Author Topic: Should I still get sheep?  (Read 9791 times)

plumseverywhere

  • Joined Apr 2013
  • Worcestershire
    • Its Baaath Time
    • Facebook
Re: Should I still get sheep?
« Reply #15 on: April 10, 2012, 08:16:50 pm »
When I was pregnant with my eldest I was a gynae sister and as such ran a clinic for women who had bleeding in pregnancy - to me, nearly every pregnant woman had a miscarriage and I because a nervous wreck for 4 months! On here you will hear some of the complications as we seek help and support with our worries so I guess its coming across that lots can go wrong but really is disproportionate.
Just prior to my nanny kidding, the lady I bought her from and who owned the billy goat stud lost twins (stillborn) and had a very hard birth with the next nanny, again I was scared! but all went well and I can honestly say I loved every minute of Puffins labour as she just knew what to do  :)

You don't have to go into lambing right from the start - we've had bottle lambs 2 years running and now have a mini flock of 5. we are learning the ropes with dagging, worming, vaccines etc and so far (touch wood) all straight forward and fun! 
Smallholding in Worcestershire, making goats milk soap for www.itsbaaathtime.com and mum to 4 girls,  goats, sheep, chickens, dog, cat and garden snails...

FiB

  • Joined Sep 2011
  • Bala, North Wales
    • Facebook
Re: Should I still get sheep?
« Reply #16 on: April 10, 2012, 08:53:10 pm »
Echo all above...but still pose letting land as an option!  If you want to see the land used well and to see lambs in the spring - that would still be my recomendation for a few years (a great way of learning the ropes without the responsibilty).  However if you want a time consuming and potentially expensive hobby - go for it!  Especially agree with fleecwife.... we bought in ewe lambs in september from auction (not ideal but no local options at that time) and its been VERY expensive, probably because we are novices and have had to use the vet a lot, rather than self diagnosing.  I am loving them but they are WAY more of a worry and time commitment than I had imagined (much more so that the chickens and pigs). 

in the hills

  • Joined Feb 2012
Re: Should I still get sheep?
« Reply #17 on: April 10, 2012, 09:56:12 pm »
Our Soay have been a pleasure. Bought as lambs and did not lamb in their first year. Think it helped just to take time getting used to handling sheep and picking up as much information from people as possible.All animals are a commitment but have found the sheep no more difficult than anything else. Just my inexperience that worries me at times / worried about missing something important. A good experienced neighbour I have found to be one of the most useful things. My neighbour grazed my land before we got our girls. He told me to keep an eye on them and shout if I spotted anything amiss. He told us when he was worming them, shearing, etc. and we went to watch. Helped us to gain experience and also time to think whether we really wanted sheep.

Pedwardine

  • Joined Feb 2012
  • South Lincolnshire
Re: Should I still get sheep?
« Reply #18 on: April 11, 2012, 10:22:00 am »
Read my 'Feel So Proud' posting! You should get sheep!!!!

Bionic

  • Joined Dec 2010
  • Talley, Carmarthenshire
Re: Should I still get sheep?
« Reply #19 on: April 11, 2012, 10:30:24 am »
Just read it Pedwardine. It sounds as if they had a great experience. 

I hope, when the time comes, my girls can manage as easily.

thanks
Sally
Life is like a bowl of cherries, mostly yummy but some dodgy bits

OhLaLa

  • Joined Sep 2010
Re: Should I still get sheep?
« Reply #20 on: April 11, 2012, 11:28:33 am »
As said, more problems are posted than the 'good news' stories. If you want to keep sheep, I have found it is a case of taking the good with the bad.

Yes, it really is heartbreaking at times, we all have to learn and we don't all have the option of 'doing a course' or 'asking a neighbour with sheep'. In such circumstances - and who knows what problem will be thrown at us out of the blue - we can only do our best.

This year the problems I've had to deal with include abortion, stillborn, rejected, a struggling triplet and a two day old which I took on. And that's just the lambing side of it.

It's good to read what others have had to deal with, and how they've gone about it. The issues that come up may well happen to some of us reading the post and it's helpful to have possible solutions available or have that knowledge under our belt 'just in case'.

