You can feed the following treats (in moderation) to your sheep:
- Black oil sunflower seeds (which can improve their coat)
- Alfalfa cubes (females only)
- Carrots
- Apples
- Celery
- Lettuce
- Grapes
- Oats
- Pumpkin
- Pears
- Watermelon
- Squash
Full Answer
What do hair sheep eat?
Unlike a goat, hair sheep will actually eat grass, but is not just limited to grass. They love clover and alfalfa. They also really appreciate leafy things like trees, bushes and willows. They will eat certain weeds, but not all weeds. Low Maintenance: With everything you just read above you can see that these sheep are pretty low maintenance.
How can I increase the finish weight of my hair sheep?
Finish weights can be increased by crossing hair sheep ewes with larger-framed terminal sire breeds, but the lambs will still not finish as heavy as crosses between western white-faced ewes (e.g. Rambouillet) and large terminal sire breeds (e.g. Suffolk). Finish weights will also vary with the genetics of hair sheep.
Can you mix hair sheep with wool sheep?
Producers who aim to produce high quality wool should probably not mix hair sheep with wooled sheep, especially when the hair sheep are actively shedding. It is possible that hairs from the hair sheep will get into the fleeces of the wooled sheep. Hair (also called kemp) is very undesirable in wool processing.
Are easy care hair sheep too good to be true?
Hair sheep will be excellent and doting mothers to their twins and triplets. These sheep will need minimal shelter as their thick and fuzzy wool/hair combo will keep them warm all Winter long. Wow, sounds easy! This breed of hair sheep may be too good to be true. What are Easy Care Hair Sheep? All new hybrid breeds begin with old base breeds.
What do you feed hair sheep?
Sheep can eat hay, silage, green chop, balayage or crop by-products. Hay is the most common choice. However, silage or haylage can also be fed to sheep, but you need to be careful about feeding it. It should be fermented and stored in a silo that keeps air out.
What is the best food to feed sheep?
hayFeeding Farm Sheep Sheep make excellent use of high-quality roughage stored either as hay or low-moisture, grass-legume silage or occasionally chopped green feed. Good-quality hay or stored forage is a highly productive feed; poor-quality forage, no matter how much is available, is suitable only for maintenance.
What is the best grain for sheep?
Barley is a useful feedstuff for sheep. It contains a similar level of energy and higher level than corn. Barley is an excellent supplement to ewe diets during late gestation and lactation or when forage quality is low.
Is sugar good for sheep?
A study published by Cambridge University Press in 2009, looked at the effect of sugar supplementation on the physiology of sheep and found that sugar supplementation greatly increased available energy for the animal through production of ruminal propionate.
How often should you feed sheep?
During the first and second periods sheep should be fed daily, then intermittent feeding should be introduced. By the 5th or 6th period, the feed should be put out once every 3-4 days.
What vegetables are good for sheep?
78 Healthy Snacks Sheep Can EatCeleryPearsHoneysuckle BushCarrotsRosemaryWatermelonDandelionsBroadleaf PlantainDillCrabapple Tree Leaves34 more rows•Jan 5, 2020
Is baking soda good for sheep?
Affected sheep can be drenched with 15g of baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) in 600ml of water. Repeat if necessary. Losses can occur when sheep are given high protein feeds after a period of fasting or after moving from dry pastures to rapidly growing crops.
Is Cracked corn good for sheep?
Tips. Adult sheep should only be fed whole corn, never cracked corn, to reduce the potential for developing acidosis. Acidosis is a serious condition that can cause the rumen to stop working and may lead to death.
What is poisonous to sheep?
Toxic plants we are generally well aware of include Yew, Rhododendron, Laburnum, Leylandii and the leaves of potato and rhubarb. Perhaps less well known are laurel and the wilted leaves of stoned fruit trees (plum, damson etc.) or Elder.
Is honey good for sheep?
Findings from a study performed in healthy sheep showed that administration of honey increased serum protein, albumin, hemoglobin, white blood cell counts and neutrophil percentage, while it decreased blood urea nitrogen [110] .
Can sheep eat bananas?
A sheep cannot live only on leucaena. A diet of pure leucaena can be poisonous. Watch that your sheep eat feeds other than leucaena. Crops of bananas, cassava and leucaena can be planted in alleys for best results.
Are apples good for sheep?
While you must be careful not to give your sheep too much apple, a little bit of apple can be a good addition to the sheep's diet. Apple skin has fiber and potassium, and there are many vitamins and nutrients in apple that can benefit your sheep.
