I've raised chickens, cattle and pigs for meat before.  But with where I am on my family's farm right now and my budget makes grassfed cattle a bit of a stretch.  Thinking about raising some sheep for meat production to compliment the pigs I'm raising for sale.  Looking at a herd of Barbados Black Belly sheep for sale.  They're hair sheep, so I don't need to shear them.  They supposedly have good resistance to parasites and illness as well as being hardy so they need little help lambing, in addition to high lambing numbers.  I have a large assortment of electric fencing supplies.

But as I said, I've never raised sheep before.  What do I need to know, or is this all a bad idea?

So you may want to change that title or you are going to get a lot of off the wall comments.  

Yes, you are in the right section, I understand your intent, no I do not raise sheep.  

Why not go for it. I've raised every barn yard animal and 6 different types of exotic deer but never sheep. I did goats instead because I like the meat better. Several family members did sheep and enjoyed it and made money at it. I'd check with your local county ag. rep and see what they say. Remember the so many animal units per acre deal. Sheep should be close to 4 = 1 cow. Good luck

I had 50 ewes on our mixed farm growing up (along with dairy/beef, cattle, hogs, horses, hens, etc.).

I raised them as a teenager to put away money for college.

Only issue we had was with an incident of feral dogs terrorizing them before lambing causing them to abort.

Our farm was the nearest farm just outside of a couple of small towns and idiots would just abandon their unwanted dogs rather than take them to the pound, etc.

Only happened once . . .

Sheep are born looking for a place to die



Fence crawlers like crazy, but you said you have a lot of electric fencing supplies, that might help.  I've seen a lot of sheep go through electric fences on account their wool is much too thick, it never fried em.  

Growing up we had a flock of about 35, mostly for wool production, but also for meat.  I might be able to answer a few questions although I don't know anything about haired sheep.  We never used electric fences because our animals' wool was too thick to allow them to work.  Even barbed wire acts more like a suggestion than a boundary if you let it get the least bit slack. The wool starts to build up like felt on the barbs.

Are there vets in the area who are familiar with sheep?  We had a farm vet that made house calls.  There were just a few farms with sheep near us, so he learned as he went. (He turned out quite good, and was a nice guy to boot).  The local Co-Op carried no meds for sheep, so everything came from the vet or mail order.

As an aside, major wool producers cull back sheep because they want a uniform product.  Craft type weavers and spinners go ape shit over black wool and pay a high dollar for some types, so acquiring someone else's rejects can be a cost effective way to start/increase a flock.  The meat tastes the same.

"Sheep are born looking for a place to die" my state farm extension guy said the same thing

We just picked up a Katahdin ewe and two lambs.
The ewe should be pregnant, and has thrown twins pretty regularly.
The plan is for the two female lambs to be the start of our breeding stock.
We've only had the sheep for about three months now.

They don't seem to be as tolerant to handling as our Nigerian Dwarf goats are.
In the time we've had them, they have stayed in hot wire pastures just fine.
We try to ensure that they don't have much reason to leave the pasture, by making sure they have plenty of fresh water and forage.

The hair sheep seem to be a pretty good match for our goals and locale.
They don't need to be shorne, and we're just in it for the meat.
Actually, I shouldn't say "our" goals. This was my wife's idea, lol.
Heroin has nothing on "critter addiction".
It's like being married to Ellie Mae Clampett.

ETA: Storey's has a book on raising sheep.
I recommend it.

ETA MkI ModII: If you have other critters, make sure you keep the sheep away from supplements containing large amounts of copper.
Large amounts of copper is toxic to sheep.

Will you also be getting milk from the sheep?  I hear there is a good market for sheep's milk in many places.

Are there breeds that are good for both milk and meat?

I might be misremembering, but I think that breed is notorious for being more goat like than sheep like.  Very hardy but very willful.

We're in our second year with Old English Southdown (babydoll) sheep.  

First year we brought in three boys (two ram lambs and a whether) - this year 3 lambs... next year we'll be breeding them.

The Southdowns are an old breed, and were the staple in much of europe before refrigeration became widespread.  They are a small (but not a miniature/toy) but well proportioned w/good ratios - and their smaller size meant there was less worry of meat going bad before it could be consumed.

They are a very hardy breed, extremely docile, lamb easily and importantly for me - don't challenge fencing.  In many cases they won't even walk out an open gate unless led out.  I've been using e-nets exclusively with the ewes without incident.

With their short height and feeding habits they are increasingly being used as "green mowers" in vineyards and orchards.  On good graze they seldom try to browse anything over eye level so they pose little danger to the vines/trees.  This is the main reason I went with them since I do hope to put a fair amount of vines in here.

They are, however, a boutique breed here in the states and come at a hefty premium... $300-$500 a head around here.


ETA:  regarding shearing... I've being hiring that out.  There is a gentleman who covers three or four states during the season and the $5/head makes it a no-brainer.

My understanding, is that hair sheep, as a whole, are pretty good milkers.
I haven't really researched it, as we use Nigerian Dwarf goats for milk.

I started up a flock of Katahdins last year. I have 16 right now. They are easy to take care of. Don't have to take their tail off or have them shorn. They don't really like people but I have 2 older ones that are pretty tolerant. I have 5 ram lambs going to butcher on Monday. Sold for $3/lb live weight. I expect they are all around 100 lbs. Only about 6 or 7 months old.

Feel free to ask questions.

Pictures here (there are sub albums)
http://nullbits.foxxz.net/sheep

ETA - My experience with goats is that they enjoy climbing and escaping too much. And are kind of assholes to each other. Katahdins are close to goats. I keep them in horse board pasture I've zip tied wire fence to. I've only had the occasional escapee (the real young lambs accidentally slip through the small gaps in the fence. Katahdins have a decent herd instinct. Even when one or two have managed to get out they are more concerned with getting back in with the others.

Awesome pictures. Thanks for sharing. How much land do you have them on?

About 1.5 acres. Not as much as they should be on. General rule of thumb is 5 sheep per acre.

Lots of "ings" in raising sheep
Drenching
Marking
Sheering

The more rain you receive the more worms they get. Though Barbados do seem hearty as your neighbor has a bunch of wild ones

My family has one of the larger flocks still around.. I have sold all of mine due to so much work for little pay. We raised open face Rambouillet.

I suggest looking at raising a goat that does good in colder climates. In Texas we can raise Boer goats with little up keep and they are bringing about $85 a head for a kid right now.

PM me if you have any questions and vaccines and drenches you might need if you decide to go with Barbados.

Have you thought about goats? With the influx of muslims it has been good for goat farmers. Goat meat is in high demand and it will only increase.