Sheep as pets

[giddyupalfie]

Do any of you have sheep as pets? There is currently a group of 11 orphaned lambs at my yard belonging to YO's daughter. I have completely and utterly fallen in love with them - especially one called Purple Head

Just wondering how easy they are to keep? I'm such a softy and can't stand to think of them going to slaughter one day!!! I obviously can't have all of them (I would love to though!!!) but just maybe 1 or 2. Would it be possible to only have 2? Or do they prefer to live in bigger groups? They would be kept in with my 3 horses if allowed. How easy are they to keep? What supplements to they have/need or can they be grazing only?

Any advice appreciated

I knew I should never have gone to meet them.......

 

[Pearlsasinger]

We have 3 - they were all 'orphan lambs' (some were actually one of 3 or sickly when born) from a group of 13 on a friend's farm. We previously had a ewe and 2 lambs. They are not especially difficult to keep, you need to trim their feet as necessary but you might be able to persuade your farrier to do it for you and shear them once a year. You might also need to 'dag' them as and when to keep their backends clean to avoid fly-strike. Ours have always lived happily with the horses, although we have had different horses and sheep. Obviously we introduced them carefully.
We find that they are very good for the land, keeping weeds down and 'topping' the grass to keep it in good order. We gave the lambs supplementary feeding for the first few months but now just give them a bit of haylage.
Do you knit? If so, you could learn to spin your own wool and have home-grown jumpers.

 

[arizonahoney]

Skippy's Mum on here does.

 

[FfionWinnie]

Minimum of two, you will need to shear them every year, treat with preventative for fly strike, worms, watch for bad feet/flystrike. It will be hard to get someone to shear a few sheep, it will be expensive to buy all the stuff they need as they don't come in a single dose usually. You will need a holding number/flock number and do all the paperwork involved with being a sheep keeper.

Depending on the breed they will get stuck on their backs in summer so you will need to check them at least twice a day. If you don't lamb them they will get over fat.

They will grow into something far less cute which if you aren't set up for properly, will cause you no end of misery.

Some horses hate sheep and will chase them, sheep do not like this.

Hope that helps!

 

[Dizzykizzy]

We have always kept a few sheep as they improve the pasture. We currently have 5 but have had a few more.
I don't have a problem getting them sheared, we do their feet ourselves (and ours are huge beasties, Ryeland/ Ryeland crosses and a Jacob) I only worm once a year and you can buy smaller amounts of wormer or get from your vet. We crovect ours once or twice after shearing. We have had fly strike and that is horrendous, you don't want to have to deal with that so you must use the crovect or similar.
Non of ours have laid down and died though we have had to roll them back onto their feet occasionally and they do get a bit limpy at times. Ours are much too fat but we haven't ever bred them, we do restrict their grazing over summer which kind of negates their purpose really LOL!
All in all I like having them around!

 

[Countrychic]

We've got 2 and I love them. We got them to put in the chicken paddock as the grass was getting too long. I thought sheep would be boring and stupid. Mine are like dogs, they come to their names, they play with the dogs, love coming for cuddles. They are so easy to keep and mine entertain me for ages.

 

[Tai.Ni.Po.Ni]

I had one that I bottle fed from birth ( she wasn't alone, had a little billy got too), she was the loveliest thing I have ever had the pleasure to deal with. Use to follow me everywhere and loved the horses. Go for it if you get fed up with them I have a lamb curry recipe I could give you haha
Seriously tho they are nice, simple creatures, much easier to keep than horses.

 

[Nettle123]

Also bear in mind that they live a long time!. One of our pet lambs is 13 now and the other four are 8.

They do need regular attention, as mentioned previously, fly strike is horrible. They need to be able to get away from the horses too but thats easily sorted by electric fencing an area for them to nip under. Not all horses and ponies are good with sheep either.

Ours have really helped the pasture over the years. In bad weather though they will prefer the barn, or is that just our spoiled lot?.

 

[Orangehorse]

Best idea is to see if you have a friendly near sheep farmer who would do their feet/dose them/shear them, etc. or get stuff from the vet or some agricultural stores do Smallholder packs.

Think you might need a Licence and paperwork,but you would have to ask a sheep farmer or ring up DEFRA to find out.

 

[Sparkly Snowdrop]

You will need a holding number and flock number before you can keep sheep on your land, even as pets. You will need to ring your local Trading Standards office.

You will also need to complete and return movement licences when you move them.

