Thanks for watching!!

You ain’t wrong

Thank you so much!

Thanks for subscribing! Sheep are very hard to detect illness in and treat effectively. Experience with hardier species first can help immensely.

@@YouCanFarm I can understand that!

Hi! I'm also in the AZ high desert- considering getting sheep as we have quite a bit of shrubby grassland on our property. But I'm definitely not into high maintenance animals. I'll stick with pigs and rabbits for now! Please let me know if you end up getting any sheep and how they take to the native AZ grasses.

That's a great idea, thank you!

You're welcome, I'm glad you liked it!

Thank you so much for your kind words!

Good point!

Glad you enjoyed it!

Awesome, thank you for the encouragement!

Awesome! I love my sheep 💕

Thank you, I'm so glad you found these helpful!

You are so welcome!

Thanks, I’m so glad you enjoyed it!

Thank you!

Glad you enjoyed it!

I've been involved in animal husbandry my whole life, and have seen more people fail at raising sheep than any other species. They are exceptionally good at hiding any signs of disease until its too late to treat, and I see so many learn this the hard way when they find their animals "mysteriously" dead.

Thanks, I'm so glad!

Thank you!

Glad it was helpful!

Thanks for watching!

You are welcome. Thank you for watching!!

Thanks for watching!

Thank you! That sounds like a very cool cross, two of my favorite breeds! I'd be very interested to hear how they turn out.

@@YouCanFarm just hoping I can keep the lambing ease of the hair sheep, but extend the lactation length by a bit.

You're welcome!

I understand, it's not the easiest to work with.

Glad you like them!

Thanks for watching!

Thanks, I'm glad you like them!

Glad it was helpful! Thanks!

I agree!

Thanks for watching

@@YouCanFarm yes thanks for rp

Thanks. That sounds like a good plan.

thank you

Thank you!

Two is agood number to start with. I hope you can find a good source of hay out there!

@@YouCanFarm yes there's a few vendors. Should I stay away from Alfalfa?

No, you can feed alfalfa. It is high in calcium so it would be good to also offer a regular grass hay, and of course a good free choice mineral so they can balance their diet. Too much calcium can cause urinary calculi in males.

@@YouCanFarm I hear people saying one must not give fresh Alfalfa... is it true that only wilted alfalfa should be given to sheep or cattles?

I'm in NM as well and looking for a few to start with.

Chickens first, then pigs. I think these are the easiest to raise. Pigs are great because they typically require little to no veterinary care, aren't susceptible to most predators, make use of any food waste, and can be raised to processing weight in a relatively short time.

Thank you! Katahdins are a great breed, that's what we raise. That really depends on the age/size of your sheep, and how dense the grass grows on that 1/4 acre. It would be enough space if you plan to supplement them with hay, but likely not provide enough food from the pasture alone.

If I'm not mistaken its about 2 head per acre if purely grazing

In va they allow 5 per 1 acre. We have 0.6 hoping for 2 sheeps

I don't have any experience with those, but hear they are a good hair sheep breed.

RW sheep is the way to go

The use of wool for textiles has become almost non-existent in this country, so there are not big wholesale markets for it anymore. I've talked to several wool sheep producers in different parts of the country who all say the cost of shearing is higher than the price they can get for their wool, so most compost it or give it away for free. There are massive Merino wool farms in Australia, New Zealand and Wales that supply most of the world's supply, and even those producers are struggling to make a living on it. I do know of 2 farms that manage to market their wool products well. One of them spins and dyes the wool into high quality yarn, and the other actually spins and makes her wool into beautiful shawls and scarfs to sell. Both sell direct to consumer from their farm stores and farmers markets. This route takes a TON of labor so not sure if they actually make a profit after all the time invested. In both cases these are definitely small side ventures that complement their business, not their main source of income. You could sell the meat from your excess animals, but most Americans do not like the taste of a wool sheep, as the lanolin in their skin is what gives the meat that off, "gamey" flavor that haters of lamb complain about. This is one of the main reasons we raise hair sheep. I would love to hear if you have a different perspective, or an avenue to market wool that I am not aware of.

You also need to take allergies into consideration as well, I had to donate all my wool yarn to various knitting groups I knew of because my roommate is allergic to it. Not that I really used much wool yarn whenever I knitted, which is quite regularly. I have to check all my clothing (current and new) to make sure there isn’t any wool in it, mostly because I don’t know how strong or severe his allergy is or what will happen if he comes into contact with any amount of wool….

Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed it!

We use a 3 fence system. Two are always put up and one is for the next move. Our fences are about a 150 to 165 feet long and we have a 1 joule charger that keeps two fences above 3000 volts.

They do.

Yes, the fencing works for our dogs too. You could definitely have just a run-in shelter for a few adult sheep.

