[craiglockwood]

I have recently moved to a larger property (in South Wales) with a 3 to 4 acre paddock.   I intend on using the paddock for horses but am considering having sheep for my own consumption - sharing paddock with horses.  Looking through the forums it seems as if horses and sheep can live together quite happily.

Is this feasible?   Also, could I keep just 3 or 4 sheep on this land for fattening/slaughter.  Any advice/opinions greatly accepted....

[faith0504]

hi and welcome from moray 

[piggy]

Hi and welcome from Suffolk.

My sheep share with the horses no problem,although we have split our land in to 5 paddocks so that we can rotate and seperate when needed.

[waterhouse]

Yes and yes, depending on the horses.  You might want to fence so you have an area into which the only the sheep can go to escape a feisty horse having a hooley.

I'd split into several paddocks so you can rotate the grazing, particularly if the grass is too good and the horses are getting tubby.  We let the horses follow the sheep around when the grass is lush but reverse it when the grass is poor.

Have fun.

[OhLaLa]

Depends on the horse. I've seen posts where folks have said they live fine together, and also many where the poor sheep have suffered from horses kicking out.

If you do decide to keep them in the same field/paddock, never feed your horses or sheep when they are together - this is usually the cause of many problems.

I wouldn't keep mine together. Not worth the risk.

[Rosemary]

Hi and welcome from Carnoustie 

I keep sheep with my ponies. Smokey will nip at the lambs if they come near his feed but other than that it's live and let live. However, I try not to feed them together and the sheep have a fenced off "safe" area. I had sheep in with another horse (not mine and a bit bonkers) and he chased the sheep, so I never had either pregnant ewes or ewes and young lambs in the field with him.

[craiglockwood]

Many thanks for the advice - it seems sharing is OK as long as the sheep have a 'safe' horse-proof area where they will be fed.


What breed would you consider and at what age?    Obviously the cost of a lamb can vary due to breed/age, but what typical costs should I expect?

[trev iow]

as one who has done this,and got the scars to prove it,i may be able to give you an insight as to what your letting yourself in for!firstly,it is commonly agreed that a sheep's ambition in life is to die!failing that ,make sure the shepherd dies!they can be,and often are ,the most frustrating and stupid of all livestock,which just proves god has a sense of humour!but if your determined to have a go then you need to consider which breed.what you want is something ,docile and easy to handle,as it's for your own consumption and not for sale,quality is more important.i had southdowns and throughly reccommend them for this type of farming.the carcase is small but the ratio of meat to bone is far greater than other breeds,the quality of the meat is ,in my opinion unsurpassed.they are docile,easier to handle than most breeds and dont require that much food.i strongly suggest you resarch this breed.as to having the meat for the freezer,we used to have ours killed on site by a licenced slaughterman in the same shed they were born in,they never travelled off the 11/2 acres we had so there were no transport costs and no stress to the animals.after slaughter they were hung in a shed with a couple of desk fans blowing on them overnight then taken to our local butcher who used to put them in his cold room for a week then joint them for us.the economics of all this depend on what criteria you apply.if you base it on what you would get at market for finished lambs there is nothing to be made out of it but if you base it on what the seperate joints would cost in a butchers then you will find they are worth about £200 each.on the face of it that would seem worthwhile but the danger is that because you have a freezer full of legs,shoulders and chops you tend to dive in to them far more often than you would buy lamb from the shops.having said all this ,there is no greater pleasure in seeing a new born lamb finding the teat for the first,even at 3am!.i could write pages and pages about this but i dont want to be up till 3 am these days,besides i dont want to spoil the fun? for you.hope this helps a bit trev iow

[shetlandpaul]

really only ok if the sheep can run faster than your horses. don't keep lambs with horses or ponies. our shetlands love to chase lambs. they killed well fracture a lambs leg the first year we bred them. not making that mistake again.

[dyedinthewool]

Hi all,

 Quoted from Trev IOW
 Quote: We used to have ours killed on site by a licenced slaughterman How do I find one local to me; in the same shed they were born in,they never travelled off the 11/2 acres we had so there were no transport costs and no stress to the animals.after slaughter they were hung in a shed with a couple of desk fans blowing on them overnight then taken to our local butcher I've had very negative replies when I inquired of my local butcher about this ;  who used to put them in his cold room for a week then joint them for us.
How do other on this forum get their lambs sorted.

[andywalt]

Hi and welcome from kent.

Id say look forward to turning on your oven next Oct/November, the results can be amazing......


cheers


andy

[Fleecewife]

<<,it is commonly agreed that a sheep's ambition in life is to die!failing that ,make sure the shepherd dies!they can be,and often are ,the most frustrating and stupid of all livestock,which just proves god has a sense of humour!>>

Sorry Trev but that's a load of rubbish used to explain away bad shepherding.  Sheep are not stupid. Their behaviour is appropriate to their natural situation as grazers.  They are prey animals and we are their predators, so we each display different behaviour.  A good shepherd will take the time to understand the way his sheep behave and work with it.  If he works against it, then he is the stupid one and doomed to fail.

[shetlandpaul]

Hi all,

 Quoted from Trev IOW
 Quote: We used to have ours killed on site by a licenced slaughterman How do I find one local to me; in the same shed they were born in,they never travelled off the 11/2 acres we had so there were no transport costs and no stress to the animals.after slaughter they were hung in a shed with a couple of desk fans blowing on them overnight then taken to our local butcher I've had very negative replies when I inquired of my local butcher about this ;  who used to put them in his cold room for a week then joint them for us.
How do other on this forum get their lambs sorted.

home kill mm maybe best not to talkabout on an open forum. if you do kill on farm then only the person that killed it can eat it(well im sure thats what defra say anyway). no butcher is going to risk there living by cutting an animal not approved by the animal inspectors. what you do is up to you. but learning to cut lambs is not to hard.

[shrekfeet]

Home kill is perfect for your situation. Ask around at the merchants, market and neighbours. Someone will know someone who can do it. And do it well. The problem we have in this country is that we conform too much. It is best for the animal and suits your needs. The slaughter man will inspect just as much as the meat inspector will do.

[woollyval]

<<,it is commonly agreed that a sheep's ambition in life is to die!failing that ,make sure the shepherd dies!they can be,and often are ,the most frustrating and stupid of all livestock,which just proves god has a sense of humour!>>

Sorry Trev but that's a load of rubbish used to explain away bad shepherding.  Sheep are not stupid. Their behaviour is appropriate to their natural situation as grazers.  They are prey animals and we are their predators, so we each display different behaviour.  A good shepherd will take the time to understand the way his sheep behave and work with it.  If he works against it, then he is the stupid one and doomed to fail.
/quote]

Well said! Sheep do not want to die ad are not stupid.....its usually those who look after them...or neglect to that are the problem!
Craig...some nice easy bought in ewes with a few lambs at foot over the summer will keep the grass tidy and provide meat for the freezer, then you sell the ewes in the autumn.....and do it again the following year!