Baymule
Herd Master
Rams RAM. Mine is still gentle and sweet, no aggression whatsoever. But I watch him closely and don't turn my back on him. The lady we bought him from said his daddy would take your knee cap off.
Sheep Dairy
- Thread starter OneFineAcre
- Start date
Rams RAM. Mine is still gentle and sweet, no aggression whatsoever. But I watch him closely and don't turn my back on him. The lady we bought him from said his daddy would take your knee cap off.
NH homesteader
Herd Master
My husband says they'll kill you and he doesn't want one. Frankly neither do I but who knows if there's anyone around willing to stud out a hair sheep! That's the thing I am most concerned about.
I tried to avoid having a buck for my goats. I ultimately got one but he is a Nigerian and he's tiny! I have no interest in ever having a full size buck so I'll be breeding minis and mixed breed goats!
I tried to avoid having a buck for my goats. I ultimately got one but he is a Nigerian and he's tiny! I have no interest in ever having a full size buck so I'll be breeding minis and mixed breed goats!
Every year in our County there is a farm tour to show how small farming is operating. They sold their products at several "organic stores". There was a couple that tried a go at the sheep , goat, and raw cow milk gig just 5 miles from our place. Lets just say that their efforts on milking the ewes had a very negative effect on their lambs, all were very underweight and they tried to keep them under wraps. If the animal rescuers get a wind of these lambs, they would have a tizzy fit. After 2 years , they whent broke.
NH homesteader
Herd Master
I think the same could be said for cows couldn't it? Seeing what happens to unwanted dairy bull calves is similar. But sheep aren't traditionally bred for milking like dairy goats so if you're trying to have a ton of milk, I'm sure that's to the lamb's detriment. If you're sharing milk then it wouldn't be as harmful. I think it's all about the individual farmer and how they do it. And scale matters.
- Thread starter
- #25
OneFineAcre
Herd Master
In any business endeavor, some fail.
Seems that couple didn't have a good business plan.
I wouldn't think selling raw milk would be a very good plan, limited market.
Southern by choice
Herd Master
Like @OneFineAcre said some businesses fail.
They simply may not have had the knowledge or experience and went into their venture too fast.
However, you cannot make the assumption that all sheep dairies have malnourished lambs and ewes.
Starting to sound like a vegan Bossroo
Just kidding
babsbag
Herd Master
Even cow dairies bottle raise the keeper calves; I will have to do the same with my goats. For me the goal is to sell them ASAP so I don't have to feed them for long. I may raise them on cow's milk as it is cheaper to buy cow's milk than use my goat's milk if I have a market for my milk.
There is a sheep dairy in CA that sells ice cream. They do very well and had to move to a bigger facility. They started out with a 40' refer trailer converted to milking parlor and processing room. They out grew it quickly. No idea about their lambs but I would suspect that they bottle raise them.
There is a sheep dairy in CA that sells ice cream. They do very well and had to move to a bigger facility. They started out with a 40' refer trailer converted to milking parlor and processing room. They out grew it quickly. No idea about their lambs but I would suspect that they bottle raise them.
The couple in this original sheep dairy article are business people and well educated with a business plan that also have enough capital to finace the early years of growing the dairy sheep venture. While the vast majority of small farmers are operating in the red every year, ( according to IRS ) so hobbby farmers at best with little or next to no knowledge of proper animal husbandry. Oh by the way I am a CARNIVORE as I feed the vegies to a rabbit, chicken, sheep, etc. then eat the rabbit, chicken, sheep, etc.Like @OneFineAcre said some businesses fail.
They simply may not have had the knowledge or experience and went into their venture too fast.
However, you cannot make the assumption that all sheep dairies have malnourished lambs and ewes.
Starting to sound like a vegan Bossroo
Just kidding
Southern by choice
Herd Master
@Bossroo
That was the point of my post. Many are unprepared and businesses do fail.
Your post suggests sheep dairies are starving their lambs and ewes. You witnessed this with one farm. This is not all sheep dairies. You also suggest that by running a sheep dairy the offspring are harmed by doing so.
Of course on a forum such as this many here are hobby farmers or very small scale producers, often with day jobs. Many here are raising their animals for their own consumption and have no interest in turning it into a business.
And yes, I know you are not a vegan... hence the wink and the "Just kidding".
That was the point of my post. Many are unprepared and businesses do fail.
Your post suggests sheep dairies are starving their lambs and ewes. You witnessed this with one farm. This is not all sheep dairies. You also suggest that by running a sheep dairy the offspring are harmed by doing so.
Of course on a forum such as this many here are hobby farmers or very small scale producers, often with day jobs. Many here are raising their animals for their own consumption and have no interest in turning it into a business.
And yes, I know you are not a vegan... hence the wink and the "Just kidding".
Goat Whisperer
Herd Master
I have to wonder how much these sheep produce?
@Bossroo
I pull and bottle feed all kids, we may allow a doe to dam raise here or there but most are pulled at birth. This year we only freshened 10 does- so yes I'm on a very small scale. Next spring it looks like we'll be freshening ~20.
I pull them at birth and give them colostrum from their dam. After that the milk is pooled together and fed accordingly.
My kids are not starving or stunted.
I actually have a few kids that are bigger than they should be. But, at least I'll be able to breed them this year.
I'm actually very pleased right now, 2 of my doelings that were from a set of quints are lovely. I'm shocked with their size, they are much larger then what is expected due to the large litter and the tiny size they were at birth
I don't know how much sheep milk, but most of our goats give more milk then the kids can use. I believe that is because I condition them to produce more. I milk 3x daily for the first week and 2x daily for the next 7-10 months. If I can't milk 2x a day for the next 7-10 months they get milked 1x a day.
Again, not one of my kids are starving and they don't get all the milk. We share it
Many dairy goat farms do this.
A well known alpine breeder was just talking about a doe that is on DHIR milk test. This doe just produced 24lbs on her last test. That is 1 pound per hour. The kids cannot possibly eat that much, especially when the doe produces 1-2 kids, triplets and quad can happen but its not very common in that breed. Obviously not all alpines will milk that much, but the point is many will still give plenty of milk.
Yes, bottle feeding is time consuming. I have had luck with training them to drink from a trough. This spring I will use a lambar bucket. It is still time consuming, but it will help.
You mentioned that the farm was selling to "organic stores". That in itself could have been one of the issues. You and I both know that many of these organic farms aren't as informed as they think they are. I have seen it many times.
How old were these lambs? Did you ever do a parasite count on them? What about cocci? Lice/mites? Did these lambs have or had sore mouth? If they were just getting over sore mouth they may not have been eating.
You cannot say all sheep dairies are starving the lambs, just like you cannot say every dog (or horse) owner abuses their animal/s.
@Bossroo
I pull and bottle feed all kids, we may allow a doe to dam raise here or there but most are pulled at birth. This year we only freshened 10 does- so yes I'm on a very small scale. Next spring it looks like we'll be freshening ~20.
I pull them at birth and give them colostrum from their dam. After that the milk is pooled together and fed accordingly.
My kids are not starving or stunted.
I actually have a few kids that are bigger than they should be. But, at least I'll be able to breed them this year.
I'm actually very pleased right now, 2 of my doelings that were from a set of quints are lovely. I'm shocked with their size, they are much larger then what is expected due to the large litter and the tiny size they were at birth
I don't know how much sheep milk, but most of our goats give more milk then the kids can use. I believe that is because I condition them to produce more. I milk 3x daily for the first week and 2x daily for the next 7-10 months. If I can't milk 2x a day for the next 7-10 months they get milked 1x a day.
Again, not one of my kids are starving and they don't get all the milk. We share it
Many dairy goat farms do this.
A well known alpine breeder was just talking about a doe that is on DHIR milk test. This doe just produced 24lbs on her last test. That is 1 pound per hour. The kids cannot possibly eat that much, especially when the doe produces 1-2 kids, triplets and quad can happen but its not very common in that breed. Obviously not all alpines will milk that much, but the point is many will still give plenty of milk.
Yes, bottle feeding is time consuming. I have had luck with training them to drink from a trough. This spring I will use a lambar bucket. It is still time consuming, but it will help.
You mentioned that the farm was selling to "organic stores". That in itself could have been one of the issues. You and I both know that many of these organic farms aren't as informed as they think they are. I have seen it many times.
How old were these lambs? Did you ever do a parasite count on them? What about cocci? Lice/mites? Did these lambs have or had sore mouth? If they were just getting over sore mouth they may not have been eating.
You cannot say all sheep dairies are starving the lambs, just like you cannot say every dog (or horse) owner abuses their animal/s.
