One of the most common questions asked by both new and experienced shepherds is “How Many Sheep Per Acre of Pasture is Ideal?”. While there are good numbers to base your sheep stocking rate decisions on (and we’ll include those in this article), the short answer is that the sheep space requirements in your flock …
Electric sheep shears are an important piece of equipment for your farm, and properly maintaining the shears you own will ensure they run safely, and perform well for a long time. Most people who complain that their shears don’t cut well, or run too hot don’t have defective sheep shears or sheep shearing blades, they simply …
Tagging sheep ears is an important flock management practice which is inexpensive, and can make accurate record keeping much easier. In addition to the numeric value of your ear tags, a well-planned sheep tagging system can make it easy to look into a large pen or paddock full of lambs or adult sheep, and quickly …
Docking sheep tails, or sheep tailing, is a flock management practice of shortening the tail of sheep to improve the health of sheep and lambs. By preventing fecal matter from accumulating on the tail and rear of your sheep, you can help to avoid serious health issues like fly strike (wool maggots). In fact, research …
We hope you’ll find this free, easy-to-use sheep gestation calculator to be a useful tool when estimating the lambing date for the ewes in your flock. Simply enter the date when your ram bred your ewe and click the “Calculate!” button. The expected lambing date is based on 147 day sheep gestation period and the …
One of the least enjoyable, but very necessary duties of the shepherd is trimming sheep hooves. If you’re just getting started or have somehow (miraculously) been able to pass this off to a friend (or angel of mercy) in the past, chances are that your good luck won’t last forever and the time will come …
If you’re searching for the best wormer for sheep, you’re not alone. There are so many different sheep drench and dewormer products on the market today, that it can be confusing. Deciding what product to use, when to use it, and what the proper dosage is for worming sheep will be important for any shepherd. …
One of the annual tasks that’s part of nearly every sheep farm’s annual ritual is shearing. Often, shearing the sheep on your farm will become an event. You might invite neighbors or kids to come and help out or observe the process. And the hard work you’ve done keeping your sheep’s fleece clean all winter …
There are many resources which detail common sheep lambing signs. Still, we thought it would be useful to offer the most important and the clearest signals in a short and clear list. From changes in behavior (like pawing at the ground) to physical changes like bagging up and the swelling of teats – there are …
It’s November and whether you have had your first snowfall or you live in a southern climate where the nights are simply getting a bit cooler this time of year, November means that the growth of the grass in your pastures has slowed or stopped altogether. Whether you have a handful of sheep on a …