[john and helen]

when we get there, !!! shouldn't be to long now, after i have hedged and stock fenced, i am going to over seed the paddock with a sheep grazing grass seed (with clover) the field at the moment, has had cows grazing..i have read on here, that cattle and sheep worms are specific ..so thats good news ..but there will be a 4-5 months where no animals will graze over the winter period, and hopefully the new grass seed would have helped produce a good graze

i have been looking at the Welsh black mountain sheep, a bread that seems to have a good name,
so am i on the right tracks for getting the paddocks ready, looking to keep 4-5 sheep , 2 for the freezer and 2-3 to breed later next year

[Dans]

Just to say it is the same fluke that infects sheep and cattle, so that is one you may want to keep an eye out for.

Dans

[john and helen]

thanks dans

[Anke]

But when you get your sheep worm them (probably with Zolvix) and keep inside or in small pen until you get a clear worm count 10 to 14 days post worming. Otherwise you may just import a nice new load of worms onto your clean pasture.... been there, done that and still wearing the damn t-shirt...

[thenovice]

Don't get too stressed about the worm thing, all sheep have/get parasites, its part of keeping livestock. Just make sure that they are good healthy looking animals that are well kept, are wormed before they get to you, and you have a decent worming routine 

[john and helen]

 

not worried about worming, but just want to get things right from the start,
as you say Novice, its all part of keeping livestock,

Anke , thats a great point and makes sense, who ever i buy off, i will be looking for good breeders with a good name

[TheCaptain]

Speak to your vet about a flock management programme re: worming, and try and get as much knowledge from either them or your local friendly sheep farmer regarding other parasites (esp. fluke - your area may be prone to fluke, although I think every area was affected by fluke last year as it was so wet)

[TheCaptain]

you may also want to think about getting them, and if you've got the space doing a worm count on them before worming them (a fairly swift turn around if you've got the kit ready to go). No point in worming stock if they've got no worms to be wormed for as it just makes them even more resistant...

[Bionic]

You probably don't have a vet in the new area yet but Bush House in Llandeilo is very good with worming etc. One of the vets in particular is very keen on the subject and has done talks on it for their customers.

[Foobar]

Paddock or paddocks?
Ideally you want to have a paddock rotation system, where you have several (6 is perfect) paddocks and the sheep are moved one from to the next in sequence every week or so (depending on the size of the paddocks, number of sheep etc).  You will get much better grass utilisation this way, and it will mean you will have more grass available over winter.
In the height of the grass growing season you may find that the grass grows too fast for the sheep so then you can remove one or two of the paddocks from the system and let that grass grow long for cutting for hay or silage.  Then reintroduce them once the aftermath has grown sufficiently.

[Backinwellies]

Might be worth trying to handle black welsh mountain sheep .......... most mountain breeds are quite lively!

[steve_pr]

Backinwellies has a point. We liked the idea of Black Welsh Mountains, but our next door neighbour (who has a few decades of experience on this subject) said that they were not called that for nothing - they don't respect fences and are likely to rapidly head off for the black welsh mountains!  I read another post from someone who said (perhaps a little tongue in cheek) that they did most of their inspections using binoculars since they could never get anywhere near the darned things!!


Think seriously about something a little less flighty that will happily come to a bucket - makes life easier!  We have some Ryelands but mainly Grey Faced Dartmoors who will happily form a (disorderly) queue at mealtimes!

[Foobar]

Might be worth trying to handle black welsh mountain sheep .......... most mountain breeds are quite lively!

If you want calm sheep buy from a calm flock .  There are plenty of non-lively BWMs about, just ask the breeder(s) when you go to look for some to buy, say that you don't want any that are escape artists or super-flighty.  And to be honest it's mostly about how you manage/shepherd them; if you manage them calmly then they will be calm around you, and they are very easy to bucket train etc.
Mine come when they are called, and I don't need a dog to move them.

[john and helen]

thankyou all, plenty of food for thought

[darkbrowneggs]

I bought my first couple of ewes from a showing flock.  They were well handled for the show ring and very easy for me.  When I bought more the others just followed the original ones.


As I mentioned in another post I never had any trouble with mine, though everyone told me they would be difficult


lHave a look at the society website there are some good breeders on there
http://www.blackwelshmountain.org.uk/sheep-sale