How do I take care of sheep?

[Ljubica]

Ok so this is my first year of 4H and im getting sheep (im doing market and breeding). BUT i'm not really sure how to take care of them. So please help im getting them in march but still i want to know as soon as possible how to be a good sheep owner so please help me out guys

[RATTIE]

I don't know much about sheep but this site seems like a good site about sheep http://www.danekeclublambs.com/HomePage.html

[~2K~]

I used to own a few sheep before, so I might be able to help with a few of your questions. What kind of sheep are they? How old will they be?
What animals have you owned in the past?
Feel free to shoot me any questions you may have and I'll try to answer them.

[Ljubica]

When we get them they'll be lambs and I've owned hamsters, cats, and three cows. Also i've played with horses a lot but have never actually owned one.

[~2K~]

Thanks for the list of animals, I was hoping that you had taken care of goats, because they are alot like sheep (though you should never feed sheep goat feed.)

Sheep vaccinations:
I used a 7-in-one vaccination that worked great.You'll need a 3/4 inch needle, and the shot will be given subcutaneously (under the skin), though you always want to check the back of the vaccination bottle to double check and make sure. The first round of shots should be given at 6 to 8 weeks of age, followed by a booster 4 weeks later. I've did the vaccination myself plenty of times with no problems, you just need to make sure that there's no air in the syringe before you administer the shot. I gave the shot on their neck, it was the easiest spot to get to.
You may want someone to hold the lamb/s when you do this, even if their tame to insure that they don't launch away from you with the needle still in.

Worming:
http://www.valleyvet.com/sheep_wormer.html
*Remember to check the bottle of sheep wormer to see the instructions on the bottle. The instructions on the website is kinda what I followed, though keep in mind that the more you worm them, the more likely that the worms will become immune to the wormer, so once they're a year, you may want to drop back to once every 3-4 months.

Hoof trimming:
Some people use a sharp knife to do hoof trimming, but I found something else..
http://www.ebay.com/itm/DELUXE-Goat-She ... 2563ebde50
They worked really well, and my brother uses them for his goats hooves too.

When you go to trim the sheeps hooves, you will just want to cut off the access hoof. Depending on what kind of feed they are, how good the grass they eat is, and if they are able to walk around on rocks (which would help ground down their hooves) will make a differance as to how often you should trim their hooves. The better feed they have and the more soft grassy ground they walk on the more often you will have to trim.
These links should help you with the trimming process.
http://www.greenerpasturesfarm.com/HoofTrim.html
http://www.ehow.com/how_2073411_trim-sheeps-hooves.html

Feed:
See what kind of feed the owner has the sheep on before or when you go to get the sheep, if you are able to give them the same kind of feed as the previose owner, it will make the transition from his/her farm to yours easier on the lambs. Then, after they settle in, you can change their feed gradualy to something else if you want.
The lambs will need minerals, so get them a salt block and a mineral block. The mineral block must NOT be for horses, cattle or goats, it MUST be for sheep. Sheep have differant mineral needs then horses, cattle and goats, and if you give them mineral blocks for anything but sheep, it could cause them to overdose on certain minerals and can kill them.
When you first put in the salt block and the mineral block, you will need to watch them to make sure that they don't eat to much of it. Put it in for 30 minutes the first day, then for 45 minutes, then an hour, and so on until your sure that they won't overeat the salt and mineral block.

I'm not sure what kind of lambs you will be getting, but some sheep just like to eat grass, while others will eat just about anything they can get their mouths on. They should be fed Timothy hay when there's no grass to eat (like during winter time).


Fencing:
Depending on the sheep that you get (as in, rather or not you get excape artists like I had..) Fencing is very important, it will keep your sheep protected from outside preditors for the most part, and will keep your sheep in so you don't have to wonder around your property and everyone elses trying to find your sheep.
I used regular stock fencing.

Put if you want to do electrical fencing then that's ok too. Some people use wood fencing, but if the boards are too far apart them the sheep will just walk through the fence.
DO NOT USE BARBED WIRE FENCING FOR YOUR SHEEP!
Sheep love to lean and rub on the fencing (their wool coat makes them itchy), so they scratch on the fencing. Becuase of that, make sure that the fencing is secure.

Are they both going to be ewes?
You will also want to check out any sheep books you can from the library, maybe buy a few books (I had a few, so I'll post a few links). I would recommend joining a sheep forum, but there's not really a good one out there.
This book was the best one I had, so you really need to get it, it will help you ALOT with really anything you need to know about sheep.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/160342 ... MBBJBD3FPG
I had these too, but they weren't as good as the first book I posted.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/159228 ... MBBJBD3FPG
http://www.amazon.com/Sheep-Book-Handbo ... 0804010323


When you go to get the sheep, you will want to check over them to make sure that their healthy. Check to make sure they don't have diarrhea, that their eyes and nose are clear, you can also check the conformation of the sheep. Which is basicly checking to make sure that the legs are nice and straight, and that their not bent inward or outward. Make sure to atleast look at the rest of the flock to make sure that they are healthy looking as well and they have a good living space. Ask the person if he/she's had any problems in the past with any of the sheep getting any diseases and such. It's important to make sure that the flock your getting the lambs from are just as healthy as the lamb, because if the rest of the flock doesn't look healthy, then it would be a good sign to walk away from the whole deal. If the flocks unhealthy, then there's a pretty good chance that the lambs your getting won't have good health either.

The sheep that I had were hair sheep, so I can't help you any in the sheering department.
If they're the sheering kind of sheep, ask if you can come back while they're sheering so that you can watch them sheer the sheep and if they are willing, ask if you can sheer one of their sheep after they have sheered a few and your more confortable with what to do.


Make sure to get blood stop powder if you don't already have some, that way if one of your lambs gets hurt on fencing, sheering, ect, then you can stop the bleeding easily.


That's really all I can think of for now, though if you think of anything else feel free to ask, now or after you get the lambs.

[Ljubica]

ty so much