New to shepherding

[mysunwolf]

You need a cream separator for both goat and sheep milk if you want to make butter.

All right, last add-on I swear... certain individual sheep and/or certain sheep breeds have milk that separates after a day or two in the fridge like cow's milk! I made sheep butter last year and it was wonderful. Mind, with this "natural" separating, it's impossible to receive all of the cream that's in the milk, (certainly there is less separation than with cow's milk), but you still get enough for making butter--one ewe had cream that separated out to about 50% of the total milk volume.

 

[Southern by choice]

All right, last add-on I swear... certain individual sheep and/or certain sheep breeds have milk that separates after a day or two in the fridge like cow's milk! I made sheep butter last year and it was wonderful. Mind, with this "natural" separating, it's impossible to receive all of the cream that's in the milk, (certainly there is less separation than with cow's milk), but you still get enough for making butter--one ewe had cream that separated out to about 50% of the total milk volume.

We get that too but without a cream separator it really isn't worth the time.
This is Millie's milk-

 

[mystang89]

How much milk will you consume?

This is the first place to start. You base the breed, and numbers all around that.
When we have someone wanting dairy goats that is my FIRST question!
The reason is we breed Dwarfs, Miniatures, and Standards.
The production is different for each "size".

We generally go through about 2 gallons of milk a week. That is with us being conservative with the use. In other words, it goes in cereal and foods such as smashed potatoes but there generally isn't any pouring in cups for the simply pleasure of drinking it. I'd like to change this lol. From reading on Assafs you milk about 5-7 lbs per day which is a bit under a gal. Take this with a grain of salt as I of course have never milked or seen a sheep milk in my entire life lol.

Frequency depends on how big we make the area/how many animals are there as well as the time of year and current growth rate of the grass. In an ideal rotational grazing system, the animals would be in a smaller area and would be moved daily. In our "real world" situation, with 2 of us working full time and the other 2 busy with work and school, we don't have the ability to move fencing every day. We try to make areas large enough to last 5-7 days.

So would you say that it would be better to have an area that was bigger than what their needs were or smaller with more aggressive rotation? Also, is there a guide to how big the area should be for a possible expanding herd?

All right, last add-on I swear... certain individual sheep and/or certain sheep breeds have milk that separates after a day or two in the fridge like cow's milk! I made sheep butter last year and it was wonderful. Mind, with this "natural" separating, it's impossible to receive all of the cream that's in the milk, (certainly there is less separation than with cow's milk), but you still get enough for making butter--one ewe had cream that separated out to about 50% of the total milk volume.

It's my understanding that you can still drink the milk even without the cream being separated from it right? Just makes it a bit thicker?

 

[Southern by choice]

From reading on Assafs you milk about 5-7 lbs per day which is a bit under a gal.

That is great!
How long is lactation?
Also I imagine that is a very heavy producing sheep.
Find out from the breeders what their sheep are actually producing.

Are Assafs pretty docile?
Very interesting!

 

[purplequeenvt]

We generally go through about 2 gallons of milk a week. That is with us being conservative with the use. In other words, it goes in cereal and foods such as smashed potatoes but there generally isn't any pouring in cups for the simply pleasure of drinking it. I'd like to change this lol. From reading on Assafs you milk about 5-7 lbs per day which is a bit under a gal. Take this with a grain of salt as I of course have never milked or seen a sheep milk in my entire life lol.



So would you say that it would be better to have an area that was bigger than what their needs were or smaller with more aggressive rotation? Also, is there a guide to how big the area should be for a possible expanding herd?



It's my understanding that you can still drink the milk even without the cream being separated from it right? Just makes it a bit thicker?

I think it would be best to have more area than they need, but move them before they are done. You don't want them to eat the grass down too much.

I couldn't tell you what size to make the area because so much depends on how many sheep you are grazing and the type of pasture it is.

 

[mystang89]

That is great!
How long is lactation?
Also I imagine that is a very heavy producing sheep.
Find out from the breeders what their sheep are actually producing.

Are Assafs pretty docile?
Very interesting!

The information I have been able to find either through the internet or through talking to people has been this.

• Good Constitution (resistant to Parasites and other diseases that East Friesians aren't
• Lactation period 8-10 months
• about 5-7 lbs milk per day
• Keep the weight very well (though the person I talked to did have them on grain during the lambing. Did say they were on pasture at all times
• In the time they've been with Sheep they've had 1 problem with birthing and that was with 1 foot in and 1 foot out. Take that for what its worth. Said he had around 400 sheep.
• Temperament - Docile
• Take very well to guard dogs
• typical size is 350 - 380 lbs (I don't remember if that was a ram, an ewe or both. I suspect Ram but again, I'm not sure. Sorry)

It seems like something that I would like to start with but I'm the type of person who likes to double check his information so if there is anyone out there that has a different experience or knows something else about them please speak up. I'd be happy to hear it.

 

[norseofcourse]

I know sheep milk yields more cheese but how does it taste for drinking?

Forgot to answer this part - mine give delicious, sweet milk

 

[Bossroo]

I would recommend that you contact your County Extention Service for specific recommendation for your farm. The Assaf breed of sheep requires intensive management proceedures to yield of milk that is being claimed. From syncronizing heat cycles with hormone treatment to artificial insemination that requires a Vet. to do due to the sheeps' cervix structure and very low pregnancy success rate. It also requires weaning the lambs at birth and bottle raising them, then feeding them grains and very good pasture feed and / or feedlot to get them to market weight. Then there is the shearing of their wool every year and finding a sheep shearer is very hard and very expensive. It will cost more to shear the sheep than what the wool is worth. After reading of your large family and their needs as well as the size of your farm and it's management. I would consider in buying a smaller Jersey cow for milk production and their milk has some of the largest fat content of the dairy cows, breed her AI to an Angus bull and have her raise the calf ( you can also buy another drop calf to raise along with her own ) for your meat needs. I would highly recommend that you Google the Dorper Sheep and read about them as they are now fairly common and produce a large quantity and quality of meat as they compete very well in carcass taste competition with the Southdown and Suffolk ( traditional winners ) in a very short period of time. They are very docile and easy to handle and contain in their pastures. They both graze as well as browse so they take advantage of most vegetation available to them. They breed out of season and the ewes are very heavy milkers so you can get and raise 3 lamb crops in 2 years. They shed their wool, so shearing is of little concern. Dorper hides are currently are of the best quality and command the best price of all sheep. I hope that this helps.

 

[Green Acres Farm]

We get that too but without a cream separator it really isn't worth the time.
This is Millie's milk-
View attachment 23675

How many days old is that?

Mine never got like that, but I threw it out on day 3.

 

[Bruce]

A couple of reasons. Some off the top of my head are that it is the most nutritious milk there is. It taste sweeter than other milks. Makes great yogurt, cheeses and it is possible to make butter from it as well.

You can most certainly make butter from goat milk. We have purchased it at the health food store. VERY white compared to cow milk. No idea how easy or what a gallon of goat milk will yield in butter.