Thanks

We don't sell very many, but I do have a few for sale right now.

I just checked out your channel and I love it! Thanks for commenting so I could find you guys!

@@YouCanFarm thanks we are adding 2 katahdin sheep and your videos have been super helpful. I see we are about 10 hours away or I would love to add some from you

Too bad we are so far away. If you ever plan to head this way please come visit! I'd love to get you started with some good quality sheep.

It's not unusual for rams to bully their way to the most food and get fat. One of mine is heavier than I'd like too, and pretty soon I am going to separate the rams to get some weight off them. If it's not just fat and he seems like he has a lot of air or gas in that big belly, then I would try adding some probiotic powder to his food and leaving out some baking soda so he can self regulate.

@@YouCanFarm thanks again Julie!! I give them free choice baking soda and they do eat it daily. I can hear a lot of gassy activity in his rumen (now that you mention it!) when he gets like that. I’ll often rub it and it gurgles!! But I haven’t tried probiotics and I have lots of kefir grains. Maybe I’ll try those. We do put acv in their water every other day. I think I’m going to cut right back on the hay and chocolate bars for now, lol!!

@@spoolsandbobbins chocolate is HIGH in copper. She stated sheep are sensitive to copper which can easily become toxic. One bar of chocolate has 200% RDA of copper for humans so definitely too much for sheep. Why would you give candy to an animal anyway?!

Either goats or sheep can make good lawnmowers, choosing the right one depends on whether you have lots of grass or woods/weeds. Sheep prefer grass and goats prefer leafier greens. There are some other factors to consider too. You should check out my Goats Vs. Sheep video to help you decide! Bottle fed sheep can sometimes be friendly, but sheep are almost always more skittish than goats. Katahdin hair sheep can be good milkers, with the right genetics and some patient training.

Very cool! What sort of land do you have? If its all grass pasture I'd go with sheep. Goats would be happier/healthier in a wooded area, although you could still raise them with proper nutrition. You will get a lot more milk from a goat, and they will be easier to train to be milked than a sheep. You will only shear wool sheep once a year, so you won't get a ton of wool from just 2, plus its not super easy to do the shearing correctly (unless you can hire a professional to do it). Since most raw wool doesn't have much value anymore, many sheep producers give it away for free so maybe you could find that elsewhere. Lots of factors to consider! You might want to check out my Goats Vs Sheep video too

It is a Catahoula Leopard Dog. My next video is all about them! Thank you for watching.

That's awesome! Mixing my flocks just didn't work as well for us as grazing them separately. We are in the process of switching to a mineral buffet feeder, its something I've wanted to implement for a while. Happy to hear its working for you.

Grass for most of the year and hay in the winter. We also supplement with spent brewer's grain and sometimes alfalfa when the ewes are pregnant or nursing. They will eat most species of grass, here it is mostly bermuda grass.

Thanks for watching!

Goats and sheep present similar challenges, but the best one for you would depend on your unique situation, like what type of land and vegetation you have, and your goals for raising them. I made a video to help people decide between the two: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/fK-liMuEmZ-yl6c.html

Thanks for sharing

Yes, that sounds totally reasonable, although you likely won't get much milk from them.

We have a pack of Catahoulas that work the farm.

I've heard that too. My sheep eat a tiny amount of spent brewers grain, and they don't grow long hooves. If you have rocks or concrete that they can walk over they can wear down their hooves themselves.

Usually I take care of all the animals by myself. If we are grabbing them for anything like health checks, two people are better.

Yep, I totally agree. Not worth the trouble!

They certainly can be!

Very wise!

Me too!

Yes they are! We did a video all about them: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/aMygh7J63rC-d2g.html

We have always kept pigs with just a couple wires. We keep it well electrified and train them to it at a young age. We also make sure they have lots of space and plenty of food to keep them happy so they won't want to get out, and we move them periodically so they don't get too bored.

Thanks!

It certainly can be.

Thanks for watching!

Hope you enjoyed it

Thanks for watching. Happy New Year!!

@@YouCanFarm when is it shearing time

Thank you.

We have about 12 acres of pasture that we rotationally graze our sheep on. We use 300 ft of portable electric netting to fence their daily paddock moves, giving them roughly 5000 square feet of pasture per day.

I mean we plan our breeding so that all the lambs will be born in the winter months, which is December through February here. That way we already have the sheep near a barn where the new moms and babies can get some shelter and privacy, plus the cold weather makes the parasite pressure much lower for the new lambs. Hope this explains things, and thanks for watching!

Are you local to eastern North Carolina? We don't often sell our sheep but I do have a few smaller ones available.

@@YouCanFarm I’m not local. 👎

Where are you located at?

