Shoulda got 'em long ago!

[freewheat]

Sheesh. Every morning I go out and feed
the beggars, and I really enjoy just
watching them! I wish I had got them ten
years ago when I first was curious about
the industry. I have found I am a stock
man. My dad was a stockman. I feel like
I have been missing out all these years.
Now, I wish I had a few hundred. If a
guy is feeding 8, he may as well feed a
few hundred! I am hoping for a good crop
of ewe lambs in spring. In a few years,
a guy should have a nice bunch of
them...

Anyway, just rambling on, but I find
them a nice animal. A guy can grab one
and flip it and handle them without
fearing for his or his children's lives.
lol

I am not a curler. May as well feed
something...

[Smithy]

I have had sheep for about a decade and felt the same way...still do. They are really personable animals. I started out with 23 bred ewes from one flock dispersal that were a little bit of eveything breed wise (good way to find out what I liked) and 21 fancy bred Texel X Dorper ewe lambs. I did find though, that it wasn't as much fun when I got up to 135 ewes as you stop "knowing" the individuals. Right now I have 40 mature ewes and 12 replacemant ewe lambs and I find that a lot more satisfying. It is really nice, especially at lambing, to recognise them and know their history without checking the records.

[rook]

Glad to hear they're working out for you. It's also good to start small and grow into it, like you're doing.

[freewheat]

Thanks guys. I re-read my post, and I
thought I could modify it. When I said
may as well have a few hundred, I did
not mean it would not be more work than
the little band I have now. In case I
came across as naive. lol I just was so
tickled that day, and still am, to have
found something I really enjoy. For me,
it beats grain, just in the fun factor.
And hey, one fringe benefit is that I
can plea the fact I have to feed stock,
so do not have to have a 18 day
christmas with the inlaws anymore... ;P

[DogPatch]

Smithy...... what breeds did you end up with?

[Smithy]

I have all 3 way crosses now. Finn Dorper and Texel. I purchased a Suffolk ram this fall for the mature ewes. I will see how the lambs turn out and if I like them I will let the Dorper drop out and stay with Finn Texel Suffolk. The mixed ewes I started with had some Cheviots that I found too "heads up" and some Romneys and Hampshires that were too wooly and had a high percentage lousy moms. The Finns are my favorite but they need to be mixed with something blockier to get good market lambs.

[kato]

freewheat, I agree totally. Compared to being mowed down by a big angry cow, sheep are just plain nice to be around.

We turned the ram out on Dec. 1, and as of yesterday, he had 11 out of 13 ewes bred. The remaining two looked as though they were in heat the day before he went out, so I'm expecting to find them all covered in red chalk today. I can hardly wait until April.

I started with some Canadian Arcott bottle lambs, and bought some Dorset ewe lambs in September. I like both breeds. My ram is Arcott. I guess I'll see in the spring which is the favourite breed, but so far I'm happy with all of them.

[kato]

Update.. breeding season is done. LOL Just have to watch for re-runs for another 17 days, and we're good to go.

[freewheat]

Horny little devils aren't they? Our
breeding season is being interupted by
family gatherings, so we will not release
the ram until we get back. We don't want
him breeding the fill in shepherd at
feeding time. That could be embarrassing.

Shooting for May lambing.

[grefer]

I have been toying with the idea of getting a few
sheep and cutting down on my cattle. Where do
you market your lambs. I know a producer with
organic sheep and he told me his buyer has
gotten cold feet lately.

[freewheat]

Depends where you are. Canada produces
only 40% ish of the lamb meat we consume
here. This is a lot of the reason I
looked at sheep, to produce something we
really need. But one of the canadian
lamb issues, is that many smallholders
get up to say 25 ewes. This leads to
less consistent supply, and a lees
consistent product. There are too many
small flocks, and not enough producers
who take the industry seriously. Not to
knock them at all, but more flocks of 3
4 5 hundred, or a thousand ewes plus,
would help gain market share form places
like new Zealand, and the market is
there indeed.

Kinda going off on a tangent, but we
intend to take the industry seriously,
and believe we could run 1000 or more
ewes in the long term, without needing
more pasture and such.

When one does the math, sheep pencil WAY
better than cattle, produce much more
quickly, and wean much more meat in
weight an acre than the best herd of
cattle. Predators, fencing, and handling
seem to be the fear in the industry.

In Sask, we have the voluntary Sask
sheep development board, which markets
lambs regularly. There are several
feedlots who buy lambs. The price has
slowly come up the last few weeks, after
dropping badly the past few months.

A good time to get into them, IMO.

All that being said, we have a whopping
7 ewes so far!!! So I am one of those at
this point who are hobbyists. But this
is the beginning, fences need building,
a bit of experience needs to be gained
before jumping whole hog.

Buying ewe lambs, breeding them is a
fast way to enter the industry. Within a
year, in theory, your initial investment
in stock should be recovered. Tough to
say that buying cattle. And you should
be able to nearly double your flock in a
year. Also tough to say about cattle.

The mathematics speaks to me.... Trouble
is most today want to curl, go to Hawaii
be generally lazy in the winter.

Grain farming is too easy in some
circumstances. If weather cooperates
etc., there is no incentive to do
anything else. Fortunately/unfortunately
for me, and my family, we have
incentive!!! lol