You want at least 2, ours live happily with my horse and we have never had any problem but I do know of other sheep farmers who have had issues with horses attacking sheep or lambs. They need clipping once a year, they will need worming several times a year, their feet may need trimming if they don't wear them themselves, they will need some form of fly protection in summer for flies and ticks.
They are great for reducing horse worms too.

happy to answer any other questions

 

[WelshD]

I have a flock of twelve and love them. There is a bit of paperwork involved, its easy but you do need to keep careful records

My Shetland sheep are nice, clever and easy to deal with. The commercial ones I gained as orphan lambs though are bigger, thuggish, greedy and not very bright - they are lovely but they do have me on my arse every now and again though as they are always under my feet

We wont be having any more of the commercial ones (she says!) as they drive me mad

....but they are massively endearing with their huge brown eyes

GAH!

 

[RutlandH2O]

We have 8 pet sheep: 3 wethers and 5 ewes. These are my second lot of sheep. My original ones are all gone (died between 11 and 13 years of age). My 3 original sheep were acquired as almost newborn lambs and hand reared. I added to them a couple of older lambs and a couple of 4 year olds acquired from a rescue centre which had closed. You've gotten excellent info on this thread. My only additional advice would be that if you acquire males, you must not feed them concentrates that haven't been treated with a urine acidifier like ammonium chloride. Males are prone to urinary calculi which can kill them. Also, you must not let the sheep eat your horses' hard feed because of the risk of copper poisoning.

Good luck!

Also, my lot have a field shelter. They hate driving rain and will all use it under those conditions. They also have their own barn and crewyard (all here when we bought the farm, so we use them in the snowy weather...it's easier for me than traipsing down the field to feed them).

 

[Ernie2001]

I have only one sheep 'Larry' he was one of triplets and found nearly dead in field, warm argar and milk and we got him back, he's now two, overweight and very confused of his species! He lived with my two ewes and when they were put into lamb on local farm he was left alone however he never bonded with them but loves dogs!! He grew up in the garden with four dogs so thinks he's one! He now has his own shed and paddock and is very happy living next door to my horses- I don't put them together as my youngster chases him!! I shear him every year, he's so tame he stands there and picks his feet up like a horse for trimming! Make sure lots of handling as a lamb!

 

[Honey08]

We had one when i was a teen, we found her at a day old with her dead mother beside her. We took her home and put her in a box in the kitchen and she survived. My uncle was a farmer, so provided us with formula milk etc. She grew up with the dog, and actually thought she was one - she would go for walks with the dog for the first year (but got too heavy to lift over stiles!). She got wilder as she got older, and moved into a spare stable in the pony barn, grazing out with the horses. She used to cause havoc with walkers going past with dogs, bounding out to play with the dogs! Eventually she ate part of my dad's car, blocked her stomach and died.

 

[Foxhunter49]

All has been mentioned apart from the difficulty in getting small quantities of wormer and fly spray for just a couple and also getting someone in to shear. You will also need stick proof fencing.

I have always had sheep and love them - most of the time!
I have a good reputation for pulling lambs through and beating them at their death wish.
I was brought a lamb that was one of five born prematurely. She was to weak to suckle so I had to tube her every hour.
My Border Terrier decided this was her baby and, although she was not due for a phantom pregnancy, she came into milk and when the lamb was about 10 days she was suckling from the terrier.
The two became inseparable and when I put the lamb in with the other bottle feeders the dog lay outside the door and the lamb lay in a corner and refused to eat.

I ended up with bringing in another lamb into the house to get the first to realise she was a sheep. Failure!

I ended up with a paper trained lamb that played with the dogs, came for walks and preferred dog company to sheep. A dog sheep.

She did have to go with the flock and only did so when she was about a year old. Even then, given a chance, she would head for the house whenever she had a chance and bring her 'friends ' with her.

 

[YorksG]

Learning to shear the little darlings is a fairly steep learnng curve! The first three we had, arrived when The Ewe was pretty much in full wool, it took me a day and a half that first year I can now do the current three in a day, but it was difficult to find a dry window to do them. The current three are quite biddable, but will go through you, rather than round you. Ours have two plastic sheds, to make an L shape, which is behind a stable block, which forms another L with a wall and some trees, so they are pretty sheltered.
I bought a spinning wheel, years before we had sheep, and I have now been able to spin our own wool for many years. They do live a good long time, well into their teens and we have been fortunate in that all our horses have been good with them. Our Old Black and White Cob is very good with sheep and when we had just one left out of the original group of three, the cob and the sheep shared a loose box for a good few years and were very good friends.

 

[montysmum1]

I have 2, they're off spring of an orphaned lamb I reared years ago. Although not bottle reared will come to call, stand to have their feet inspected/trimmed, and follow me anywhere. My horses tolerate them, and 1 adores them, and let the 1 ewe stand under his belly in the snow!! I love them and wouldn't be without them

 

[giddyupalfie]

Thanks for all your replies.

