Greetings, thanks for your TH-cam channel, you guys help all farmers all over the world, well done great job. I have lost a lot of lambs and kids, infact i am struggling in keeping my lambs and kids alive, I suspect I am in a heartwater place, there's a lot of ticks here and there's a lot of tickbone diseases around. Kindly assist, when (at how many weeks) can I start injecting my lambs and kids with dectomax and spraying them to control ticks.
I have a couple of questions after watching this video. First, when do you paint the number on the pregnant ewe? I know in the video that you said the paint doesn’t last very long so I was just curious how far before lambing do you paint the tag number on the ewes’ sides? Secondly, I was hoping for more clarification regarding the process you use for numbering your lambs, I know in the video it was mentioned that the ewes number told her when they were born. So how does that work exactly? And then it was mentioned in the video that the color of the ear tag used was based on the sex of the lamb, correct? Also do you include anything in the tagging to identify who the ram is that sired the lambs?
Thanks a lot for wonderful content you provide!! it is really amazing what you are doing, I appreciate it. I have one question though, weird one maybe. How do animals realize what kind of minerals they need and how much they need (relating to mineral feeders)?
Thank you so much for your kind words! We appreciate you! That's a GREAT question! Animals do have cravings for certain minerals when their bodies are lacking in those minerals. We published a video testing this theory with our cattle. Check it out to learn more: th-cam.com/video/A1yNSif9l1M/w-d-xo.html
Hi Susana! We provide food and water bowls for our livestock guardian dogs in a central location, where they can access fresh food and water every day. We regularly take the dogs to our vet for checkups, to make sure they're as healthy as possible.
Hi Vonda! Thanks for the great question. • It is very, very important not to tube or feed a lamb that is below 100 degrees!!! They need to be warmed first. Colostrum is not effective within the first 12-24 hours of birth so if it after that time colostrum will not have those added benefits of immunity. However, the recommended amount of colostrum is 1 oz per pound of body weight. 1 oz is about 30 cc.
Another great sheep video! Thank you Christine! I run dorpers on fescue/clover pasture in southeast Kansas. Do you deal with fescue at all? Have you ever noticed an endophyte issue with sheep? My farm is small and I use rotational grazing with a guardian donkey. I am a newcomer to the hair sheep game. This season I am going to mow once in June and then again in August due to the fescue maturing and becoming unpalatable. Do you have any advise or suggestions for grazing sheep (and a donkey) on fescue dominant pasture? I worry about their nutritional demands. Recently they have been seeking out all the invasive bush honeysuckle and lower woody vegetation along my perimeter fence and they really knock down the red and white clover around the fescue clumps. I thought about inter-seeding birdsfoot trefoil to make up for the summer fescue lull, but as a wildlife biologist…I can’t bring myself to do it. It is bad enough I have fescue haha! Also, would you recommend only vaccinating once a year (4 weeks before lambing) if I only lamb once a year?(Breed in mid November/Lamb in mid April) (I use covexin 8) Thanks again.
Hi Shane!! GREAT questions! We have a lot of endophyte infected fescue on the ranch. In my 6 years of raising sheep on our heavy fescue pastures I have not seen any issues of fescue toxicity in sheep, cattle on the other hand, I have seen issues with. The sheep like to go and eat the fescues seeds in the summer but I agree with your practice of clipping it down do that the warm season grasses can come in. Sheep love brush and forbes, they have such an amazing nutrition/grazing wisdom that they will seek out what they need. I would worry about your lambs not getting enough nutrition to grow out to their potential on fescue dominate pastures. I am a huge fan of cover crops, birdsfoot would be great as well as some vetch, curly dock, sunhemp. Cool season you could plant rye grass, winter wheat. The more species you can get in your pastures to get you through all the seasons the better your animal will perform. Our vaccination program: we vaccinate our females at 4-6 weeks prior to the first date of lambing. Lambs get vaccinated about 8-10 weeks of age, also with Covexin 8, follow the bottle recommendations of booster timeline. By vaccinating the lambs they get covered for the weaning period and the ewe lamb replacements will only need the regular booster prior to lambing rather than her initial vac and then a booster all before lambing. I hope that makes sense.
We split our 110 ewes between three rams: two rams breed 40 ewes each, and the other ram breeds 30. We breed our sheep once a year, for just one lambing season. You can breed up to twice a year, which may change the number of ewes each ram can mate. Our lambs stay at Heifer Ranch from birth (late February to early April) until October, when they're sent to processing at about 7 months of age.
