Preparing For Sheep
by Pegg Thomas
Spinners who live rural and have a bit of land are tempted to start their
own spinner’s flock. The idea of a flock of sheep from which to spin
‘start to finish’ garments is appealing to many. Having sheep you know
and have named and care for make the resulting garments even more special.
And there is still a pioneer spirit in many of us which drew us into spinning
in the first place.
As with keeping any type of animals, however, there are responsibilities
and costs involved. Some would-be shepherds get very discouraged by
the unexpected realities of keeping sheep. In Part 1, let’s look at
the practical side of shepherding a small flock of sheep.
The first consideration, of course, is land. Sheep need space to
live and graze. This can vary widely depending on where you live.
Many rural areas have zoning regulations that you need to check out before
beginning your flock. Some places allow for livestock only if you have
10 or more acres, some allow only a certain number of animals per acre, some
have special fencing requirements, etc. This must be researched thoroughly
before any investment is put into the project!
To learn how many sheep you can support per acre, you need to do some
serious research. How many sheep your land will sustain is dependent
on factors such as climate, soil type, soil condition, rainfall, etc.
The best first step is to have your potential pasture land soil tested.
Find out what needs to be added to the soil for good growth of pasture.
Any local feed mill should be able to send a sample in for you to be tested.
Be sure and follow the recommendations. Adding lime, nitrogen, or other
needed additives is an expense, but it can save you time, money and energy
in the long haul. There is nothing like good pasture for keeping sheep!
The next logical step is to talk with local shepherds and find out how
many sheep per acre they are able to stock on their pastures. While
your land may not be exactly like theirs, even within a mile of each other,
it will give you a general idea. In my area of northeastern Michigan,
for example, I can comfortably stock 10 ewes on 3 ½ acres (using
rotational
grazing practices) with their offspring without feeding any hay or
supplements from mid April to early November. When the snow flies, we
start feeding hay.
Once you know that you can legally keep sheep, you have an idea of how
many you can keep and you have your pasture land prepared, the next step
is to put up fence. This is the expensive step and one that cannot
be treated lightly. Fencing has two purposes. One is to keep
the sheep in and the other is to keep predators out. Predators in your
area may be coyotes, neighbor dogs, bears, cougars or even the two legged
variety. Most sheep will come to respect your fence <i>(although
there are jumpers and escape artists out there in the sheep world, these
are best handled by shipping them to the auction or butcher)</i> but
each new predator will test it again and again. So you need a reliable
fence. <a href="http://www.premier1supplies.com/">Premier Supplies</a>
has excellent suggestions and materials for constructing sheep and predator
fencing. Request one of their catalogs and study the different options
available in fencing to decide what will work for you on your land.
Sheep need some sort of shelter. What type depends on climate and
the shepherd’s preference. In the hot climates, shade to find relief
from the heat is important. This can be a stand of trees, a hoop shelter
or anything that gives shade. In the cold climates, winter shelter
is important. It can be as simple as a 3 sided shack up to a fancy barn.
Many shepherds in the cold weather areas prefer a barn for their own comfort
at chore time! And if you will need to feed hay in the winter months,
storage space is needed.
The importance of these steps cannot be stressed enough. Poor ground
that will not grow pasture, 10 sheep on an acre of muddy slop, frequent fence
breaks and sheep lost to predators are all causes for beginning shepherds
to throw in the towel and give up. Research and investment ahead of
purchasing the sheep can make a huge difference!
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