# How much work are sheep ACTUALLY?



## Curtis B (Aug 15, 2008)

I almost got some sheep this year, and then reconsidered to prepare a bit more, due to some questions that I thought I had the answer to. I know everyone has a different opinion, so that is all I am looking for. Do sheep actually need a barn at night? I have a number of pens/loafing sheds close to the house and thought they might work when needed. I know that predators can be a problem, but my dogs pretty much keep them away. I was also recently told that you allways have to pen up the lambs with their moms for them to take, I had thought that it happens sometimes, but if it is repedative you need to cull the ewe or doesn't happen to keep the bloodline going to encourage good maternal traits. I know that I would want to keep the meds to a minimum (as needed not "worming just to worm") to try to keep things "natural". Any answers to other sheep keeping "myths" would be great. Thanks


----------



## RiverPines (Dec 12, 2006)

I have no barn.
My sheep have lean-to's and they thrive.
The only time they use shelter is in heavy rain and sometimes in heavy snow.
My sheep also lamb in pasture. 
I only worm if needed.

My sheep are easy. The have a pen for night time with a lean-to.
During the day they get to go out grazing in the field.

The work is in the daily hay out. The daily water checks.
The daily moving them from pen to pasture.
The weekly sheep checks. I have long tails on my sheep so during the warm months my sheep are checked for tail trimming and fly repellent applications.
I dont dock tails.
Oh and the twice a year shearing is work but I enjoy that. 

IMO, sheep are much easier to manage than goats.
I have Longwools and Leicester crosses.


----------



## Ross (May 9, 2002)

I don't have barns for my sheep, I have barns for myself to make things easier. Dry sheep are healthy sheep, dry places keep you on schedule with vacinations worming shearing, lambing, breeding, shipping....., lambing pens let you manage your lambs and sort for record keeping (and to seperate out the four mums and 9 lambs all lambed at the same time, who all think they should have all 9 lambs and different mums. Barns give you a place to keep sick animals or new ones in quarentine. Ever had a few weeks of nonstop rain? Its more than nice to have a barn then. Lights at night, shade in the full sun.... a place to sit on a bale of hay, drink a beer or two and plan out the coming months!! Who wouldn't want a barn!?!?!! Oh right that was only a small part of what you were asking.

Guess it kinda depends what you want from your sheep to say how much work they are. Different breeds makes a huge difference too. Worming is very easy if you use the right products, if shearing is that daunting get a hair breed, if you want a fleece to sell check out what actually sells for raw (or processed wool) do you want meat, lawn mowers, or dairy sheep....... each type has a different work requirements.


----------



## Curtis B (Aug 15, 2008)

This is helping, I can't wait to tell my FIL that I was thinking right. I do want a barn, but the kind and size I wan't prohibit it until more $$ is coming in. I have a great many people telling me these things along with, sheep are too stupid and difficult, and your stupid to buy a $100 jersey steer for beef (just for me not for money) along with them. I know I have reasearched right, but it allways helps to find people that ARE doing it the way I know I can. 

Thanks, and more would be great!!!!!:goodjob:


----------



## LibertyWool (Oct 23, 2008)

I know we all have our favorite type of sheep, but I must say that Jacobs are not mine. I stay away from all horned sheep because they can get caught in fencing. I use electro net on my pasture and horned sheep can get entangled easer in it. I do have a friend that has a large (over 50) flock of Jacobs and she has lost a fair number when she tried electro net fencing. I'm not saying polled sheep will not get caught in the fence too, but just putting that out there....

When I started I used a 12x12 building for 3 sheep, then added a run-in and a trailer to store hay. Next built my barn (20x60) and sold the trailer. I now can store enough hay for the winter months in 2/3rds of it and the sheep, llamas, and the cow get the other third. I personally do use lambing jugs because it make things easier and I feel like I loose less lambs. You have a nice clean dry place to lamb, you can watch them for problems in the first few days, and I feel that I end up with less problems because of it. Even in the 12x12 building, I could divide it into 4 pens at lambing. And things don't need to be fancy for the sheep, I make jugs out of pallets lashed together with bailing twine. I just make sure there are no drafts so the lambs are not chilled... Last year it was -5 when some of my lambs were born. 

I guess it is hard to say if sheep are easy or not. If you like them and enjoy working with them, then it is not hard. But if you don't like them, then I'm sure everything seems like torture. I personally like sheep and enjoy having something to do every morning when I get out of bed. At times it can be a bit much when you are bottle feeding a little one (or two) or you have a sick animal and everything you are doing is not working. But day in and day out, not too bad. It is like any other animal, make sure it has the right food, clean water, shelter from the weather and protection from predators....

I really don't think sheep are stupid, they are just not people. And they certainly are not dogs. I have people that snap their fingers and call to my sheep like dogs and the sheep just ignore them. But when I shake a feed bucket, they come a runnin'. Also, if you are graining your sheep, they can be like heroin addicts. They start calling me if I'm even a min late to feed them. The rest of the year, when they are not on grain, I hardly hear a peep from them.


----------



## Curtis B (Aug 15, 2008)

The netting is good to know as I had planed on getting Jacobs. I alreading have my 20 fenced in 4" woven wire (sheep fence). I had planned on using the electro net to section padocks, but now maybe not. I do like the horns, so they will stay. My thought was to do rotational grazing w/a few cows, so I will need a good movable temp fence.


----------



## MorrisonCorner (Jul 27, 2004)

Likewise my Icelandics rarely come in and prefer the lean to shelter if they seek any shelter at all.


----------



## Ross (May 9, 2002)

As for sheep being stupid.... well we kept cattle for 15 years before the sheep, and after (umm) 17 or 18 years of sheep, I can say sheep are 1000 times smarter than cattle. We just brought in cattle again and yup sheep are smarter. MUCH smarter than cattle.... not they're a gold standard of prainy behavior but still.


----------



## frazzlehead (Aug 23, 2005)

My son does most of the chores here, and we've added up the time .. so maybe this will help you out.

First, infrastructure - it matters. We have a feeding pen (or a fenceline feeder, we've used both) and we feed every day from round bales. We live where winter is long and cold, so in the winter chore times are longer - due often to having to yank hay off a frozen bale, plus the fact that you have to feed more. I'll give you fall/spring times, you can adjust accordingly for weather. 

Oh and the barn thing - we didn't have one for the first two years, we do now. It's small, only four stalls, plus a spot for shearing (I do it by hand in a headgate), and it's great. Anyone injured, or mamas who aren't figuring things out, or sick ones, goes in the barn. Nobody else does - well, the dairy cow but that's a separate issue - but I love it. It's just a lean to built on the back of an existing shed, with a proper barn door (the hanging sliding kind) and glass windows that let in light and can be removed to let in a breeze ... and I love it. 

Okay, times:

Morning chores: check the water to make sure it's not frozen, bash it with your foot if it is and check the deicer ... let sheep into feed pen to eat, make sure everyone is ok: 10 mins

Lunch time: fill water (we usually do this midday cause it gets dark early here in winter), top up feed, check things in general: 10 mins again (this one's really optional, you can do it in the end of the day)

Afternoon: kick everyone out of the feed pen, refill for morning (we kick them out at night and let 'em in first thing), top up water if not done at lunch, generally check on things ... 15 mins or so, longer if the bale is being stubborn.

Add some time spring and fall for injections, some time to supervise lambing and do the inevitable interventions (hopefully not often, but it takes time to get to that point), and time for shearing (I do 2 in a day by hand, with manual shears, but most people get a shearer).

Also add about 3 weekends a year for dealing with fences.  And that's AFTER you get them all up!


----------

