Sheep Management (dumb questions alert!)

[luckilotti]

Sheep Management (dumb question alert!)

my mum and i have been having a chat, and inspired by an ex livery who has just acquired 5 sheep.... we think we are going to get a few of our own to help with the grass....

Now, when i was talking to our ex livery, i asked her these questions and she hasn’t a clue so she really has go into it blindly – we don’t want to do the same.

- How often do they need their feet doing?
- Are there people around who go out to do their feet? (i asked my farrier this am and he doesn’t know how to do them)
- What age do the lambs leave their mums
- How often do they need shearing? (have seen some Wiltshire horns advertised which say that this breed don’t need shearing – but we don’t really want a horned breed as we had some on grazing a few years back and i was forever releasing them as they got their horns stuck in the fencing!)
- How much does it normally cost for shearing?
- How often do they need worming?
- What other health implications are there for sheep? (vaccinations etc?)
- What is the deal with holding numbers? (the land/yard which we rent apparently has a holding number already?? So what would we have to do/if anything? The farmer who recently had sheep on the adjoining fields just told me that his sheep would have been fine as the landlord has the holding number...... ?)
- If you were to get a few lambs – what would be the initial routine with them?
Any other advice apart from not to do it lol?

(ps – the others we have seen advertised locally are Texel x apparently all above 1 week and feeding from Shepherdess? So what exactly does that mean? That they are already partly weaned???)

 

[cptrayes]

Before you buy sheep you need to understand the first five rules of sheep keeping.

1. Sheep are born wanting to die
2. Sheep will do everything in their power to kill themselves if they can
3. Sheep drop dead for no visible reason on a regular basis (different sheep )
4. Sheep smell a lot, then die
5. Sheep razor the grass so short that it gets very, very sweet and your horses get lamintis, then the sheep die.

I used to borrow sheep every summer, but no longer. Life is so much nicer without them !!

Congrats on wanting to look into it properly before diving in. Sorry I can't be more help!

 

[Gluttonforpunishment]

where to start.....

you are best off speaking to local farmers & vets regarding care as well as getting yourself a good basic sheep husbandry book.

speak to DEFRA regarding holding numbers - you have to have them and you cannot move sheep without them.

sheep are notorious for living with the sole intention of finding a way to die!

 

[sunshine19]

Before you buy sheep you need to understand the first five rules of sheep keeping.

1. Sheep are born wanting to die
2. Sheep will do everything in their power to kill themselves if they can
3. Sheep drop dead for no visible reason on a regular basis (different sheep )
4. Sheep smell a lot, then die
5. Sheep razor the grass so short that it gets very, very sweet and your horses get lamintis, then the sheep die.

PMSL, after years of working with the damn things, this is very accurate

 

[tasteofchristmaschaos]

Sheep Management (dumb question alert!)

- How often do they need their feet doing? I check about every 2 weeks.
- Are there people around who go out to do their feet? (i asked my farrier this am and he doesn’t know how to do them) No, but its easy enough to do yourself. Ask a local farmer/family farm to show you. All you need is a pair of foot trimming shears which cost about 20 quid from country superstored.
- What age do the lambs leave their mums. The best thing for you would probably be to buy ex sock lambs. That is is they were hand reared but are now weaned. That way they will be friendly enough to handle. Without a sheep dog to round them up you may struggle to round up non friendly sheep.
- How often do they need shearing? Once, perhaps twice a year.
- How much does it normally cost for shearing? Unless you have several, you probably won't find someone to come out to them. I'm planning on hand shearing myself this year.
- How often do they need worming? Normally you would worm with a gun down their throat but they are very costly. For mine I worm with verm-x pellets. For the first 7 days of every month they get pelleted wormer added to their feed.
- What other health implications are there for sheep? (vaccinations etc?) Shock is a big killer - also beware of dogs/foxes. Foot rot and fly strike have to be looked out for. We vaccinate against blue tongue.
- What is the deal with holding numbers? Ring DEFRA and check you have a holding number. If so, all you need to do is get a flock number within a couple of days of getting your sheep.- (ps – the others we have seen advertised locally are Texel x apparently all above 1 week and feeding from Shepherdess? So what exactly does that mean? That they are already partly weaned???)

- It means they drink formula lambs milk from a bucket. As I said earlier, I would wait a couple of months and get some older sock lambs - give markets around you a ring and ask.

If you want to know anything else, feel free to PM me! I love my baby ba-bah lambs (Well 13 and 11 months now but I still see them as babies!)

 

[luckilotti]

I am worried that you have to have so many basic questions answered. If I were you I wouldnt get any, they are not pets and are high maintenance. You will have to get a holding number from DEFRA for a start. I think that you should have some knowledge about sheep before you embark on getting any. I admire you for asking questions on this forum, but in this case I dont think that any answers you get will qualify you to have sheep.