Utah

Thanks for sharing!

Hello to you too.

I would not recommend it. They are herd animals and are very unhappy by themselves. Lone herd animals tend to be very nervous and spend all their time trying to get out and find others like them to join.

@@YouCanFarm 😭 since I was a child sheep has been my favourite animal..

@@imneverwrongsometimestruthlies just get 2

@@rachelward7499 male + male or male female...which is optimal? You think?

@@imneverwrongsometimestruthlies rams can be dangerous, so I would recommend two females or two castrated rams

Yes. We do ship but the shipping cost can be expensive.

@@YouCanFarm Copy That I Probably Be Better Off Buying A Whole Lamb Cut And Freezing The Meat Through The Year. If The Freezer Life Is Good.

Thank you.

Yes, you could have sheep just as pets, and definitely just for the wool if you are into fiber arts. Sheep aren't naturally very social with people, as they tend to be very skittish and don't like to be handled much, but if you got a bottle baby and worked with it everyday you could tame it.

@@YouCanFarm That's great! Thank you for the reply!❤

Cool, I had not heard of that breed. I had to go look them up!

Thanks for watching!!

We process our lambs at around 9-12 months of age. There is death involved in all food systems. Even strict vegans eat plants and grains that are grown in monoculture systems dependent on destructive machinery and chemical poisons that kill thousands of insect, rodents, reptiles, and microorganisms and render that land uninhabitable for other species for years to come. We strive to give our animals the best life possible while they are in our care, and steward abundant wildlife on our land. Remember there is no peaceful death in nature either.

@@YouCanFarmwell said!

Sheep in my area cost about $300 per head. It is a profitable business. We raise them and sell the meat, so our profit is about $600 per lamb. We do buy hay to feed them for a few months each year but they are outside in the sun all the time, and grazing for most of the year.

@@YouCanFarm thank u so much for your answer ,I'm new in canada ,when I was in my country I worked long times raising goats ,sheep and I love so much working with animals,I would like to know do I need to have a farm in canada to do this or if I can rent a farm

You should be able to rent some land there in Canada to raise animals. I hope you find a way to do what you love again.

@@YouCanFarm I Am Absolutely Looking For A Reliable Wholesale Farmer Direct Source Of Of Lamb Meat For My Family. I Just Spent $14/ Lbs On Boneless Lamb Steak, And That Seems Ridiculous To Me.

They are, thank you for the comment

Thank you.

@@YouCanFarm I am 🐑🐑🐑🐑🐑🐑🐑🐑🐑🐑🐑🐑🐑🐑🐑🐑🐑🐑🐑🐑🐑🐑🐑 trainer

Then you can do whatever you need too without the hassle babe. Good luck.

It confuses them but sends a message to their brain to relax and so they do.. they may squirm a little, but not much. If they do get wiggly on you just put their head between your legs.

Thanks. We use this technique sometimes.

Yes, it is my farm

thank you for watching.

That wasn’t my intent, only to be realistic about some of the challenges of raising sheep. I see too many well meaning homesteaders and beginning farmers spend a bunch of money on sheep only to have them die soon after. I’d like to help others to avoid that sad fate by being prepared.

Yes, unfortunately that happens to a lot of new sheep owners. Sheep are very good at hiding any health problems until they are life threatening, so many inexperienced farmers miss the signs. I always recommend getting a few feeder lambs to finish for meat as a test run before investing in any breeding stock.

What breed do you raise?

@@YouCanFarm ewan has worked on a project for people with special needs for 20 years and has loved sheep forever.

@@mothermine1 that's so wonderful!

Thanks for watching!!

Thanks for watching!!

I’m sorry you feel that way. I just see so many people invest time and money into sheep thinking they are simple, only to have them die. My aim is to help prepare future sheep owners for the challenges and help them avoid that terrible heartache.

@@YouCanFarm thanks for your reply. I get what you're saying, and if I had made it through the rest of the video I may have learned of solutions. I have watched and read many hours of information about sheep, as I will be starting my flock soon, and I had never run into anyone using this method to teach people about issues with sheep. I wish you well.

@@watchthis6789 I get what you’re saying. I thought it was a little out of character for her. But I’m one of her first 100 subscribers and I know her educational background impractical experience, so I stuck it out. I watch this and other channels to learn. I just bought a 17 acre farm in southern Kentucky and I have a lot to do before I can bring on animals. 😊

Not at all! I only want sheep owners to be aware of the unique challenges, so that they can have success raising these animals. I see so many people get them thinking they are simple, only to have them all die, and I want to save both the animals and farmers from this sad fate.

You will need at least 2, but 4 would be better. You will need to provide a safe environment for them to feel safe. 1 acre should be sufficient space.