Category: Livestock

This was what I was going for with the grain feeding and ewe “flushing”- a perfect line with each ewe eating out of her own bucket. That way I can manage how much each one eats, and prevent the big ewes from hogging most of the grain. It only took about a week of effort for them to learn to come for grain, and seek out their own bowls. The bowls break my “no plastic” rule a little bit, but these were cheap paint buckets from Home Depot.

I worked on the ram’s hooves tonight, they also needed some work. They had some splits and pockets, but were generally having a healthy response. I prefer to see them a little cracked and dried rather than moist and soft. Bacteria has a harder time attacking in the former. Here is one hoof, with one side trimmed, the other side not. You can see how the sides are curling over, and need to be removed and flattened so they don’t create a place for material to compact.

 Here are the hoof trimmers I like to use. Though even garden pruners will do, I like these straight and pointy cutters. They can really dig in and open up tiny crevices.

I made a deal on some sheep last night: two ladies who live close to each other, and about 2.5 hours away from me, are selling me six ewes and one ram, all registered Katahdins. The prices seemed very average for registered animals. And it’s a breeding set that will have me organized for a couple of years: three of the ewes are already pregnant from a different ram, and the ram I’m getting can be bred to all of them.

Normally, I’d go inspect the sheep first, but I’ve decided to gamble this time for a few reasons. First, I’ve seen the websites of both women, and their operations and animals in general look pretty clean in the photos. Second, it’s a long drive for me to go down there just to look, and since I don’t yet have a way to haul livestock, I’d still have to arrange for them to deliver the animals on another day.

Third, one of the ladies regularly shows her sheep, so this gives me greater confidence that she surrounds herself with a knowledgeable peer group, keeps quality animals, and spends a lot of time with them. Fourth, in reading the website of the other woman, she and I are like-minded in a naturalness philosophy: no vaccine, clean food, etc. So, I’m going with my gut: I think I’m going to like these women and learn to rely on their advice in the long run.

I had to chuckle at the serendipity of the match of these ladies to me. I can be really indecisive. I had already been corresponding with one of the women for a few weeks, and have probably reviewed her website a hundred times. I talked to her friend on Tuesday night, outlined my goals: registered animals, and a starter flock of about eight animals that would set me up for a breeding program for meat production.

She called back the next night, and started out the conversation with “ok, we’ll be there around noon on Sunday, we’re bringing you x, y, z animals at these prices, yadda yadda, and you should be all set!” She did give me a chance to confirm later in the conversation that I did want them, 🙂 but it took me a little by surprise because mentally, I was still at step one. Left up to me, I may have waffled and been arranging the details until Christmas!

So, I realized it was exactly what I needed, and was unconsciously looking for—someone to mentor me a little bit in this, help me make a decision, and then just say “we’re bringing them up in two days, be ready.” Phew!

Well, I did make the Wensleydale sheep owner an offer, but she could not give up her dog for any price, and I just feel too squeamish making such a big investment without a guardian dog. And, her price wasn’t consistent with what she originally led me to understand either, so that firmed me up on deciding these weren’t right for me at the moment.

I snooped around on the Web a bit to assess how accessible adult, working LGDs are. Not very! A friend of mine did tell me she purchased one, so they do exist, but I think they are hard to find. There was one listed on craiglist from a woman who was getting out of farming due to health reasons. But, when I emailed her, she said the response for the dog was overwhelming. So as I expected, they are in high demand, low supply. So that’s not going to help me with the Wensleydales.

So, I’m back to considering Katahdins again, there are a few options of them on the market from some good breeders. I like the idea of buying from an active breeder, because I know I can rely on that person for advice and support in the future as I learn the ropes. Though Katahdins are kinda plain looking, they are very practical– good feed converters, no shearing hassles, and they are fairly easy to find, so I shouldn’t have trouble maintaining a breeding program.

These days my mind is filled with sheep considerations. I am going to visit this Wensleydale sheep flock in a week, so I have been doing a lot of reading about them, and about sheep breeds in general. There is a huge variation in price between the breeds, and between registered purebreds and crossbreeds. And there are many pro’s and con’s to weigh.

I can get a plain ol’ mixed breed wool sheep off of craigslist for easily $100, sometimes less. Wensleydales in general run from $800-$2000, by the looks of things; with maybe a poor-quality, low-percentage wether going for more like $350 (and that still seems too expensive to eat!!). Pro: This flock I’m considering is discounted if I buy the whole lot of them, because the owners are retiring, they are offering financial incentive to take them all at once. So, if Wensleydales are what I’m after, it’s a great opportunity price-wise as well as getting access to someone’s choice breeding stock. This is opposed to having to breed-up from second-choice animals that someone else culled out of their flock.

Pro: In theory, if they lambed a good crop next spring, the investment could not only pay for itself, but become profitable in the first year. Con: But, that’s making a lot of assumptions: that prices hold, that I can find buyers, that coyotes won’t get any, that I won’t have to buy a lot of supplemental feed, that I don’t have any horrendous vet bills, that the whole shearing thing works out, and that I won’t make some terrible management mistake and have a bunch of losses while I’m learning the ropes.

Pro: The owner reports that Wensleydale values have been staying strong, and indeed the few websites in the whole country where I can find prices, they are high! But, what I don’t know is how long you have to hold animals to find buyers, and where you find buyers. So, that is something I want to ask more about.  Con: And, then, there is the fact that she’s not selling hers very fast—they’ve been for sale for at least two months, and it doesn’t look like she’s sold a single one! I’m not sure what to make of that!

Pro: On the other hand– $100 sheep beget $100 sheep, and all qualities of sheep eat about the same amount of feed. So, if I can sustain expensive sheep on the same grass and find adequate market for them, the income potential for that piece of ground goes way up! Con: And yet, I’ll probably never feel I can afford to eat any of these expensive things, and part of the reason of getting sheep is to have lamb!

Pro: I do prefer registered purebreds for sure. There are a lot of advantages to purebreds-they are predictable in size, temperament, appearance, health history and quality of carcass, wool, or whatever else you are breeding them for. Mixed breeds are a roll of the dice every time.

And, more pro’s: the sheep are beautiful, the wool is incredible, they are a “heritage breed,” which I favor over modern breeds. I enjoy having unique things, so it would be a novelty to be involved with such an unusual breed recreation project in the U.S. So, I am leaning towards “yes”; but still have some thinking and research to do!