What do sheep like to eat as a treat?
Sheep are fed hay (dried grasses) when pasture is unavailable, so crunchy hay cubes made from alfalfa hay, one of the sweetest pasture forages, are naturals for treats. Crumble these--or similar feed cubes including grain, intended for horses--for another easy sheep treat.
Is all stock feed good for sheep?
F-R-M ALL STOCK 10 FEED IS A TEXTURED (SWEET) FEED AS A MAINTENANCE DIET FOR HORSES, CATTLE, LLAMAS, AND GOATS. *Warning: Contains Copper. Do not feed to sheep or other copper-sensitive animals. Crude Protein, Min.
What is poisonous to sheep?
Toxic plants we are generally well aware of include Yew, Rhododendron, Laburnum, Leylandii and the leaves of potato and rhubarb. Perhaps less well known are laurel and the wilted leaves of stoned fruit trees (plum, damson etc.) or Elder.
What are sheep fed on other than grass?
Among all other domestic animals, the sheep is one of the animals which can survive by eating any kind of feed. They can also intake low quality of leaves, if there is a scarcity of feed. By eating only the corn they can also survive. But sheep prefer grass more than any other feed.
What to look for when buying a sheep?
Assess the property you are buying from: Are the sheep covered in manure/mud or sitting in a muddy nasty pen? Have they been fed junk (moldy hay, bread, scraps?). Some times the time of year is muddy or nasty, but usually you can get a “feel” of the property on how well it’s kept up and the condition of the animals. If it’s nasty, there’s a good chance a disease might be coming home with your sheep so stay away.
What is the temperament of a sheep?
Temperament of sheep: As I discussed earlier the temperament of sheep is based on genetics and prior handling. Typically younger sheep are more skid-dish and older sheep are more gentle. You might want to consider buying an older ewe if you are planning on buying a whole bunch of young ewes. There are two extremes on temperament of sheep and you want to look for something in the middle. There are the pets: people hand feed their sheep and they are very friendly, this can be a good and a bad thing. I do not recommend rams being pets, they have little respect for humans and can be very aggressive as they get older. Ewes that are pets are not usually as bad, but can overly friendly and constantly following you or in your space, once again a respect issue. The other end of the spectrum is crazy pants. They see you coming from the other side of the pasture and they take off running. These sheep typically do not respect fences and are extremely hard to handle or get into a pen and are most likely to jump over you or at you when trying to get away. The middle ground is best. I have a few sheep that are trained to me shaking a bucket of grain and will come to me, but the rest keep their distance. They have the right “pressure points” and go the direction you generally want them to with the proper spacing and distance.
How fertile are ram sheep?
Very Prolific/Fertile: These sheep are so fertile, sometimes it’s frustrating! If your ram gets in with your ewes for a couple hours, the ewes will start cycling and several of them will get bred in that short period of time (guess how I know?). Intact ram lambs need to be pulled from the herd at 3 months of age to prevent breeding. Ewes can cycle as soon as a month after giving birth. Ewe lambs can start cycling between 5-6 months old and get bred and have lambs by their first birthday. They have a 5 month gestation period. These sheep are baby makers!
Why do sheep have a dorper?
The reason was very obvious for adding the Dorper and that was for weight and muscle. Dorper’s are by far the closest hair sheep to the wool breed. They have woolier coats and are slower to shed (most of them). There are black headed Dorpers (most common) and white Dorpers (harder to find).
How many sheep per acre should I start with?
If you barely have grass growing you are going to have a hard time keeping your sheep happy and your going to have to buy hay. Typically assume 5 sheep/acre to start with (if irrigated ground).
Can hair sheep have multiple babies?
Once again, that’s breed dependent, but overall hair sheep are capable of multiple births and caring for multiple babies. Bottle babies are rare, but if/when it does happen it usually is with a momma that had triplets. It is always fun to see these sheep lamb and immediately start taking care of their babies.
Do sheep shed their hair?
Heat/Cold tolerant, No Need to Sheer: Most hair sheep originate from tropical regions, which is why they are able to shed their hair and allows them to breed twice a year. Despite being a tropical breed they have adapted very well to North America.
How do sheep care for themselves?
Easy care is pretty easy. The sheep keep to themselves regularly. They do not care to be social to us in any way. They are very efficient and productive animals when it comes to grazing. The lactating ewes are fed feed and brome hay to ensure proper nutrition before lambing. Finally, parasite control is easy.
