[justme83]

Hi all,
we are looking to start a flock of sheep (excited!)
due to unexpected vets costs for a young horses which are going to be ongoing for quite some time we have a limited budget.  We ideally want a flock so that we can: improve our grassland, raise some for meat, do some sheepskin rugs and TBH have fun with as I know my children will love having them around.  We already have some goats and I assume the sheep are pretty similar husbandry wise.
Where is the best place to source cheap/reasonable sheep?  being inexperienced we dont really want to go to the sales.  A few have said go for older ewes which are broken mouthed?  The other option we thought of is to raise some cades (done the costings for that and doesnt seem too bad).
Would we be ok to mix breeds within a flock?  we quite fancy doing that if possible just to have a nice mix to look at. 
They will also be sharing with some horses field wise so is there any suggestions on the best way of managing this (i know i'll have to be careful with licks etc), would they be ok to share with the goats?
Any other hints and tips!?

[Anke]

I would not have new sheep sharing a field with either goats or horses. Wrt goats - sheep and goats share the same worms, but adult sheep are usually tolerant of a larger burden than goats are, so your goats may suffer as a result. Also worming doses for goats higher than for sheep. Wrt horses - unless your horses are used to sheep again it will need careful introduction, sheep are easily killed by a well-aimed kick from a horse....


If you want different kinds of sheep to look at - Shetlands come in various colours, are not massive, lots of them around, and unless you buy from "top" breeders probably sensibly priced.


I can recommend Tim Tyne's book on sheepkeeping, all the info you need for starting with sheep.

[twizzel]

Pet lambs are an expensive way to go into sheep and quite often a steep learning curve at a time when a gentle introduction is probably needed! All manner of things can go wrong. To start with I would have a few store lambs, to make sure you can bring yourself to Send them off when the time comes and Hopefully not have too many unexpected problems so you can get used to keeping sheep and routine care. No problem with varying breeds but quite often if ewes especially breeding ewes seem cheap then they are cheap for a reason. As above a more primitive type of sheep would be cheaper to purchase but probably not make a quick growing, really meaty carcass. We run Lleyn ewes, a nice medium sized maternal ewe. Mine aren't registered but are purebred. Buy the best you can afford if you're buying breeding stock and you stand yourself in good stead for the future, even if it means buying a few less than intended to get better quality.

[Fleecewife]

Primitives are relatively cheap compared to larger sheep, and a breed such as Shetland does have advantages for your situation.  They are very tame as pets for your children (sheep which disappear over the horizon at the first sign of humans are not very interesting to children).  Shetlands come in a variety of colour schemes, so make lovely interesting skins, and inevitably make you want to learn to spin to use the beautiful fleeces.  Some may be ready for slaughter in the autumn, although many may need to be overwintered to reach a usable carcase size.  However, the superb taste makes up for the smaller size.


It wouldn't be my first choice to have sheep sharing pasture with equines or goats, for the reasons given by others.  I would not buy broken mouthed ewes - a false economy, as you would simply be buying in problems,vet bills and knacker fees.  Shetlands can be bought for about £30 as weaned lambs in August, direct from a breeder.  There are plenty of Shetland keepers all over Britain, so there will be some near you, although they will probably have sold their this year's stock by now.  By buying lambs, you will have a year to learn about keeping sheep, and to tame and get to know your animals before you go for breeding them.  You may find some wethers available which can be grown on for slaughter next summer.

[Marches Farmer]

I agree sheep + horses in same field = Bad Idea.  Not just kicking but horses will pick up a sheep in their teeth and shake it.  Read Tim Tyne's book Sheep Keeping for Smallholders.  You will need a CPH number and Flock Number.  Store lambs is a good entry point into sheep-keeping - preferably wethers (castrated males) which will prevent you from getting ideas about breeding until you've some experience.   

[harmony]

Horses and sheep may not mix. The horses might kick them or pick them up and shake them. There again they might not!


My horses and sheep share grazing and I do not have a problem.


You mention young horses with ongoing vets bills. You don't say how much grazing you have.  Young horses who haven't seen sheep could well be curious and cause problems especially if you don't have a lot of grazing and escape routes for the sheep. You know your horses better than us. Some people use electric tape at a height the sheep can get under but sheep (and horses) can get tangled in it.


If you have a problem have you got a plan B of where the sheep could be kept?


Sheep can be costly in vet/medicine terms too. Especially having a few as most wormers etc don't come in sizes with smallholders in mind.

[Oopsiboughtasheep]

My 6 sheep are currently in with my horses with no problems at all. They all graze side by side and lay down together quite contendedly (when they could be acres apart if they chose to be). They were previously in with my 4 donkeys, also with no problems. I started off with electric fencing set up so that they could graze alongside one another and was very careful about introduction. Like any mixing of animals (even of the same breed) it just needs careful assessment, common sense and an understanding that some animals are 'prey' animals and others are not. My donkeys, horses and dogs (Dalmatians) are perfectly OK mixed in with my sheep, but I don't trust my young donkeys with my dogs (!!) so I don't take the dogs into their field. All individual animals are different.

[pharnorth]

I ran some of my Ryelands with my horses earlier in the year.  I used some electric tape to create a horse free corner as a sheep escape if they were bothered.  (one piece of tape high enough for the sheep to get under) it had a hurdle corale inside so I could catch them easily.

Basically all worked fine while the grass was a reasonable length. I moved the sheep,elsewhere when the grazing got poor as more likely to have problems when less grazing also be aware sheep need the grass longer then most breeds of horse.

[bj_cardiff]

My sheep and horses get on fine, to introduce I'd put the sheep in a field with plenty of grass. Introduce the horses and hopefully they'll be more interested in the grass. If you introduce she sheep to the horses territory then their bound to be very interested.

I'd buy ewe lambs, look on sites like Preloved. The chance to see the lambs on their farm and the advice you can get from the farmer is usually very good. I'd stick to the same type/breed as their more likely to eat the same amounts, mature at the same rate etc. Some breeds will need a lot more feed and care than others.

[honeyend]

I agree with the above. My first sheep came from a small flock, that were used for training sheep dogs. They were very friendly right from the start, and not frightened of my dogs, who are not sheep trained. They came wormed on the day I collected them.
  They grazed with the horses, and although they had a refuge, with a high strand of electric they never really used it and even the young ponies left them alone.
  The next lot where not well handled, from a big flock and took me most of the summer to come for a bucket, which is really useful when the little ***** get out. They are going to the butcher next week.

[bazzais]

Its worth popping round to the surrounding farms that have sheep and asking them what they have for sale.

I assume by what your saying it wont be a flock your breeding - ie no lambing time? But something you can bring on and make use of for grazing.

You might find ewes that would be sent as a cull that you can take on to use as a mower and see good meat yields and be able to make a rug out of. If your not breeding - baron ewes.