(QUICK) BEGINNER GUIDE TO RAISING SHEEP on Pasture | Farming Small Scale Homestead Meat Sheep Dorper
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- Опубліковано 17 чер 2024
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Here are the top 3 things I wish we knew as beginner sheep farmers! 5 years ago we brought Dorper Sheeep back to our 30 acre farm. Despite much preparation, there were 3 major areas in which we were unrpepared. I hope this video helps you as you jump into sheep farming for your small farm or homestead!
-the Shepherdess
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IN THIS VIDEO:
Sheep farming for beginners
Parasite management
Deworming sheep
Rotational grazing
homestead sheep
hair sheep
meat sheep
DORPER SHEEP
How to sheep farm
is sheep farming profitable?
Sheep for homestead
Why are my sheep dying?
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About this Channel:
This channel chronicles my journey as a sheep farmer from the very beginning. My primary occupation is in business management. In 2020, I discovered the principles of regenerative agriculture and embarked on a journey with the end goal of building a profitable small farm on 23 acres by 2027. Thank you for joining the journey!
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My goodness we had the most amazing lamb for dinner tonight, and we don’t raise such a fancy breed like you. As low level as we are, they are parasite resistant after 20 years of work. I wish more eaters understood how wonderful lamb is as a source of nutrition. .
This is my first year and I have Polypay. I learned that when I use electric fences I need to make sure that the sheep don't find an easy exit, because they will exploit their knowledge on the entire fence. Also give them plenty of shade. Wool sheep pant a lot in the hot summer sun of Belle Fourche South Dakota.
That is the best advice for those who are just starting.
We have NEW neighbors. So, like you we are investing in woven field fencing for the perimeter of our property.
We started with Southdown, but we're moving into Romney. Better wool and better meat.
My tip would be, if you want to raise sheep, figure out what your goals are, and get the breed of sheep that fits those goals.
Hey Shepherdess, Sometimes when you get a little free time would you mind doing a video on your rams and explain confinement and management? Breeding schedules and feeding requirements. Thank you, jimmy don - Paducah, TX.😁😁😁
I second this! I have no clue if I got sheep how I would contain the ram separately, and still feed him healthily with rotational grazing. Also, if companionship is a problem with rams. I know sheep are a social animal, but would you need to keep two rams, a ram and a wether, a ram and some other animal?
Thank you, Joy - Iowa
This would be very helpful! I separate my rams, breed and keep the rams with the ewes while pregnant. It would be amazing if you made a video about this!
I'm from India And these tips are mostly suits for my goats as well. Thanks Shephherdess
At @cramfarms we raise Dorper/Katahdin crosses. They’re not a milk breed, but we HAVE milked them and their milk is DELICIOUS! We’ve had them for about 2 years, and we’ve raised 2 sets of lambs (4 in 2022, and 6 in 2023).
Similar to your advice, I would recommend GOOD fencing. We also have Great Pyrenees, so we’ve had no problem so far with predators.
If 30 acres or less is a “small farm” then my 1 acre with 3 Gotlands must be a micro-farm 🤣
How well do you do with one acre? I have one acre, and thinking of starting with a Great Pyronese and three Katahdins/Dorper lambs. Grass grows FAST up here in the North Georgia Mountains.
@@samnickerson9255so far it’s been manageable, I have an Anatolian/Karakchan female with them, we are in SW Washington state, lots of critters…
@@530eman Is there "enough" green grass, or do you supplement heavily with hay, grain, etc?
@@samnickerson9255I have just over 1 acre divided into 5 paddocks I rotate them through. Up here we should be good to July but then will probably need hay. This’ll be my first summer so, ya… it’s new to me too my friend…🐑
Valuable video. Thank you for the proactive tips and letting us learn from your experiences!💖
Hello i LOVE all your TEACHINGS ❤
GOD BLESS YOU MORE MA....🙌🏻
Great Video Grace!
I raise Katahdins and Dorpers. My advice is to not wait until you have losses to get a guardian animal. Deterring predators is more effective when they don't know how tasty your lamb is.We started with a llama then trained an LGD. I hear coyotes most evenings on our property but we've never lost a single animal to them.
How are they if you already own working dogs? Eg kelpies
@@jmc8577 it's best to start with a puppy so part of their training is learning to interact with your working dogs.
@@miraearles3372 thank you
Nice video and good info!👍
We have had our 8 St Croix ewes for almost a year, and i second that mistake of not having a rotation plan! We started with electric netting with a small solar charger (not strong enough!) and a few of them worked out how to go right under it. It was a huge pain until we got the woven wire perimeter fence up. I just got some polytape that is now connected to the perimeter fence strand using a plug in charger at about 8 - 10 kv. Its working somewhat with 3 strands, but still have some escapees. I need to get another few rolls when my budget allows. The two rams we got a few months ago are much better behaved, they stay within just one or two strands of the polytape. Its better to train them right away with a STRONG charger! Once they learn they can go under the tape or netting, its not good!