I am soooo tempted, I'm off to Paris in the morning so will see what the situation is with them when I get back - hopefully they'll still be there. After the terrible day I've had I could really do with having some cuddles with little Purple Head

A word of advice to all the ladies who are single and want a boyfriend... DON'T BOTHER!!!

 

[WelshD]

You'll need a flock number and a CPH number before you can bring any lambs home

This can easily be done over the phone

You need to have the CPH number for the paperwork that should come with the lambs

 

[Skippys Mum]

Everyone else has given you all the essential information. I have 7 pet sheep (I had 8 but tragedy struck and HP died last weekend - tears and snotters here ). They make great wee pets and they are as cute as get out (although mine are enormous!). This is my second set of pet sheep and I really enjoy having them. The first lot lived well into their teens and I am hoping for much the same for this lot. Mine range in age between 1 and 6 at the moment.

Go to Utube and search for Galloping Sheep - you'll see my babies

oh, and ps, mine get on great with the horses but not all horses tolerate sheep!

 

[BWa]

Tame ones make great pets, I am chief pet lamb carer on our farm and it is a lovely job. My horse is guardian of them as we put them in his paddock and they use him as a climbing frame!
Second the copper thing- horses and sheep shouldn't share food, including field mineral blocks. Far too much cooper in the horse ones and our sheep blocks are molasses based and not good for fatty horses. That said they can easily be separated by electric fencing and my horse wouldn't share food with any sheep and he makes that quite clear.
No one has mentioned that they chew tails either and manes if they get half a chance.
Shearing wise the best thing to do is to find out when a local farmer is getting theirs done and tag yours on. My husband is a contract shearer and now point blank refuses to do a few pet sheep as he is sick of 'mad women and their babies' which seem to take 10 times longer to even catch and then shear than a much larger flock.

 

[giddyupalfie]

Thanks for your replies - I am now back from Paris so can think straight about what to do.

I know the horses will be fine with them, they are currently grazing in the same field as 4 sheep who are sadly off to slaughter soon and in our old field there was always sheep in with them who had made a bid for freedom from the field next door but the horses never bothered with them nor the 4 they are now in with so I'm sure they'll be the same no matter what sheep they are in with?

I have no idea what breed Purple Head is. I don't have a clue about any sheep breeds TBH. This is Purple Head, what breed do you guys think he is?

Purple Head sucking on my earlobe - he was a hungry boy

Purple Head next to a poorly baby who unfortunately died later that day

Hopefully the pics have worked!!

 

[giddyupalfie]

Sorry the pics are mahoosive!! Don't know how to rezise them

 

[Skippys Mum]

He is adorable. He looks very similar to my HP who was just a bog standard cross bred lamb (they are the best kind <3 )

 

[giddyupalfie]

Isn't he just gorgeous?! I really want to save him from ending up on a plate, he's such a character!

Gonna see if YO's daughter will consider selling him and one other. What is a reasonable price per lamb or per pair? Would like a rough idea so I know if I'm being ripped off or if I can nab myself a bargain

 

[Miss L Toe]

Can't you just say they are strays? dont "pet" them too much or they can get too boistrous, oh, and boys need to be cut!

 

[Skippys Mum]

I paid £80 each for Daisy and Salsa last summer. I got the rest for nothing

 

[Alec Swan]

I am an authority on bottle reared lambs, no matter how they arrive.

What you do, is this; You get them up to about 38kgs (liveweight), and then you chop their heads off. DO NOT consider them as pets. They are a PITA, when they've grown. Their eventual destiny is the freezer, trust me.

Carving them seems to be a justification!

Alec.

 

[RutlandH2O]

I am an authority on bottle reared lambs, no matter how they arrive.

What you do, is this; You get them up to about 38kgs (liveweight), and then you chop their heads off. DO NOT consider them as pets. They are a PITA, when they've grown. Their eventual destiny is the freezer, trust me.

Carving them seems to be a justification!

Alec.

Ssssssssssssssssss!!

 

[WelshD]

I have to agree with Alec (though a little less strongly) our cross bred lambs are very pushy and much as we love them we would be a whole lot better off with just the pure bred smaller sheep who are more reserved but still easy to handle

When they are lambs do not encourage them to push you or jump up as when they are hulking great things you will regret that especially when carrying a bucket across a mud flat!

Many farmers cannot be bothered with cade (orphan) lambs and will give them away. Defintely do not pay any more than £20 for a cross bred orphan lamb.

The milk powder costs a bomb and they get through LOADS so be prepared for that!