Sheep?

[bee_pipes]

Is anybody raising sheep? I’d like to hear about it, particularly if you are raising them for milk. How many hours a day you spend taking care of them (ball park), how much land you have for them to graze, how much feed, how many you have, etc. Preferences on breeds, why, etc. Just curious. I don’t know anything about them and would like to hear from somebody with experience. Thanx in advance!

Regards,
Pat (& Karen)

[bee_pipes]

We read the Kingsolver book "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" and tried our hand at making the 30 minute mozzarella. We were so impressed that we got the cheese making book. I had always had the impression you needed great vats and industrial gear - stainless steel boat oars, etc. It's pretty simple. I drink milk with most meals, so milk and cheese are something we have to buy outside. Reading the cheese book they said that sheep's milk has twice the solids of cow or goat milk. Don't know where we are going with this... goats don't look that bad and are pretty common. Didn't know much about sheep and have been reading up on it. Maybe next year. Before any new critters come here we would need to make accommodations like fencing, shelter, etc. There's just me and my wife, and she's not a milk drinker. We would need enough for me and cooking, the rest could be used for experimenting with cheese, butter, yogurt, etc. Since they are herd animals, we would need more than one for a happy critter, but not a whole flock. Wool looks interesting too. We would have to be able to do the shearing - that small number would make calling a pro prohibitive. Then there's the meat...

I've helped with slaughtering pigs and goats, many moons ago. After doing a few chickens by myself and getting the basics down, slaughtering something a little larger does not look so daunting.

It's nice to have a resource like this to learn a little about something before making any decisions. A neighbor down the street has sheep, another has goats. At least I can learn what questions to ask here before walking down and talking to them.

Just pondering on the idea...

Regards,
Pat

[bookwormom]

I heard a man at the goat association say he used to think that sheep were a lot of work, until he got goats.
we have three Katahdin sheep. They are a hair sheep variety. We kept regular sheep for ten years before that.Sheep graze better and neater and seem calmer. We also keep Saanens and intend to keep them together. But we are not planning to build a goat herd anymore, just keep enough milkers to supply the table and put excess bucks in the freezer.