I wouldn't be without my sheep, although sometimes it seems I might as well just bed them down on paper money (it all adds up: field shelters, fencing, first aid/other essential kit, milk, shearing, vet etc etc)   ::)

But here is just one reason why I do it. Bless:


suziequeue

  • Joined Feb 2010
  • Llanidloes; Powys
Re: Should I still get sheep?
« Reply #21 on: April 11, 2012, 12:26:18 pm »
Yes - get sheep. They are wonderful, intelligent and observing their behaviour is a real joy - to say nothing of the lambs!!

This is our second year of lambing and so far no unplanned deaths or problems. I feel reluctant to post the good news too much when others are posting up here in difficulties.

Maybe we should have a separate are for good news stories!
We do the best we can with the information we have

When we know better we do better

SteveHants

  • Joined Aug 2011
Re: Should I still get sheep?
« Reply #22 on: April 11, 2012, 01:01:25 pm »
I started with 15 and lambed them all my first year, although I had helped an ex-neighbour with his. I agree that people often post their problems on forms - but thats their nature, its nice to have an online 'support network' when you have problems, so its a positive thing, even though it might not seem like it.

This year I have 102 ewes to lamb, so I obviously enjoy it!

So far: 10 ewes have lambed, 23 lambs on the ground, all mothered up. Only slight hiccup was my quad-bearing ewe, I fostered one onto a twin-bearing ewe as I didn't have any singles lambing at the time. No assisted births, all lambed outside.

I also think your choice of breed helps - if you are nervous, don't get breeds that need a lot if help as a matter of course. Try Lleyns, although I started with Wilts Horns because I didn't want to take on getting them sheared too. I'd be happy to recommend those breeds to anyone. If you do get easy to manage breeds, dont then manage them intensively as it defeats the object. I would start with full-mouthed ewes from an outdoor flock with a good culling policy. You know then that they have had numerous lambs, outside with no intervention, and should do the same for you. Equally, if you have just spent x thousand pounds on sheep, don't be afraid to ring the vendor for after-sales care. Most shepherds I know are only too happy to natter at length about sheep anyway. 

Fleecewife

  • Joined May 2010
  • South Lanarkshire
    • ScotHebs
Re: Should I still get sheep?
« Reply #23 on: April 11, 2012, 01:17:44 pm »
<<< If you do get easy to manage breeds, dont then manage them intensively as it defeats the object>>>

That's a very good point SteveHants  :sheep:
"Let's not talk about what we can do, but do what we can"

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Small Farmer

  • Joined Jan 2012
  • Bedfordshire
Re: Should I still get sheep?
« Reply #24 on: April 11, 2012, 05:30:07 pm »
Lambing is always eventful and exciting but we had no losses or real problems this year, so there wasn't really anything to talk about.  Ours are about a month old and still pronking round the meadow. 
Being certain just means you haven't got all the facts

LouiseG

  • Joined Mar 2009
  • Appleby-in-Westmorland
Re: Should I still get sheep?
« Reply #25 on: April 11, 2012, 08:57:51 pm »
Thank you for all these posts, we've been thinking about a couple of sheep to join us and following our first kidding this year (one goat had one kid :thumbsup:no problems) we are on a high and a farming friend has offered us a couple of year old Southdown ewes so this thread is very well timed and OH has agreed to the girls joining us. We are going to choose them tomorrow  :)
Thank you for a brilliant forum.
So many ideas, not enough hours

colliewoman

  • Joined Jul 2011
  • Pilton
  • Caution! May spontaneously talk rabbits!
Re: Should I still get sheep?
« Reply #26 on: April 11, 2012, 09:15:38 pm »
Also go chat to your local sheep keepers.
I learned quickly as I had 10 sheep given to me, and sod all experience. I went and found my local shetland breeder and knocked on her door asking if I could help. She thought all her christmases had come at once, I learned far more with a flock of 300 than ever I would with my own 10 I had at the time. In the end my girls were moved to her farm and we shared lambing watch, I used her medicines and a good friendship was forged!
I even showed her Balwen rams at the Royal Bath & West Show a couple of times ;D
In fact, It was due to that knock on the door all those years ago that I now have my current sheep, She gave them to me as her neighbors Castlemilk Moorit ram got in with her shetland ewes, but she didn't want to have to send the resulting x bred ewe lambs to slaughter. I was going to buy some older ewes from her, but got these ones for free cos I was doing her a favour :D
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