Pet lambs

cblover

cblover

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I’m thinking of taking on 2/3 pet lambs to keep on our land, both for company for the two horses and to help keep the land in order.

Does anyone have sheep that they have had since lambs? Have useful are they? I’m sure they will be great company for me but that can’t be the only reason we have them.....well according to hubby. Lol

Any advice, suggestions or words of caution would be appreciated. Thanks.
 
Fencing?

They'll be out of post and rail before you can blink.

Only the VERY densest and best maintained hedge will keep them in.

Sheep netting, whether wire or electric is vital.

Otherwise a very good plan.

Your horses might decide to murder them, but outside odds on that.

ETA Remember all the smallholder number stuff and bureaucracy and worming and feet and dagging and shearing, but that's not insuperable.

PS I reckon goats are way more fun if your fencing is up to it.
 
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turnbuckle said:
Fencing?



PS I reckon goats are way more fun if your fencing is up to it.
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Goats are browsers, not grazers, so nowhere near as good for the land. Four rail p&r fencing will generally keep sheep in, although most horse p&r is 3 rail. Well maintained drystone walls keep them in, too. We use electric netting without current to back up our walls, because unless your grazing is as smooth as a billiard table the current will short out over lumps, bumps etc.

When you get to know sheep they have lovely, individual personalities. We got a Ryeland ewe and her 2 lambs, they were fabulous, looked like teddy bears, although a beggar to shear because of their woolly legs and *best of all* are known as 'stay at home sheep'. Then we took 3 'pet lambs' from a sheep farming friend, now we have 6 (long story, involving neighbour). They are very good for the land.
 
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I really enjoy my sheep, feet trimming and dagging I find a bit back breaking but I am older now and I would rather employ someone if I need to do the back breaking jobs than not have my sheep, I have a teaching shepherd from an agricultural college come to shear them once a year he brings a student with him and its great
You could join the Small Shepherds Club they have a wealth of knowledge, sheep advisors, meetings and gatherings and also buy/sell 2nd hand things, they also have a closed faceache page for all your queries, its not much per year and you don't have to live in the area, its an excellent way to learn and get started

http://smallshepherdsclub.org.uk/about-us.html
 
Some horses hate them. I had one break a sheep's leg and another pin them in corners and beat the hell out of them.

They make the grass sweet and encourage laminitis.

The stop plant diversity because they crop so short.

They stink.

They burn brown patches in the grass with their wee.

On damp ground they are forever lame with footrot.

On damp ground they can spread liver fluke to horses.

Around here, you'd have trouble getting a small number sheared or showered (dipped).

Whatever you do don't get herdwicks they will escape from anywhere.
 
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largely agree with ybcm-worked with sheep for about a decade. they are lovely animals but high maintenance (and its lucky that Leicesters aren't that hardy for up here or I would be tempted and then annoyed with myself for getting sucked in lol). most of my land is co grazed with sheep-they are useful for keeping docks at bay. my current two are fine with them but the lusitanos used them as footballs (see also dogs and rabbits). avoid anything primitive unless you have goat-proof fencing.
 
oh my, pet lambs. where to start. you have a holding number? there then comes the headache of paperwork, movement documents, inventories. Ear tagging - if they only come with a single ‘kill’ tag and you keep them past a year you need them double tagged. They need dosing with wormer, fluked, feet trimmed, they get foot rot... my sheep are genuinely more hassle and work at certain times of the year than my horses. Dosing small numbers of sheep is expensive unless someone will share a bottle of meds with you. Shearers dont really want to come to do small numbers either. Pet lambs are super cute and you may enjoy a few months of cute ikkle lambs skipping about your yard but they can more often than not = heartache. frequently ailing with various horrible things like joint ill and causing much upset, hassle, cost and stress. You can also catch orf from them. eugh

our 2 pets that were kept from last year (my sons) are now the biggest pains in the asses ever. They will take you out at the knees and mow you down, they are not like horses, you cant push them back or get them to stay out of your space. I was flattened by our big wether last week and it bloody hurt. I was going out to feed the horses and he decided their food was better. Sometimes also the horses get territorial with them and chase them which isnt great. Oh and they need mineral licks that wont be ideal for the horses to have either (& possibly drenching with minerals). I have a kind of gateway set up that the sheep can get under and into a little pen with their lick in it.
 
Pinkvboots said:
The 2 that got into a field full of horses here got chased and trampled and had to be pts not all horses like sheep.
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We always introduce sheep to horses very carefully over a fence. We haven't had a problem yet.


ETA, not intended as a criticism, Pvb, obviously you didn't have that opportunity.
 
