lambs and ewes

I have a chance to get some lambs or ewes. They are $75 to $90 a piece. I do nto think that is a bad price for 2 month old lambs but I do not know. My questions is how hard are they ro raise. are they basically like a goat. You worm them, feed them and all. How often do you get wool off of them and when. I have to have answers so I can talk hubby into letting me get two of them.

It really depends on the breed. Many of the older primitive breeds are really easy keeps. I have Shetlands. Are they registered? That sounds like a pretty high price for a eweling that young.

I do not think so. I was going to get one to slaughter and then a couple to raise. Hubby still is undecided. I may just have to look around some more. What kind is the best to get. I have read that there are some kinds you do not have to sheer.

I'm considering doing the lambs next year - I had a lamb butchered this year and it cost me a lot to buy it not to mentio the processing fee's for the meat.
I have a lot of experience with horses, chickens and turkeys and ducks, lambs - not so much. How hard are they to raise and what are the pasture requirements for them?

What about the American Black Belly?

If you prefer hair sheep I hear that Black belly are pretty hardy. I prefer my wool sheep.
The price doesn't seem too high for ewe lambs. What kind are they?

mom12700, I don't believe Amybyrd is with us any more. She was an avid poster but had to have a kidney transplant. She came online a few times after the transplant, but was having problems with it. I'm praying that she's ok.

I'm so sorry to hear that. I will add her to our prayer list. I enjoy our sheep very much so I was looking forward to some good sheep conversations.

I raise goats and chickens, so not much help in the sheep conversations.

There's one sheep out at the farm where I have my horses. I can't stand the dumb thing. I don't know how old he is, but he was never wethered. You can't turn your back on him, or he'll head butt you. He's knocked a couple of people down.

I do self care, so he's not in my field (which is good), but he keeps getting into the field next to mine, and I feed those horses M-F because their owner works. If anyone can give me some tips on handling him, it would be appreciated!

If he is still a ram and has been doing what he does for very long there is not much you can do with him except watch him closely and never turn your back on him. Maybe if he had a few ewes with him in the pasture he wouldn't care if you were there or not.

He's only a problem when I go to feed the horses. They get fed in a run in, and I have to tie them up to feed them. They can't eat w/him in there because he's charging them, butting them, and getting their feed. There is an alley that leads to the run in, and there's a gate to it. I close that when I have them up so he can't get in. Some days, he's not a problem-other days I'm ready to shoot him! Or, feed w/a ton of the horse feed since it can kill him.

And, ewes are the LAST thing he needs! We don't want any lambs.

LOL gotcha

Our ram is going in with the ewes here pretty quick. We had to have a strong discussion last night about the three strikes your out rule. He tries getting me through the fence again we may not make it to three. Hopefully it is just spring and he is ready to get out to pasture.

My pyranees has done an amazing job since the move and before. He had them all put in the round up area this morning I guess so they would be safe. When I got ready to leave for work he let them out and was strutting around the fence line making sure I noticed how good he had done.

I enjoyed those pictures. Thanks for sharing them.   

I just bought my first bred ewe today. I have had only one wethered sheep in the past and I am open to any wisdom or suggestions.

Bumping up an old post.

We bought a second ewe today. She is also Katahdin, which is a hair sheep. She is a ewe lamb born January of this year and should be plenty old enough to breed later this fall.

Nice. Do you raise the sheep for meat? I understand since they are hair sheep that you don't shear them. Am I right? Sorry for the dumb questions. I guess I don't know to much about sheep but I enjoy seeing them and learning about them.

Yes, we just got started in this pursuit last winter. In the past we used to buy sheep on the hoof, usually on Craigslist and then haul them to our local processor to put in the freezer. It was a economical way to get a good bit of lamb meat. We all like lamb. We used to buy beef and pork the same way, but usually arranged transport for them from the farmer that we purchased from.

About 5 years ago we had one of the two POA ponies that my kids rode when they were little die suddenly. Those two ponies (which were basically retired) had been together for years and years. The remaining pony was desperate with grief, so we purchased her a baby sheep as a companion animal.



As you can see she LOVED her baby! He was perfect and she has been content with him for years.

When the pony finally dies sheep will be the animal to keep our pasture in use. She is about 30 now, so I decided to buy a bred ewe this year. They are small enough for us old crippled folk to handle and cute enough to keep neighbors happy in our more urban area. The ewe was a gradual introduction into sheep keeping for both hubby and me. Hubby has enjoyed them enough that he hardly squawked when I suggested a second ewe.

Malcolm is getting older now, so he is headed off to become burger on Tuesday. The old pony spends most of her time with our little ewe now anyway. This springs lambs are heading to the processor later this fall.

As for your question... We don't have to shear these sheep. They are Katahdins and they shed. BIG fist fulls of wool falls out in the springtime. The little wether (castrated male) that we originally bought for the old pony is a Painted Desert Sheep which is also a hair type. This is a picture of him this summer.



And this is a pic of Dot our other little ewe and her two lambs from this year. Dot is the spotted one.

Thanks so much for the information. I love the pictures. You have some beautiful animals.

Thank you. We are really enjoying them.

The Katahdin is a very colorful sheep! I had a hard time choosing one this morning.



I need a better picture, but here is Molly the new one.