As already mentioned i think, there is already a CPH number in place with the gentleman the owns the place. It really does concern me that my ex livery has now got 5 - and she herself cant answer any of the above... didnt even know about a holding number. But i guess whoever sold her them should have questioned her more!
I know there are chicken keeping short courses etc and it would be my hope that there is something similar for sheep. My questions are rather basic and general i know - but i would rather get the answers easily from someone who knows rather than waste my time by going on a course etc to find it wont work. For the 10 years that we have rented our place, we have had sheep on for maybe 7 of those years over winter. They havent been ours and all i have done with them is get them up when their legs have been in the air, unhook their horns from the fences, chase them back in when escaped and tell the farmer when there has been a dead one etc.

From looking on the DEFRA site some of the paperwork doesnt look as complicated as i imagnined.

 

[Hebe]

Before you buy sheep you need to understand the first five rules of sheep keeping.

1. Sheep are born wanting to die
2. Sheep will do everything in their power to kill themselves if they can
3. Sheep drop dead for no visible reason on a regular basis (different sheep )
4. Sheep smell a lot, then die
5. Sheep razor the grass so short that it gets very, very sweet and your horses get lamintis, then the sheep die.

I used to borrow sheep every summer, but no longer. Life is so much nicer without them !!

Congrats on wanting to look into it properly before diving in. Sorry I can't be more help!

BRILLIANT...yes its theyre main mission in life

But seriously.....

- How often do they need their feet doing?

*We do ours at gathering times .... when we are worming, doing vaccs etc, and if any get lame we do as and when. Foot bath is good, always have terramyscin to hand and flockmaster foot spray.

This time of year they will mostly get scold, which is the grass blades cutting between the toes (think papercut between your fingers

- Are there people around who go out to do their feet? (i asked my farrier this am and he doesn’t know how to do them)

*Speak to/befriend local farmers and ask them to show you how to trim, also on you tube there are vids that can show you.


- What age do the lambs leave their mums

*Ours were born in Feb and will be weaned in August ready for us to prep the ewes for tupping - they have to be dried off well to prevent mastitis then continually moved on to good grass to get them right for the tup, this is called flushing

- How often do they need shearing? (have seen some Wiltshire horns advertised which say that this breed don’t need shearing – but we don’t really want a horned breed as we had some on grazing a few years back and i was forever releasing them as they got their horns stuck in the fencing!)

*We shear once a year in June once the "sap has risen" /oils have risen in theyre fleeces/ a shearer wont clip til it has as it can cause clippers to drag. As a rule lambs do not get shorn that first summer, you could crutch them (clip theyre haunches) to neaten them up and help keep the flies at bay.

FLYSTRIKE is an awful thing so also they will need a preparation such as CROVECT to keep them at bay.


- How much does it normally cost for shearing?

We paid £70 odd last summer to do 50 ewes.

- How often do they need worming?

Theres so many wormers out there, best to investigate. Beware though of resistance, and also remember about withdrawal dates if your lambs are meant for consumption.

- What other health implications are there for sheep? (vaccinations etc?)

i could talk all day about this Look for sheep 101 style websites and they will explain everything about this.
- What is the deal with holding numbers? (the land/yard which we rent apparently has a holding number already?? So what would we have to do/if anything? The farmer who recently had sheep on the adjoining fields just told me that his sheep would have been fine as the landlord has the holding number...... ?)

* Im sure that who ever owns them should have theyre own holding number - contact your local animal health dept to clarify.


- If you were to get a few lambs – what would be the initial routine with them?

DOnt over feed, but make sure they have access to it WE have ours on a bucket with teats, like a shepardess, which saves the individual feeds and also gets them used to drinking cold fluids, as we dont have an element in our bucket

* have creep pellets available for them plus fresh water.

Be very aware of the toxicity of horse licks to them, yellow rockie is safe

Any other advice apart from not to do it lol?

Its a wonderful experience, but remember these lambs have no mum to guard from crows and the likes them so keep them near til they can hold theyre own Which is going to be quite a while

(ps – the others we have seen advertised locally are Texel x apparently all above 1 week and feeding from Shepherdess? So what exactly does that mean? That they are already partly weaned???) -

once theyre eating creep nicely and not taking in any milk id class that as weaned.

IT IS THE OWNERS LEGAL OBLIGATION TO CHECK THEYRE SHEEP REGULARLY

I think its very commendable that you are asking BEFORE you get stuck in and very sensible. And afterall we all have to start somewhere and what better way to learn than asking lots of questions

Good luck

 

[ThePinkPony]

Before you buy sheep you need to understand the first five rules of sheep keeping.

1. Sheep are born wanting to die
2. Sheep will do everything in their power to kill themselves if they can
3. Sheep drop dead for no visible reason on a regular basis (different sheep )
4. Sheep smell a lot, then die
5. Sheep razor the grass so short that it gets very, very sweet and your horses get lamintis, then the sheep die.

I used to borrow sheep every summer, but no longer. Life is so much nicer without them !!

