Sheep

[Zaman]

4 hours ago, john87 said:

Hmm, I last had anything to do with sheep about 30 years ago, so regulations and practice might have change somewhat

 

How many sheep?? I would say about 10. You will also have to fence the field into sections to make smaller fields so you can rotate them. This is a MUST as otherwise the whole lot will end up like a swamp. Secondly, after treating them for foot rot, or after worming them, you will have to turn them back out in a different field or it will have been a pointless exercise..

 

The planning people will have to let you put up a shed. You tell them that it is needed for the "in wintering of sick and pregnant animals" i think the wording is/was, and then they have no choice.. As for the size of the shed, you will need enough room for the sheep and to store hay and the other stuff you will need..

 

Rams are no different to ewes, but if you have a ram, you will have to keep the thing away from the ewes as otherwise when they are in season you will be having random lambs at random times and dates. You do not want this, as when they are lambing you MUST MUST, be there.. In addition you will also have to cut their tails off [no choice in this unless you like the idea of your sheep being eaten alive by maggots] and castrate the ram lambs [Both are done by means of a rubber ring] You will need someone to teach you how to do this..

 

Injections.. If you are not going to breed the things, you will not really have to worry about this.. You will have to worm the things though.. Mind you, if you cut them shearing them, or if they injure themselves, [or get injured] you will have to give them penicillin injections..

 

This might be terribly expensive, as unless you have a registered small holding [you get a number i believe] you might well not be able to buy the stuff you need anyway..

 

Sheep shearing.. Yes, once a year you will have to do this. You will have to do it yourself though, as no sheep shearers will be interested unless you have 200 sheep.. and you have to pay them of course..

 

It used to be a legal requirement to dip the things once a year too. Even if not a legal requirement now, it is still a good idea..

 

Foot trimming, Yes, you will have to do this, Again, you will need to have someone show you.. You will also have to treat them for things like foot rot..

 

No, just the grass will not be enough. You will need to buy in hay, AND have somewhere to store it, In the winter we used to give ours oats and barley too.. Again, you need advice, as if you just give them a load of barley apparently it will kill the things.. We also used to have "sheep pellets"

 

Fencing, you want proper sheep netting topped off with barbed wire. God knows who told you barbed wire was illegal as we used loads of it.. Have you seen the price of fencing???

 

Depending on where you are, foxes will not be a problem, but ordinary dogs will be. They will kill and maim your sheep for fun. The only cure is a 12 bore..

 

As for breeds, go and see what others around you have.. Where i am, i would have welsh ewes and if i wanted a ram, a continental thing like a Texel.. [opinions will differ greatly, but go and see what the locals have]

 

At the end of the day, unless you WANT to waste money, AND you are able to be there all day, forget it. You HAVE to be there, as otherwise you WILL come home one day to find that a dog has killed or maimed the lot of them. This will only take the dog minutes.. You will also find the sheep falling in the water and being too heavy then, being unable to get out and drowning. A sheep by the way, makes no efforts to rescue itself.. We used to have them cause up in brambles, and left to themselves, they would just lay there until they died.

 

You will also have the locals climbing over you fencing and the sheep will be out [and if one goes, they all go] and, the first time you have an argument with the locals, you will find that you now have people cutting your fences..

 

Please listen to the others, sheep is a bad idea.. rent it out to someone with a horse.. Problem being, is that you will need planning permission for this, a horse not being an agricultural animal..

 

john..

 

Thank you so much for this information. Alot to process. I will think very carefully about this decision. Much appreciated for your advise. 

[Zaman]

4 hours ago, peds said:

4 acres seems more petting zoo size, I'd say. 

Thanks but I do also have 50 acres too and other land also. But instead of getting much more sheep and not having a clue and being stuck. Starting out small and learning is always the best way and also called being responsible 

[Zaman]

6 hours ago, GarethM said:

Jesus, whilst keeping sheep isn't that bleak.

Those are the realities of owning livestock and a long list of more along with insurance etc etc.

 

4 acres on its own is ok for short term grazing, not a chance in hell of any buildings etc without a lot of time and money.