Hey pcdreams1, this is a great question. As long as the goats do not have horns there are not major behavioral issues. But there are parasitic problems that the farmer needs to be aware of. Both sheep and goats share the same type of parasites. Since goats have evolved as browsers, they prefer to eat high off the ground, their ability to have parasite resistances and resilience is very, very low. Goats usually can not handle as high of a load of parasites. Parasites is the number heath concern of both sheep and goats.
Thanks Christina. I've had goats before, but was considering running a mixed herd. I've seen people run both for cleanup (which is what I'm considering), but I wasn't sure how parasites were handled between species. I know with other animals you let a period of time elapse, I also don't know if food is the only vector for transmission. For instance, would their manure be a vector?
Hey, Tyler! Thanks for the great question. We love Greg Judy and his work. We've even had him out to our farm before for a multi-day workshop. We want lambs on the ground in March when our spring grasses are thriving so that the lambs are already grazing and watching from their ewes what to eat and what not to eat. This gives the lambs rumen time to develop so they can take full advantage of the grass growth and get optimal growth so they finish out on grass only by the fall. It just fits our established cycle of production better that we've been running for years with very low mortality rates and good finishing times/weights.
![Raising 1,500 Turkeys on Pasture [COMPLETE GUIDE]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/oP9jRfir5xM/mqdefault.jpg)
Great guys.. from the Snowy Mountains in Australia
I Oliver from NY really appreciate your enlightening, and I wish to have the name of the materials being used in lambing. Thanks
wonderful, informative video show... million thanks to you...
I use the cafeteria bar minerals . Same for cows and sheep they know what they need
Yep, our animals really enjoy free choice minerals!
Greetings, thanks for your TH-cam channel, you guys help all farmers all over the world, well done great job. I have lost a lot of lambs and kids, infact i am struggling in keeping my lambs and kids alive, I suspect I am in a heartwater place, there's a lot of ticks here and there's a lot of tickbone diseases around.
Kindly assist, when (at how many weeks) can I start injecting my lambs and kids with dectomax and spraying them to control ticks.
Hello! The best is this case is to contact a local expert to determine what works best in your environment. Every farm is different!
what do you feed sheep over winter?
Ty
YW
I have a couple of questions after watching this video. First, when do you paint the number on the pregnant ewe? I know in the video that you said the paint doesn’t last very long so I was just curious how far before lambing do you paint the tag number on the ewes’ sides? Secondly, I was hoping for more clarification regarding the process you use for numbering your lambs, I know in the video it was mentioned that the ewes number told her when they were born. So how does that work exactly? And then it was mentioned in the video that the color of the ear tag used was based on the sex of the lamb, correct? Also do you include anything in the tagging to identify who the ram is that sired the lambs?
Hey check out the video "how to make money raising sheep" on our channel for answers to your questions and more!
Where do your pasture sheep go to find shelter from sun in hot summer months?
Thank you so much again for another awesome videos Heifer USA with Christine and to all the team.
Awesome! Thanks for watching again, Ralph! You are welcome here always.
Thanks a lot for wonderful content you provide!! it is really amazing what you are doing, I appreciate it. I have one question though, weird one maybe. How do animals realize what kind of minerals they need and how much they need (relating to mineral feeders)?
Thank you so much for your kind words! We appreciate you!
That's a GREAT question! Animals do have cravings for certain minerals when their bodies are lacking in those minerals. We published a video testing this theory with our cattle. Check it out to learn more: th-cam.com/video/A1yNSif9l1M/w-d-xo.html
Susana Amarteifio from California
Thanks for tuning in!
Watching from Dayton Ohio, where you located?
Heifer USA is located in Perryville, Arkansas. Thanks for tuning in!
In serever weather where do the sheep go or are they really good at finding a safe spot?
Okay, I should have watched more of the live stream thru. My question was answered. Thank you Chrsitine. LOL
Haha, Christine makes sure to pack as much information into these livestreams as possible! Glad your question was answered!
Tappahannock, VA
Welcome!
Susana Amarteifio how do you feed the dog and how do they drink and also how do keep them alive and healthy
Hi Susana! We provide food and water bowls for our livestock guardian dogs in a central location, where they can access fresh food and water every day. We regularly take the dogs to our vet for checkups, to make sure they're as healthy as possible.
Do you keep any bottle babies
Some bottle babies are nursed to health and returned to their moms on pasture. Others are sold to local farmers to raise and add to their flocks!
Hi I am interested in learning your videos all about sheep farming.
Please let me know the details.
Thanks
How many ounces of colostrum do you try to get into a lamb that is cold and/or hungry? (If you are tubing it or bottle feeding it)
Hi Vonda! Thanks for the great question. • It is very, very important not to tube or feed a lamb that is below 100 degrees!!! They need to be warmed first. Colostrum is not effective within the first 12-24 hours of birth so if it after that time colostrum will not have those added benefits of immunity. However, the recommended amount of colostrum is 1 oz per pound of body weight. 1 oz is about 30 cc.
