Sheep
What to Feed Sheep for Prime Wool Production
A large part of raising wool animals is knowing what to feed sheep in order to obtain good quality wool. Feeding choices will vary from place to place.
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Adding New Dogs Into an Existing Livestock Guardian Dog Pack
Many operators incorrectly start their LGD experience by purchasing, training, and using just one dog at a time. They usually find out sooner than later, they should have bought two dogs or more to start. To be used successfully as guardians of livestock, LGDs should be run in pairs or more.
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Accidental Shetland Sheep Farmers
I became what I term as an accidental Shetland sheep farmer. Why do I say that? Well, sheep were not something we had considered for our small homestead.
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Using a Stanchion to Feed a Rejected Lamb
Add to Favorites By Carol Elkins When a ewe rejects her newborn lamb, there are several things that you can do to “persuade” her to change her mind before you …
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Barbados Blackbelly Sheep: Back From the Brink of Extinction
In 2004, there were fewer than 100 Barbados Blackbelly sheep in the U.S.
It took a while for breeders to realize how critical the situation was: Most of us thought there were thousands of these sheep.
Shed or Pasture Lambing
The muffled, deep Maaa of a ewe “talking” to her newborn lambs reaches my ears before I open the barn door. Newborn lambs nursing, tails whirling, makes walking to the barn on frigid mornings worthwhile.
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Lambing Problems Can Arise From Abnormal Birth Positions
Add to Favorites By Lyn Brown, Shear Perfection Ranch – Lambing is always an exciting time on the ranch, but it can also be a scary time for the first-time shepherd. …
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The Beautiful Black Welsh Mountain Sheep
A remarkable characteristic the Black Welsh Mountain sheep, at least within our flock, is that they are happy to cooperate and very glad to do what we’d like them to do.
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When Limping is Not a Sign of Sheep Foot Rot
Don’t you just love how sheep keep teaching us what we never knew we needed to know? The past lambing season was one in which I got an advanced education in “Sheep Feet 101.”
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Dairy Sheep – Consider Icelandic Sheep
What struck me right away when my first Icelandic sheep lambed were the similarities that these sheep had with dairy goats. I had a commercial goat dairy in years past and these ewe lamb mothers had udders that would be respectable for a good milking dairy goat.
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Poultry, Goat, Sheep, Swine, and Cow Gestation Calculator
Where can you find an all-in-one lambing calculator that also works to factor a pig’s gestation period and a cow’s pregnancy length? Here!
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Fiber Festival Fun
One way to maximize your wool value is to target fiber festivals which include spinners, weavers, and dyers. As a small producer specializing in fine wool sheep, our business depends upon finding innovative and profitable ways to market our wool.
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All About Karakachan Livestock Guardian Dogs
Add to Favorites By Cindy Kolb – The Karakachan livestock guardian dog is an LGD breed that has been used for centuries as an integral part of the life of the …
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A Love for Weaving
When asked how long it takes to learn weaving, Linda says, “Well, I’m still learning! But, it probably depends on your instruction method.
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Valais Blacknose Coming to the U.S.
Add to Favorites By Alan Harman Originating from Switzerland, Valais Blacknose are a world heritage breed with an estimated global population of just 13,000 or 14,000, verging on an endangered …
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