Thank you

[Zaman]

4 hours ago, Will C said:

The following is assuming you want them to cut the grass and not earn anything- cause they won’t. Probably 4-6 lambs will do you, but be prepared to up or down number’s depending on your grass. keep them till they are 8-9 year old or die which ever happens first. If you go for a hardy breed like Hebridean  you shouldn’t have to foot trim or give extra feed, they will be happy outside all year round. You will probably find you have to much grass in the summer and have to top it and not enough in winter. You will need three strands of electric fence or sheep net rather than barbed. Hebridean do just fine 99% of the time with no worming etc. Foxes arnt a problem unless you lamb when they are seriously hungry. Past that all of the above comments are good advice. 

remember a sheep has 2 ambitions in life: 

1 Escape

2 Die 

they are at there happiest if they can achieve both ambitions at the same time

Thank you for this honest advise. I will bare in mind. Thank you and appreciate it

[Zaman]

6 hours ago, coppice cutter said:

Honestly, put the word out that's there's grazing available and get someone else to pay you for grazing their sheep on it.

 

*edit* - but give it some thought and if you're still determined then I'll try to answer some of your question. But please, seriously consider what I said first.

Thank you. I will bare in mind. I am just trying to get an idea of what we are looking at before any moves are made. Thank you

[Zaman]

4 hours ago, topchippyles said:

Would a couple of goats be viable.

Would these bring what seems to be the same kind of issues as sheep? Thanks 

[Will C]

Just now, Zaman said:

Would these bring what seems to be the same kind of issues as sheep? Thanks 

No the bloody things won’t die.
They will however:

beat you over if you manage to get near them (see point 3)

eat anything you don’t want eating and little you do

run faster than you over any terrain

escape and not die so so you have to catch the bloody things (see point 3)

need 7ft fencing not 4ft

have no value to sell if you want to

smell that bad you will not want to go near them or in the same field during the summer

 

heb sheep need minimal maintenance and would be your best bet in my mind

 

 

[Zaman]

3 hours ago, Stere said:

Why did you buy a 4 acre paddock and decide you want sheep but have no clue about sheep?

 

Just seems abit odd.

 

 

Get a  butcher  to do home slaughter and stick em in the  freezer & eat them?

 

Otherwise whats the point-  pets I suppose?

We have other land too. Learning new things isn't a bad thing. No sheep is currently on the land. Nor will they be until I know the basics at the very least. I understand fully they are not pets and I'm certainly not stupid to do something to put animals at risk. That's why there is supposed to be forums like this to get advice. And if I decide not to go ahead then fine. It will be left as empty land. But thanks anyways 

[Zaman]

3 hours ago, Paul in the woods said:

I think people are looking at the fact sheep love to escape the wrong way. If it's anything like here just leave your gate open and within a few days your field will be full of someone else's sheep. Or cows.

 

On a more serious note is there a small holders association near you? Our county has one and they run courses on sheep keeping, boat keeping etc and have wanted and sales. 

OK thank you I will look into this. 

[john87]

2 minutes ago, Zaman said:

Thank you so much for this information. Alot to process. I will think very carefully about this decision. Much appreciated for your advise. 

Not saying it is a daft idea, but you need to live on site.. When i had to do with sheep, you had to get up first thing in the morning and walk around all the boundaries [of 130 acres] to make sure none had got out.

The usual thing is, one or two will find a weak spot in the fencing late at night, and then, very early the next morning, the lot will all walk out through the same gap.. So, you had to find the gaps before you had 200 sheep in the school next door..

 

The you had to trudge across fields and put out maybe ten bales of hay in the freezing bloody cold [we would leave a horsebox trailer full of hay in the field so we did not have to carry them], then again at night, AND feed the things oats or barley or whatever. Just as well as we would have a trailer with hay in it, as from time to time, it would be so cold the tractors would not start..

 

After lambing [which involves checking them every couple of hours, so yes, midnight and 3 in the morning, then again at about 5am, that sort of thing] you then had over 400 of the things to look after, and all in the freezing cold, as you would have the things lambing in about January.. It was bloody freezing.. You would also have prolapses and the like to deal with in the run up to lambing..

 

It would have you on the go first thing in the morning, in the evening, and all weekend..

 

Do not get me wrong, it is not none stop work by any means, but you HAVE to be there, or at least someone does, all the time, for the well being of the sheep..

 

Fairly often you would have sheep with some sort of brain disease. A predecessor of "mad cow disease" i think. They would go round and around in ever decreasing circles until they fell on their side. If you left them for any length of time, the crows would peck their eyes out while they were still alive.

 

We would spot the ill ones, catch them, it was not difficult, they would run away, but in a circle like a boomerang, and hence come back to you, and then bash them on the head with a hammer..

 

It will be a steep learning curve for you.. If you really want to do this, then do it, but it is not like having a cat..

 

john..