Keeping Sheep

Wool – There are many different grades of wool from coarse
rug wool to fine, soft wool and all of it is useful. There is a market now for fine hand spinning wool. You can research breeds and see what appeals to you. Merino is the finest of the wools but there are many others that are sought after.

Lambs - I always bred my ewes and had lambs in the spring. I kept any that would improve my flock and sold the rest. Although sometimes I had to be patient, I never had any problems finding buyers.

Meat - If you have a freezer, you can grow a few lambs to put in the freezer and have fresh, grass fed meat for the winter. Any breed can be meat, but some are more economical than others. A large animal will produce more meat for only slightly more cost. Some people raise more meat than they can use so they sell it. This does require having them shipped to a USDA inspected slaughterhouse unless you sell live animals and let the buyer deal with it.

Milk and Cheese – Sheep dairies are cropping up in the US, particularly in the midwest and in New England. There are several breeds of sheep that were developed for milk and cheese, most notably the East Friesian.

Lawnmoving – Sheep make excellent lawnmowers. They will keep a field down and enrich the soil at the same time. Goats like to browse and will keep trees and brambles down. Sheep prefer to graze on grass.

Sheep Watching - There is nothing so peaceful as gazing out over a field of grazing sheep. I’ve read that a real shepherd in Scotland could tell you the pedigree of each sheep in his large flock.

Conservation – at one time, sheep were the driving force behind many of the world’s economies. Today, with the competition of synthetic fibers and large, super farms, some breeds of sheep have fallen on the endangered list. Diversity is important because it can preserve the health of the entire sheep population. Some breeds are locally available but still may be on the watchlist.

Sheep are pretty hardy and carry a little barn on their backs. Their fleece acts as insulation and protection from the elements. They really only need protection from wind and severe winter storms. Lambs, of course, need more protection for a few days until they are ready to go out with the flock.

They can do well with sufficient grass during the summer months. In winter, they will need good quality hay and maybe some pellets or corn and of course fresh, clean water at all times.

They need hoof trimming once a year and shearing once or twice a year unless they are hair breeds such as Katahdins. Other than periodic worming there's really not much to keeping sheep.

Sheep have an advantage in that they don’t climb on things the way goats do. While lambs will play king of the hill, goats relish a challenge and more than one person has found them dancing on top of their car. Some sheep will jump fences that are too low, and will rub on them but they don’t tend to climb and stand on the fence the way goats do. They have to be trained to electric fencing, however. The fleece will protect them from the wire.