Why are Romanov sheep considered hair sheep?
The Romanov also produces a warm fleece cover, but is still classified as a hair sheep because the color and guard hairs are unsuitable for the commercial wool market. The fleece quality doesn’t really matter much ...
What breed of sheep is used for cover?
This breed is used for the cover, as it is a hair/wool cross. This covering is what keep the Easy Care sheep warm in the winter time. A maternal breed, Katahdin ew es breed well with the Dorper rams to produce a meaty but feminine lamb.
What is the fastest growing sheep breed?
Dorper. The Dorper is the fastest growing, heaviest-muscled hair sheep breed in the U.S. Dorpers can be bred for maternal purposes, but they are mostly known for being a terminal market animal. The main reason for the Dorpers in the Easy Care cross is for carcass quality and muscling.
Why do sheep cross breed?
The idea of cross breeding different breeds is designed to take the best qualities from each breed and cross them together to make a better, more durable breed of sheep.
Do hair sheep have twins?
Hair sheep will be excellent and doting mothers to their twins and triplets. These sheep will need minimal shelter as their thick and fuzzy wool/hair combo will keep them warm all Winter long. Wow, sounds easy! This breed of hair sheep may be too good to be true.
Is Katahdin a parasite resistant sheep?
Parasite resistance and reproduc tive efficiency is very high, making the Katahdin a valued breed in the hair sheep industry.
Why are hair sheep so popular?
Another important reason for the growing popularity of hair sheep is their improved resistance to gastro-intestinal parasites (stomach or roundworms). Internal parasitism is one of the major obstacles to profitable sheep production, especially in warm, moist climates or in production systems where lambs will be finished on pasture. The widespread development of drug-resistant worms has made effective control even more challenging. The use of sheep that are genetically more resistant to parasites is seen as an important tool in the fight against internal parasitism.
What is a hair sheep?
From a purely practical standpoint, a hair sheep is generally any sheep that doesn't require annual shearing. This can be a "pure" hair sheep, or it can be a shedding or composite breed. Some primitive sheep breeds also shed their coats (e.g. Soay, Shetland).
Why should sheep not be fed the same?
Because most hair sheep fatten differently than wooled sheep (from the inside out, more like a goat), they should probably not be fed the same or fed to the same degree of external finish as conventional wooled lambs. This is because a hair sheep lamb that has 0.25 inches of backfat will have considerably more internal fat than a similarly finished wooled lamb. This is especially true of the "pure" hair sheep breeds, such as St. Croix.
What sheep breeds are sold at the Producers Livestock Auction?
Over 90 percent of the lambs sold at Producers Livestock Auction (largest sheep auction in the US) in San Angelo, Texas are now hair sheep. The top two sheep breeds in terms of breed registrations and transfers are now hair sheep: Dorper and Katahdin.
Why are Barbados Blackbelly sheep so popular?
In addition to being more resistant to internal parasites than wooled breeds, Barbados Blackbelly sheep are well-known for the reproductive qualities. They mature early, breed year-round, and are quite prolific. While lacking the growth rate and muscling of conventional sheep breeds, Blackbellies have value in crossbreeding programs to improve reproductive efficiency and parasite resistance. Their carcasses may also better suit some consumers.
Where did the American Blackbelly sheep come from?
In 1904, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) in Beltsville (Maryland) imported a small flock of Barbados Blackbelly sheep from the Caribbean. Descendants of these sheep were later crossed with the Mouflon and Rambouillet resulting in a breed that differs from those originally imported and raised in the Caribbean.
Why are people drawn to hair sheep?
People are initially drawn to hair sheep because of their lack of need for shearing. In addition, there is not much money in wool these days, unless you produce superfine wool, direct market fleeces to hand spinners, or add value to your clip. Consequently, wool tends to be a cost of production for most producers, often costing more to take it off and get it to market than what it brings in the marketplace. Thus, there has been a growing transition to hair sheep.
How long does it take for sheep to breed?
Unlike cattle that take two years to be mature enough for breeding and then 10 months for gestation, sheep can be breed within six to eight months and have roughly a five-month gestation period. Theoretically, you could have two lambings a year. We avoid this because it would be pretty rough on the mama and lambs, but it’s technically possible.
Can sheep use electric fences?