Congrats on wanting to look into it properly before diving in. Sorry I can't be more help!

LMAO !!! so true.

Dunno about high maintentence? We have all the welsh sheep up for grazing and they spend months without someone looking in on them.

 

[Echo Bravo]

Forget about the sheep

 

[FairyLights]

I think that going along to a local sheep farm and helping out for a month or two at least is a good idea. You need a CPH number from DEFRA and movement licences for sheep. You have to record all on and off movemnets to comply with the law. Sheep are shawn annually, usually in June when you get a "rise" on the fleece. frequency of Worming depends on pasture management. feet need trimming or spraying depending on several factors including the weather, if its wet and warm and they are on good grazing then scald or foot rot can be quite prevalent. Fly strike is horrible and you may need to burl out the ewes. Lambs need vaccinating against a host of things including braxy,blackleg etc. Male lambs not suitable for breeding are usually castrated and maybe tails docked depending on the breed. Dont let them get into the horse food as it has too much copper in it for sheep and the males cant eat ewe feed either because of crystals developing in the bladder which are painful and can cause the bladder and urethra to burst when they try to pass them. Feet are normally trimmed by the farmer and unless he has an awful lot he usually shears them himself too. Some horses take to sheep and some do not, I've owned 2 who chase them ears flattened so had to be removed. Hope this helps.

 

[Hebe]

I feel that they work beautifully with horses, sweeten back up the grazing and are known as biological dustbins when it comes to cleaning up after horses.

As said above not all horses take to them, the only time my ponies take any notice of them is when they gather in a flock, otherwise they just ignore them lol

An endnote, if they do go onto rich pasture when they are weaned please put a magnesium lick in with them as the new grass can go straight through them and cause further issues

 

[martlin]

Sheep Management (dumb question alert!)

my mum and i have been having a chat, and inspired by an ex livery who has just acquired 5 sheep.... we think we are going to get a few of our own to help with the grass....

Now, when i was talking to our ex livery, i asked her these questions and she hasn’t a clue so she really has go into it blindly – we don’t want to do the same.

- How often do they need their feet doing?
I do ours roughly 2-3 times a year
- Are there people around who go out to do their feet? (i asked my farrier this am and he doesn’t know how to do them)
It's really easy and you can do it yourself
- What age do the lambs leave their mums
on average, at about 4 months old
- How often do they need shearing? (have seen some Wiltshire horns advertised which say that this breed don’t need shearing – but we don’t really want a horned breed as we had some on grazing a few years back and i was forever releasing them as they got their horns stuck in the fencing!)
once a year, unless you go for Easycare, then not at all
- How much does it normally cost for shearing?
£30 to set up trailer and £1 per sheep
- How often do they need worming?
debatable, I do twice a year and additionally when some look like they need it
- What other health implications are there for sheep? (vaccinations etc?)
loads, like Bluetongue for example, it will depend where in the country you are and what you choose to do
- What is the deal with holding numbers? (the land/yard which we rent apparently has a holding number already?? So what would we have to do/if anything? The farmer who recently had sheep on the adjoining fields just told me that his sheep would have been fine as the landlord has the holding number...... ?)
you need your own holding number and a flock number, contact Animal Health, they will tell you all about it
- If you were to get a few lambs – what would be the initial routine with them?
If they are weaned, just turn them out on grass, if not, it will depend on their age
Any other advice apart from not to do it lol?

(ps – the others we have seen advertised locally are Texel x apparently all above 1 week and feeding from Shepherdess? So what exactly does that mean? That they are already partly weaned???)

For your first go, I don't think it's a good idea to go for cades, they take some looking after and are a pain in the bum.

 

[blitznbobs]

Before you buy sheep you need to understand the first five rules of sheep keeping.

1. Sheep are born wanting to die
2. Sheep will do everything in their power to kill themselves if they can
3. Sheep drop dead for no visible reason on a regular basis (different sheep )
4. Sheep smell a lot, then die
5. Sheep razor the grass so short that it gets very, very sweet and your horses get lamintis, then the sheep die.

I used to borrow sheep every summer, but no longer. Life is so much nicer without them !!

Congrats on wanting to look into it properly before diving in. Sorry I can't be more help!

This made me giggle...we used to say they had elections every sunday night to a) choose which one of them would die and b) when they would die and c) in what stupid way they would die...

The best place for a sheep is on a plate with a nice dollop of mint sauce.

As for your questions - you can learn to do their feet yourself - it's not hard just smelly and time consuming
They need sheering once a year and you can usually beg someone to do this for you (Beer usually works) but don't expect to get paid for the fleeces...

My only real piece of advice is don't do it. SHeep are horrible and stupid ( they have a lobotomy at 6 weeks old) and if you must do it only have girls cos the boys would hump anything - including you and it really really hurts when they try.

BnBx (Who was very glad when her parents' retired from farming sheep - cos sheep are very evil and mainly stupid)