Thank you. We've been trying to get the farm ready for sheep. We started with cows, and have been gradually surrounding the farm with field fence. This year we added goats, figuring it would be a good test of the fences. Our ultimate goal is the American Black Belly sheep. We still have work to do, but, your posts have been both encouraging and informative. Thank you.
Hello. Not sure if you can, but do you mind doing a short video on mistake number 2? I feel like that would be much easier for beginners like me to understand if we see with more detail.
Love your videos, and thank you for all you are doing. God bless.
*** Edit ***
I was referring more to the discussion about open grazing space when penning sheep for the night.
Have you watched her older videos? She has a goldmine of videos already.
Another great video!!❤ I have Black Dorper sheep guarded by donkeys. I would add to consider your forage for you animals. We are very dry and weedy with tons of sunflowers and oak forest. All wonderful food for my goats and donkeys, but not so much for my lady lambs…I am considering getting 2 black belly ewes from a friend at church. They will take longer to finish out but I think they might just be happier on what our land offers. Anything to feed less hay! Perhaps after grazing for a few years grass might appear in the seed bank.😊
Fantastic
Hi There! Thanks for this great channel! Can we ask how you go about Mulesing and docking? Do you do it, get someone else to do it, or are you not in a fly strike zone?
Good fencing
Do you mind sharing what varieties of grass you graze your sheep on in TX?? I’m also in the south trying to figure out what I should choose for my main pasture mix. Mine will not eat Bermuda or Bahia.
I might should ask this in a live stream but I was reading storeys guide and see "ask your county extension agent" a lot. I was wonder if you had a list of questions that you've asked or would ask when you're getting started?
I’ve honestly never called mine. 🙈 It is typically something that is recommended when people ask questions that have answers that vary by region. I’ve always found the answer through trial and error.
Is your perimeter fence electrified?
Hi Grace
Hiiii!! Always love your comments!!
@@theShepherdess Aww thanks, I enjoy seeing my friend 🥹🍁🌼🍁
Excellent advice. Almost to 89k subscribers 🙌
@@theShepherdess love from Kashmir india
How many lamb do you on average get from a dorper?
I like dorpers. What ever breed you use don't keep replacements from ewes you have to nursmade. By their 2nd lambing you shouldn't have to help them except to check that their udder is soft and milking on both sides.
I love idea of raising sheep but live in Pacific NW so the predator list can be grizzlies, black bear, wolves, cougars, coyotes, as example. I will invest in a 8’ tall security fence system on perimeter with electric wire and internal paddocks of other fencing . Been thinking about the kinds of dogs mainly for bears and cougars. I am not sure a Guardian Dog can stand up to bears but may frighten a cougar or wolf.
Get 4-6 dogs. No bear would mess with that
I'm a big fan of yours. Get a pair of LGDs. Coyotes and determined rural dogs can get over your fencing easily. When that happens, you are going to experience serious unnecessary loss. Dog food is expensive and necessary investment. Look at other people doing this and you will arrive at the same conclusion. Hope you see this in time.
Use pigs then chickens to clean up after them
No antiparastics! Yuk!
Click the like button fam we have to get Grace out to the masses 🎉❤
👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
The misconception on Greg Judy people have is he always says to have a really strong perimeter fence for your animals because you don't want them in the road getting hit he also doesn't want his livestock guardian dogs being able to get out if they are young and wandering he runs a single strand for his cattle so the young cattle can go under the fence and not get stuck on the outside away from mom and if they do they will easily be able to go back to mom if they need to I am not sure if he uses single strand on his sheep but I do know he makes sure he has really nice perimeter fences
I WISH TO BE A GREAT FARMER SOON...❤
I HOPE YOU WILL PUT ME THROUGH WHEN THE TIME COMES..?
EMBARRASSING. I edited this comment for typos 💀 Girl I'm back, my phone is messing up so I had to close out the video and then restart it and now it's working.
I saw the initial comment and was wondering if that was the case. Not meant unkindly, but I did get a chuckle out of it. 😊
@@marcus3457 😅
Its a pity. I wish I could meet you and learn from you.
5 strand electric wire at every ten inches and i have not had one escape in a year and a half.
Katahdin
Yes, even a sweet neighbor dog can become a very effective predator, once they see a sheep.
Oooops...#theshepardess. I thought you were organic? Those dewormers are poison.
I'd love it if you would do an interview with @alanwesterfield4254 ... He raises sheep in Virginia (?) and is very transparent about what is working and what isn't working for him. With your interviewing skills, I think it would be a really useful video. Anyway, thanks for all of the information on raising sheep.