# New sheep questions



## FlockMomma (Sep 21, 2016)

Hello! We just purchased 3 CVM/Romeldales, 2 yearling ewes and a ewe lamb. In our current situation we close them in our barn at night. One, how often should we be worming them? Two, how often should we be changing out the straw in their room? I've heard of people cleaning out completely every other day, and others adding straw for a while and having deep bedding before doing a big cleaning. Of course we want to be as healthy for the sheep as possible, but also efficient.


----------



## Farmfresh (Jan 11, 2009)

[FONT=&quot]I basically just posted this same information in another thread, but it applies here too. 

I have a small flock of Katahdin sheep myself and this is what my vet told me about their regular health maintenance. 

Sheep can be de-wormed using several different commercial products. Ivermectin, Valbazen, and Cydectin are three of the kinds. I am sure that some rotation of de-wormer would be better than always using the same product. *The vet said that the Valbazen could NOT be used if the ewe is pregnant*, so in the fall would be the only time you could use it. The product that he recommended for me was the Cydectin. Cydectin oral drench dosage is 1 cc per 11 pounds of body weight. 

Sheep should be *de-wormed every 3 to 4 months* with one of the de-wormings a few weeks before re-breeding and another of them falling at the coldest time of the year in your area. Do NOT de-worm in either early or late stages of pregnancy. 

Sheep also require an annual vaccination for diseases. My vet recommended a product called Covexin 8. According to the label it vaccinates against: Clostridium chauvoei, Cl. septicum, Cl. novyi Type B, Cl. haemolyticum (known elsewhere as Cl. novyi Type D), Cl. tetani and Cl. perfringens Types C and D. 

The vaccine should be given 2 to 6 weeks before lambing commences in the flock. That will help provide immunity to the newborn lambs. Lambs should be given their primary course beginning at 10 to 12 weeks of age. 

As far as stall maintenance is concerned, I think you have to play it entirely by eye and nose. I typically use shavings to bed my sheep, but since I have hair sheep I am not sure if shavings would be a problem with a woolly breed or not. ??? My sheep spend most of their day on pasture and come into the stall only in the evenings and when it is either very hot or the weather is bad. They come and go at will throughout the year unless they are either ready to lamb or have recently lambed. During that period I DO use straw for bedding or even a low quality hay. I just clean the stall when it starts to look and smell dirty. I do strip and clean thoroughly before lambing and when the lambs are small I keep it quite a bit cleaner. 

Hope that helps. 

[/FONT]


----------



## Callieslamb (Feb 27, 2007)

I wouldn't deworm unless they need deworming. Do a fecal every month and see if they need chemical intervention. I don't worm on a regular schedule only when they need it.

What is the floor made of in your stalls? You don't have to put anything down- but sand will ruin a good pair of shears so I'd cover that. I prefer straw to wood shavings though shavings are easier to clean.


----------



## Callieslamb (Feb 27, 2007)

I wouldn't deworm unless they need deworming. Do a fecal every month and see if they need chemical intervention. I don't worm on a regular schedule only when they need it.

What is the floor made of in your stalls? You don't have to put anything down- but sand will ruin a good pair of shears so I'd cover that. I prefer straw to wood shavings though shavings are easier to clean.


----------



## Maura (Jun 6, 2004)

In ten years I never wormed. My pasture had plants growing in it that were naturally anti-parasitic. I also rotated the pasture and in the winter moved them around so that the water was in once place, the hay in another, and the shelter somewhere else. Bring a fecal sample into your vet to find out what kind of parasite load they have. They will always have some parasites, you want a low load rather than a heavy load. Do your homework and find out what a high load is so that your vet isn&#8217;t having you dose sheep with a low load of parasites.

I did not use any bedding because I did not want straw in the wool. But, I did not have a barn, they were always free to come and go from the shelter as they pleased. I noticed they left very few droppings in the shelter.


----------



## Farmfresh (Jan 11, 2009)

Mine are the same way. They usually leave the barn when they have to poo or pee.


----------



## DragonFlyFarm (Oct 12, 2012)

FlockMamma you are going to have some lovely fleeces! I have run in shelters with dirt floors. I add straw through the winter. In the spring I clean them out, let them air for a couple days and then put down fresh straw. Get your girls settled, you will know by the smell/look of the bedding how often you will need to clean it out. Straw falls off the fleece, chips/shavings are difficult to get out. Pictures of your ladies would be nice!


----------



## FlockMomma (Sep 21, 2016)

Thanks for all the info!

Our barn has wood floors. I would love to let them come and go and not have to pen them up at night but I'm too worried about predators at this point. In the future we would like to get a donkey or something else for protection as we grow our flock and not worry about closing them up.

I'm very excited for their fleeces. I'm completely new at fibers and have never spun or anything but am looking forward to learning all about it.

I will try to catch some pictures soon and share!


----------



## DragonFlyFarm (Oct 12, 2012)

Wool processing & spinning is addicting! There is something very satisfying about processing fiber from your own animals.


----------

