Am I crazy? Thinking about raising sheep and lambs

[prichard]

So, the question for the OP is do you just want barn animals or are animals for slaughter OK? Is the with OK with raising them to kill?

I ask because horses are often more like pets than livestock.

 

[quicksandfarmer]

I heard one guy around here say he likes to get a few labs in the spring and let them graze all summer to sell before the snow flies.

Labs? Are they Korean?

(It's a joke, people)

 

[Otto Syracuse]

I just was at a farm last week to buy a lamb for Easter dinner. My friend and I butchered it after the farmer slit its throat. There we several people (mostly ethnic) there doing the same thing with chickens, pigs, goats, etc. The farmer said he did over $1.2 Million in slaughter animals, all on his farm. There were certain rules about the type of facilities he could provide....no meat saws, table, knives..... but he had a hose with hot and cold water, propane burners to burn off hair and feathers and a hanger rack to hang up the animal.
We plan to go back for another lamb when this one is gone.

 

[hslogger]

My first inclination is to say "You're Nuts" but being the goodhearted individual that I claim to be, to soften the blow, I wouldn't recommend it sir.
I don't pretend to know what Michigan is like but in Oregon's Willamette valley, sheep are a big commodity because their is a symbiotic relationship with the grass seed growers. Growers have thousands of acres that are grazed to encourage more shoots, more shoots more seed. Shepherds pay pennies a head a day for the temporary grazing job and move on.

Sheep need shearing, foot trimming, vaccinations. You need proper handling equipment like gates, panels and pens. Steel for permanent location, Aluminum for ease of movement to different places. It is considerable capital investment. At your age there aint any sense in confining them and wrestling them to doctor them. You will need proper set up. I don't see a return on it and don't know how much ground you have.

You need to first examine your market. Raise and sell as feeders? Sell at auction or private treaty? You won't get jack for your wool even if it is designer wool by the time you pay off your shearers. How many ewes can you support? How many bucks do you want to have around? Breed preferences?

It's a young mans' game sir. Lease your ground out to some one with some animals and watch em through the window.

 

[Wagtail]

My first inclination is to say "You're Nuts" but being the goodhearted individual that I claim to be, to soften the blow, I wouldn't recommend it sir.
I don't pretend to know what Michigan is like but in Oregon's Willamette valley, sheep are a big commodity because their is a symbiotic relationship with the grass seed growers. Growers have thousands of acres that are grazed to encourage more shoots, more shoots more seed. Shepherds pay pennies a head a day for the temporary grazing job and move on.

Sheep need shearing, foot trimming, vaccinations. You need proper handling equipment like gates, panels and pens. Steel for permanent location, Aluminum for ease of movement to different places. It is considerable capital investment. At your age there aint any sense in confining them and wrestling them to doctor them. You will need proper set up. I don't see a return on it and don't know how much ground you have.

You need to first examine your market. Raise and sell as feeders? Sell at auction or private treaty? You won't get jack for your wool even if it is designer wool by the time you pay off your shearers. How many ewes can you support? How many bucks do you want to have around? Breed preferences?

It's a young mans' game sir. Lease your ground out to some one with some animals and watch em through the window.

X2

It's the truth being said here.

 

[CobyRupert]

I've looked into this myself. Sheep can be raised for wool or meat. (Some intrepid souls milk sheep but I won't go there.) From what I can gather about the wool business right now, China dominates the world market, and the Chinese can produce wool and ship it to the US for less than it costs to have an animal sheared here. I've read of people who have breeds that need shearing for their health, who have the animals sheared and then burn the wool because it's not worth selling. The exception is if you produce exotic wool that commands a premium, but that seems to be a demanding and competitive business.

Like a lot of things, the money isn't in the raw materials (think: wool, lumber, dairy farm milk, etc...), it's in the finished, retail products.
How good are you and your wife at knitting?

 

[ctrider]

My sister and her husband have been sheep farming for 3-4 years now. My BIL is in his 70's and my sister is close to it. They raise Clun Forest sheep. My sister has them sheared, she cleans the wool, dyes it herself, and spins it and sells the yarn and knits with it too. It has been a lot of work for them, my father and myself. They applied and received an agricultural grant to reclaim some of the fields. They had to put in many fence posts and different pens to keep rams separated at times. They have to buy hay and it has to be a certain grade, they can't have clover for instance. They do sell some of the lambs and have some butchered. They had to get a Llama because we have coyotes, etc here. He became sick and they unfortunately lost him, so they are now looking for another. They seem to enjoy it, but I wouldn't want any part of it, quite frankly. It's a lot of work and they can't venture far from home. During 'lambing' they are constantly staying up at night watching the ewes that are due. It's a lot of work.

 

[flusher]

Goats.

 

[Budweiser John]

This is a tractor forum, nothing that eats or poops ! :laughing:

Well that rules out the majority of us
B. John

 

[Budweiser John]

So, the question for the OP is do you just want barn animals or are animals for slaughter OK? Is the with OK with raising them to kill?

I ask because horses are often more like pets than livestock.

Over the years we have raised chicken, rabbits, pigs, and cattle.
We understand the difference between pets and livestock.
B. John