours?

As you monitor for desirable traits, be aware that......

4. If you are wanting to develop a herd that requires little to no chemical intervention for survival, culling of nonthrifty animals may be necessary.

When I hear people say they tried herbal de-wormers or other herbal medicines and they just did not work, it makes me wonder if this is the only thing they did, or did they use them in conjunction with wise animal husbandry decisions.

If you care to read Joel Salatin's books, you will find that he has worked for years to develop herds of cattle that respond well to his particular kind of husbandry. He didn't just throw some herbal tinctures at his cattle and wait to see if they worked. This would be a recipe for failure, IMO.

No, this type of animal care is not for folks who want the easiest and cheapest route, or for folks who want to just have pets, or are doing this for a hobby.

The all-natural route is for serious-minded folks who are willing to take the time and diligence to think of their herd in terms of years and not months. Who want generations of lambs, cows, goats, etc. that will also respond to natural methods.

For people who care about the chemicals coming out the nether end of the animal and onto their soils, who care about the chemical residues in the meats they consume, who care about developing a strong, hardy animal that requires less effort to keep, in the long run.

In short, it's for the type of person who doesn't mind working harder today so that their long term goals are met.

 

[6 sheep & a llama]

Hey Bee, Great timing. I have been thinking about doing a blog to journal my sheep raising. I started raising sheep last June. I am doing the natural route too because that is what I have always done for my family. And now 6 sheep and a llama are part of the family. I have used homeopathy for 25 years and have used a couple of remedies on one of my sheep.
About the non-electric mesh fencing-- my sheep always want the (greener grass) on the other side of the fence so they got caught up in the mesh fencing until I electrified it. Worth a try though. Thanks for starting the journal and thanks for the references. 6

 

[big brown horse]

Hey, BBH!

How are your sheep doing this winter? Anything new that you have learned and could add to my journal?

I am so glad this thread is back. It is very informative.


Hi 6 sheep & a llama!


My sheep are butting heads all of a sudden. Two female, mature sheep butting heads. Are they trying to tell me something? I have had them for about 4 months and this is the first time they have done this. (I have to admit, I enjoy watching them, it is a gentle, feminine way of head butting.)

 

[Beekissed]

BBH, my seem to do this more when they are in heat or coming into heat. It's a little comical to watch!

Welcome to the board, 6S&LL! Nice to have you and it would be great if you could write about some of your methods using all natural husbandry for your animals. So glad you are here...you can help us learn about these sheeple thingies!

The netting was something I was tossing around in my head but I really think I will invest in hog panels for my moveable fencing. Most of the space that I will be sectioning can be spanned by 3-4 panels. They last around 50 years and are versatile enough to be used for many things, strong enough to deter my ram if he should try to access the girls, and they can be stored easily.

Have you all tried these before?

 

[Beekissed]

If I had a farm and more land, I would truly be investing in some Royal White sheep. These sheep seem to have it all and would soon bring a profit.

I will be researching the possibility of AI for this breed, as the purchase price of a ram is astronomical. I would like to get a Dorper ram to cross over my gals and obtain a few Dorper/St. Croix/Katahdin ewes and then do the AI with the Royal White semen.

Well......maybe I dream too big for this little place....but it seems that, if I am going to make any money off my offspring, they need to be bigger and meatier than these gals I have now. Not wanting to make a killing, you understand, but it would be nice to make a little profit each year to justify having the sheep at all.

Of course, the job they do mowing the lawn and orchard is reason enough, but I would like for them to pay for their own hay also.

 

[Beekissed]

This spring I am going to build a loading chute for my sheep holding pen. I needed such a thing all this year but managed to improvise each time.

Do any of you sheep people have a loading chute or do you just place a ramp to your truck/trailer when you need to transport?

While looking for chute plans, I found this very interesting and helpful site with plans to build just about anything one needs to have sheep:

http://www.lsuagcenter.com/en/our_o...ring/Features/Extension/Building_Plans/sheep/

Ooooooh, girls! You are seriously gonna LOVE this site I found! Check this out!

http://www.sheep101.info/201/handling.html

 

[big brown horse]

You don't need a ramp when you are putting them in the back of a Honda Civic.

JK

I have a big dog kennel that I stick them into to transport them if need be. I don't exactly have a herd tho so it is easy.