The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: Buffy the eggs layer on July 07, 2012, 10:24:45 pm
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Hi All,
I am hoping to soon become the proud owner of some wiltshire horn lambs.
Can you tell me what I need in anticipation of their arrival?
I have got some hurdles, foot spray, feed troughs, fenced paddocks, water troughs, fold barn.....What else do I need to buy? And can you recomend any suppliers?
Buffy
takecan you tell me what I need buy
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A means of gathering them up efficiently..... We don't have a sheep dog so we built our paddock fencing in such a way that we can herd the sheep into a long narrow strip and then drive them to one end. Very handy.
Also - have you thought about dragging shears, foot trimmers, teramycin (antibiotic) spray, licks,...."
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You need to worm them and treat feet when they arrive (foot spray or footbath), plus think about fly treatment. Are they bucket trained - if not, I'd feed them a few pellets for the first week so they get used to you. (A bucket can be a a good substitute for a dog, but it really isn't not as cuddly). You may want a vitamin drench or bucket lick and ear tagging equipment.
Otherwise its all the lambing equipment which you can delay until you need it.
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A muscle-building course, Tim Tyne's book and more hours in the day
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watch out which hay feeder you use as prone to catching their horns in it. I have one and she used to jump into the hay ring and out the other side. Never had a problem just a pain at foot trimming time as horns are sharp and catch my arms when they are sat down.
Enjoy, they are great characters. WIsh I had more as no shearing!!
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I've had wilts for years - although I now have lleyns and lleyn x wilts too.
Wilts are fairly thrifty sheep - keep plenty of grass under them, no need to cake em really. I used rockies as mineral licks. They are also a bit....liveley, but you bareley have to handle them so its swings and roundabouts.
Should lamb outside, unaided - avoid buying from people who lamb indoors if you want to lamb outside.
They should be wormed before they get to you - its common courtesy.
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Be warned!! Sheep are more addictive than all the class A's put together ;D
My suggestion for what you will need is another 3 (at least) hours in the day, to make up for the ones that will fly by watching your new charges :love:
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Yes - I agree with Colliewoman...... that'll be another three hours on top of the three you spend watching your chickens....... ;D ;D ;D
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Great news, very exciting. Will await photos :thumbsup:
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I second thinking of a good way of gathering them (it's the thing that causes me the biggest problems here) and training them to a bucket.
Tim Tyne's book is excelllent. As of course, is this forum :thumbsup:
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My blue bucket is invaluable. The sheep, I only have 3 and have only had them for a month, watch me like a hawk. As soon as they see me with the bucket they come over.
I put the feed in the bucket but actually feed each one seperately by hand. They only get 2 sheep nuggets each a day. Its just enough to keep them friendly.
I am now able to run my hands all over their heads and look at their teeth. Of course they don't need that done each day but it gets them used to me touching them. Today I started picking up their hooves. I can do all of this when they are confined in the hurdles but if I can get them used to it I hope it will save any agro when the 'real' time comes.
Sally
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Thanks Everyone,
I currently have 6 guest sheep that belong to a friend who come when called in exchange for a rich tea biscuit. Some of them enjoy a good scratch or a stroke others just grab a biscuit and dodge the human contact.
O.H has made enough wooden hurdles for us to chanel them from one field to another or into the stable block where we bring them to spray their feet.
I have had a look on mole valley farmers site for supplies but I'm a bit bewildered by the aray of wormers and fly sprays. Perhaps the Tim Tyne book will help with this.
My plan is to buy 5 of this years ewe lambs from a local breeded and spend a year getting to know them and winning them over before buying an unrelated ram once I have had some lambing training and hope to increase my flock with some more new ewes and sell or eat the rams.
Will I need to bring them in if we have a heavy snow fall like last year? Will they need hay or just hard feed if ther are indoors?
Buffy
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I don't know how hardy they are so hopefully someone else who knows the breed can answer that bit. Mine stay out but then these and my previous breed are hill sheep.
When I bring mine in for lambing (for my convenience) they get hay as well as hard feed - hay keeps the rumen working well.
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I've never brought a wilts indoors. I dont have any buildings anyway. They are thrifty sheep - try not to overfeed esoecially when they are in lamb.
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I think it's a good idea to buy ewes at the end of the summer and get to know them over the winter before sending them to the tup again. (I'm biased because that's how we did it and it worked out very well :D ).
We haven't gone the whole hog and bought a tup. We send ours to a friend up the road who also breeds Badgers and he seems to have a different fella every year so we just get the debs delight that particular year. He is a championship breeder so we trust his judgement of the tup side of things.
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There's at least two threads running on wormers and pour-on fly treatments at the moment but if you go to the SCOPS site you will find a list of every current wormer.
Find a vet you like and make friends with her round here all vets under 40 are female. They usually much prefer to give free advice than to rescue you at six o'clock on a sunday morning.
I recall someone posting a thread to the effect that the Wiltshire Horn will demolish her way out of any shed.
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I've never brought a wilts indoors. I dont have any buildings anyway. They are thrifty sheep - try not to overfeed esoecially when they are in lamb.
I would agree with Steve mine seem to do best on grass, I have been told over feeding with dry feed can lead to lambing and milk problems. I lamb indoors and outdoors depending on conditions I have a small shed. Some years I have lambed everything out of doors.
I have hay feeders on wheels for square bales which work well and a big round bale feeder for sheep with horns.
Got to be honest here I really like them.
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My first mistake in my first year with Wilts was that I felt sorry for them when there was snow on the ground so I caked them, even though I could see they were blowing the snow off and grazing.....I ended up with some awful, massive singles to pull....never again.
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Well its great to hear that those of you with Wilts give them the thumbs up :thumbsup:
Borrowing a tup or returning the flock to be served would be mu prefered option rather than investing in one. This would mean that I use a different tup for any new ewe lambs that I keep.
I have a great vet practice that I have used for years and they are brilliant at giving sound practicle advice and saving me money. The vet that used to treat my last horse keeps sheep and recently recomended a can of spray for foot scald that has worked a treat. I will ask him to recomend a starter kit of essential supplies.
The Tim Tyne book is on order awaiting reprint.
I just need to find a place round here where I can hire a trailer from.
:sheep: :love:
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You will rarely find an owner of a native or rare breed who doesn't talk up his/her chosen breed. One gets used to their deficiencies.
There's a massive flock of Wlltshires not far away from us at Offley but I know a few people locally who tried them and didn't get on with them. One farmer who runs 500 commercial crosses said he couldn't be bothered with difficult sheep. I guess bucket fed animals will be different.
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Add a drenching gun to your list, and a double ended crook, long rubber gloves, and the mort mans phone number to your phone list. :innocent: