[Ag-eq] sheep questions

[Jody Ianuzzi]

Hi Nella,

We have a dairy farm near us and they don't have much use for bull calves. My neighbor buys them when they were two days old for $20 and bottlefeed them and raises them until they are six months old and then she sells them for quite a bit. You might consider doing something like that. Did you ever read the book barnyard in your backyard? It is available from Bard when they are back online. They have a big section on cattle and sheep ducks chickens and pigs too.

JODY 🐺
thunderwalker321 at gmail.com

"There's no point in being grown up if you can't be childish sometimes."  DOCTOR WHO (Tom Baker)



> On Sep 5, 2015, at 8:54 AM, Nella Foster via Ag-eq <ag-eq at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> good morning all:
> 
> A while back I asked about cows; I'm still interested in getting a cow, but
> cattel are very expensive right now and I don't know that I want to invest that
> much.  There is way to much grass in my pasture for my horse and goats, so I
> want some other breed of animal to help keep it grazed down.  From reading and
> talking with farmers it seems that cattle and sheep graze more than goats.
> Goats are browsers and eat a little of everything.  My horse has a jaw injury
> and I have to supplement his diet with horse feeds.  He doesn't graze as much
> as other horses.  So anyway, now I've been researching sheep.  I like how their
> poop isn't as messy and they are an easier size to handle than cattle.
> 
> What breeds of sheep do people have?
> 
> How hard are they to care for?
> 
> I've read that sheep can only have small amounts of copper in their diets, while
> horses and goats need more.  What do you all know about this?
> 
> I want all the animals to be able to run together on the pasture.  I do seperate
> when feeding grains.  I wouldn't want to harm the sheep by them accidently
> getting food that is for the other animals.
> 
> Do people keep sheep and goats together?
> 
> My horse is very friendly and loves the goats, so i don't think he will mind
> sheep.  He also protects the goats from dogs and such.
> 
> It seems that most people here keep hair sheep, which you don't have to sheer. 
> They sound easier to me and I don't know if there is a market for wool here,
> especially for just a few, which is all I would have.  There is a market for
> the meat.
> 
> Maybe Zac will know which breeds are used for dairy.  I like the idea of dairy
> sheep since I already have the dairy goats.
> 
> Do you have to sheer dairy sheep or are they the hair kind?
> 
> So I guess I just need to know everything about sheep!
> 
> I look forward to hearing what everyone has to say.
> 
> Thanks.
> 
> Nella
> 
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> 
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> 
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