[Ag-eq] sheep questions

[nfoster at extremezone.com]

Jody:

The other day on ccraigslist someone had dairy cross bull calves for $300.  I
think they were 10 days old, but really!

I looked at calves that were just weaned and they were any where between $500
and $800, depending on the age and breed.

The hair sheep seem more common around here as well.

It seems that the sheep are $75 and up.  I would much rather make mistakes with
a $200 animal than a $800 one!

As I said I like how the sheep poop is less messy and the size is easier to
manage.  I still love the look of a Jersey cow.

  Nella
Quoting Jody Ianuzzi via Ag-eq <ag-eq at nfbnet.org>:

> Hi Nella,
>
> Wow $150 that's amazing! I don't blame you for not wanting to bottlefeed it
> is very time-consuming process and from what my neighbor said the formula is
> very expensive.
>
> We are curious about keeping sheep too and of course in Florida they mostly
> have the hair sheep rather than the wool sheep.
>
> 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 1:46 PM, Nella Foster via Ag-eq <ag-eq at nfbnet.org>
> wrote:
> >
> > Jody:
> >
> > People here are selling the 2 and 3 day old bull calves for $150 and up.  I
> > really don't want to bottle feed.  When I was a kid people almost gave the
> > little Jersey bulls away, but now beef is really high and all cattle are
> > expensive.
> >
> > I have Barnyard in Your Backyard and frequently look up things in it.  It
> is a
> > great book for beginners.  I don't think there is asection on pigs, but
> maybe I
> > over looked it since I don't like pigs!
> >
> > I like the idea of dairy sheep, but am finding out that they are pretty
> rare
> > around here.
> >
> > What is everyone up to?
> >
> > How are the gardens?
> >
> > Nella
> >
> >
> >
> > Quoting Jody Ianuzzi via Ag-eq <ag-eq at nfbnet.org>:
> >
> >> 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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