Get a type of sheep that you like the look of. I have blingy black ones. I started with four to trim the horses paddocks down, I seem to have a few more than that now.
 
Not all pet lambs end up friendly. I reared ten one year and only one of them stayed a pet. The rest were sold as breeding ewes or ended up in the freezer as very nice hogget or mutton and I didn't miss them one bit because they were blerdy nuisances. The one we still have is also a nuisance but is also positively affectionate so we keep him as a hanger on.

They need tagging, castrating (never be tempted to keep them entire, tups who were pet lambs can be dangerous), dosing for various reasons, feet trimming and shearing. The shearing part is a challenge when you only have three. Three is a lot to do by hand and not enough for a shearer to bother with. There are a lot of things to go wrong with them, -fly strike is just vile- they can die without having had any symptoms and it is always your favourites you lose.

On the other hand, sheep are definitely "people" and it can be interesting getting to know them. Do make sure you have someone experienced whose brains you can pick when you need to.
 
We took 4 on about 18 months ago - bottle fed so quite tame. They are useful at clearing fields and my horses get on very well with them - they share nets and the hay hutches at the moment. We are lucky as we allow a local farmer to graze his sheep on our land in summer and he then shears and trims feet for us. We worm etc ourselves - our vet will sell all wormers etc in single doses so not stupidly expensive.

Our little flock are all real characters and I genuinely enjoy having them - so was pretty upset when we lost one only a month ago (fluke). It’s been really bad in the area this year and we weren’t on top of it. We will have to consider housing them for winter next year if we have high levels again but they love being in so won’t be any bother.
 
I had Wiltshire Horn so didn't need shearing. Did have a fall out with my ram when he butted me pretty hard in the knees one day but I chased him with high energy and a lot of swearing and he didn't do it again! I used to graze them in the paddocks after the horses had been in as I didn't trust the horses not to stamp on them. The ram used to live with one of the stallions though when he was not with the ewes. I would never have goats again as they ate all the horses tails off one night! As has been previously said, they are browsers and will decimate any hedges, young trees etc. I also had milking goats for a few years which is fine until you want to go on holiday and have to find someone to milk for you! Not easy.
 
Lots to think about, thank you everyone. I’ll certainly not to rushing out to get any without a lot more thought.
 
My mare shares with 8 Shetland ewes which she quite likes and are good for grass maintenance.

When considering sheep you need to take into consideration they have two main interests other than food - escaping and dying in a bizarre way. Avoid hill sheep and small natives they are exceptionally good at escaping. Try and get ones with horns - they make handling so much easier (like handle bars).
 
pansymouse said:
My mare shares with 8 Shetland ewes which she quite likes and are good for grass maintenance.

When considering sheep you need to take into consideration they have two main interests other than food - escaping and dying in a bizarre way. Avoid hill sheep and small natives they are exceptionally good at escaping. Try and get ones with horns - they make handling so much easier (like handle bars).
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I disagree about the horns, they flippin hurt when you get caught by one and you will!
 
Popped to a friends last night to pick up a boot (the kind of rocknroll lifestyle I lead you see!) and he's half way through lambing and most of his ewes where hand reared so they were all coming over and bringing there babies with them .. I was in fluffy lamb heaven and it was VERY tempting to put my name down for a couple of them but I must not weaken, I must not weaken ... Please dear god do not let me weaken my husband will kill me!!
 
They do a lovely job of padding down the ruts with their feet - on my wet land when it has been poached by the gateways - better than rolling / harrowing

The do seem to eat weeds and latrine grass the horses won't - so it's much more evenly grazed when the sheep come off (I only have them borrowed from a farmer a couple of months a year to tidy up after the horses have trashed - then it's rested for 4/5 months)

The spread gentle fertiliser all over in their poo (this could be good or bad depending on your perspective)
 
fburton said:
These appear to be contradictory claims - so in what way are sheep actually good for the land? Is it just the effect on grass sweetness?
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They cause the grass to "mat" and grow more densley and they eat the nettles and docks down, giving more space for the grass to grow. When we only had Sue Sheep left (having got her with her mum and sister) the difference with the amount of weeds was astonishing. I tend to strim the electric fence lines and any "stands" of weeds, there is a lot more to do when we don't have sheep. The grass gover is much denser if land has been consistently grazed by sheep than just horses.
 
fburton said:
Thanks for the explanations!
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Yes, all true at the same time FB. They also eat ragwort rosettes with seeming impunity. I never see racquet flower on a fields with sheep in it.

But the biodiversity of my field has rocketed since I got rid of the woolly beggars!
 
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