Hair sheep, which generally have a thinner coat than wool sheep, can be trained to portable electric fence and/or electric wire easier than most animals. This is essential if you plan to rotationally graze them, as we are. Inevitably, you will forget to turn your fence on from time to time, but if the sheep have learned that the fence ”bites,” they will generally avoid it. (This only goes so far, though. You have to keep that fence charged as they will test it again).
Do sheep eat goats?
Sheep just want to eat. Although any animal can become spoiled, sheep are not curious about treats like goats or pigs. More often than not, they would prefer to be left alone to graze. This may not be as attractive of a quality for families wanting something between a livestock animal and a pet—no judgement here, we love a good pet-able animal—but for anyone who has a commercial garden or just wants some mowing done, sheep are a nearly perfect animal for simply doing the job you need them to do. In our case, mowing and making meat.
Can sheep be sold as livestock?
Sheep are also relatively easy to sell either as livestock or as meat. If you can get them trained to electric fences, that can be a postive quality for selling them live. In the case of our farm, we specifically sought out sheep that were trained to electric fencing (sometimes called electric netting) and electric wires because training an older animal can be challenging. We wanted animals that would immediately take to our program, and they did. If you have to train them, try to keep them in an enclosed area until they get used to the fences—at first they may very well get tangled up and tear it down, but being sheep, thus very agreeable, they will learn fast.
What are the problems sheep face?
I mentioned earlier that one of the biggest issues faced by sheep is the threat of parasitism. Parasites are common among many livestock animals but sheep are especially prone. It’s a good idea to keep on top of your sheep’s parasite loads by using tools like FAMACHA scoring.
What are the most common mistakes you make when raising sheep?
Here are some of the most common mistakes you can make while raising sheep, along with tips on how these mistakes can be avoided. 1. Choosing the Wrong Breed.
How long does it take to shear sheep?
They make it look easy, often beautifully shearing sheep in mere minutes (or less). However, for the untrained shepherd, shearing can take hours or days – or even weeks, if you have a large flock. It’s not just shearing you’ll need to consider (sorry, hair breed owners – you aren’t off the hook).
How much room do sheep need?
Therefore, do your best to give your sheep as much room as possible. The basic recommendation is 16-square-feet per ewe with lambing pens at around 25-square-feet. Rams need at least 30-square-feet.
Why do sheep die unexpectedly?
In reality, unexpected losses are usually because of the inexperience and inattentiveness of a shepherd – there are some common mistakes you can make raising sheep that are pretty easy to prevent (if only you know how to prevent them, of course).
Can sheep be gnawed down to the dirt?
The pasture shouldn’t be gnawed down to the dirt. Make sure your sheep are moved regularly and rotationally grazed. Not only can this help prevent parasites but it’s the best way to utilize a small pasture efficiently and to keep your grass healthy, too. 8.
Do sheep need shelter?
As I mentioned earlier, sheep are pretty hardy creatures that don’t require a lot in the way of shelter. However, that’s not to say that you should provide zero shelter at all. On the contrary, you must build some sort of shelter to keep your sheep protected from the elements.
What happens if you drop lambs off on sale morning?
You are at the mercy of the market. The prices fluctuate, and once you have dropped your lambs off on sale morning, you are stuck with whatever price they bring. There is no negotiating.
Can hair sheep be used for meat?
Yes yes, I know that when you hear “lamb chops”, you imagine an adorable 8 pound newbie with perky ears and a pink nose (like the cutie above). That makes us sound a bit heartless. In reality, when you sell hair lambs intended for slaughter at the stockyard, they average 50-80 pounds.
How to get frizz free curls?
Put a curl cream or gel (LA Looks Sports Gel is very popular and very cheap) over that, scrunch, scrunch with a t-shirt and air dry or diffuse your hair. Your hair may dry crunchy. That's okay. Just very gently scrunch your hair again, breaking the gel "cast" and releasing pretty, frizz free curls. (I leave my hair a little crunchy during my commute, because subway tunnels are humid and windy, so if I start with a little ramen noodle action, I end with nice curls.)
Can you use a tea tree tingle conditioner on thick hair?
If your individual hair strands are thick, you probably don't need much protein, you need moisture. I would try "no poo" (aka cleansing conditioner). Devacurl's No Poo is popular, but you can also use Trader Joe's Tea Tree Tingle Conditioner, or really any cheap drug store conditioner that does not contain silicones for cowashing. Just be sure to really, really rub your scalp. Don't scratch it, just a good, hard rub.