How big is your land?
Do you tag your lambs when they're born or do you wait a few days?
The info is in the video!
Another great sheep video! Thank you Christine!
I run dorpers on fescue/clover pasture in southeast Kansas. Do you deal with fescue at all? Have you ever noticed an endophyte issue with sheep? My farm is small and I use rotational grazing with a guardian donkey. I am a newcomer to the hair sheep game. This season I am going to mow once in June and then again in August due to the fescue maturing and becoming unpalatable. Do you have any advise or suggestions for grazing sheep (and a donkey) on fescue dominant pasture? I worry about their nutritional demands. Recently they have been seeking out all the invasive bush honeysuckle and lower woody vegetation along my perimeter fence and they really knock down the red and white clover around the fescue clumps. I thought about inter-seeding birdsfoot trefoil to make up for the summer fescue lull, but as a wildlife biologist…I can’t bring myself to do it. It is bad enough I have fescue haha! Also, would you recommend only vaccinating once a year (4 weeks before lambing) if I only lamb once a year?(Breed in mid November/Lamb in mid April) (I use covexin 8) Thanks again.
Hi Shane!! GREAT questions! We have a lot of endophyte infected fescue on the ranch. In my 6 years of raising sheep on our heavy fescue pastures I have not seen any issues of fescue toxicity in sheep, cattle on the other hand, I have seen issues with. The sheep like to go and eat the fescues seeds in the summer but I agree with your practice of clipping it down do that the warm season grasses can come in. Sheep love brush and forbes, they have such an amazing nutrition/grazing wisdom that they will seek out what they need. I would worry about your lambs not getting enough nutrition to grow out to their potential on fescue dominate pastures. I am a huge fan of cover crops, birdsfoot would be great as well as some vetch, curly dock, sunhemp. Cool season you could plant rye grass, winter wheat. The more species you can get in your pastures to get you through all the seasons the better your animal will perform.
Our vaccination program: we vaccinate our females at 4-6 weeks prior to the first date of lambing. Lambs get vaccinated about 8-10 weeks of age, also with Covexin 8, follow the bottle recommendations of booster timeline. By vaccinating the lambs they get covered for the weaning period and the ewe lamb replacements will only need the regular booster prior to lambing rather than her initial vac and then a booster all before lambing. I hope that makes sense.
Will the castration of the male lambs not affect the growth of that specific lamb?
How many ewes can one ram mate a year?
And at one age can a sheep be slaughtered at.
We split our 110 ewes between three rams: two rams breed 40 ewes each, and the other ram breeds 30. We breed our sheep once a year, for just one lambing season. You can breed up to twice a year, which may change the number of ewes each ram can mate.
Our lambs stay at Heifer Ranch from birth (late February to early April) until October, when they're sent to processing at about 7 months of age.
I was curious if there are either behaviorial or parasitic problems with running sheep and goats together
We don't raise goats. Not sure how to answer your question.
Hey pcdreams1, this is a great question. As long as the goats do not have horns there are not major behavioral issues. But there are parasitic problems that the farmer needs to be aware of. Both sheep and goats share the same type of parasites. Since goats have evolved as browsers, they prefer to eat high off the ground, their ability to have parasite resistances and resilience is very, very low. Goats usually can not handle as high of a load of parasites. Parasites is the number heath concern of both sheep and goats.
Thanks Christina. I've had goats before, but was considering running a mixed herd. I've seen people run both for cleanup (which is what I'm considering), but I wasn't sure how parasites were handled between species. I know with other animals you let a period of time elapse, I also don't know if food is the only vector for transmission. For instance, would their manure be a vector?
Morufu A Gafar from Nigeria how can i buy sheep from you
My name is JOHN FORNAH. I have 5 female sheep bet they are slow to grow faster
Greg Judy has 0 problems and doesn’t have to buy coats for his sheep. So….why not lamb n April?
Hey, Tyler! Thanks for the great question. We love Greg Judy and his work. We've even had him out to our farm before for a multi-day workshop. We want lambs on the ground in March when our spring grasses are thriving so that the lambs are already grazing and watching from their ewes what to eat and what not to eat. This gives the lambs rumen time to develop so they can take full advantage of the grass growth and get optimal growth so they finish out on grass only by the fall. It just fits our established cycle of production better that we've been running for years with very low mortality rates and good finishing times/weights.
When will it better time for the lambs to breed?
so if im from Canada dont watch ,,,,lol
We may be called Heifer USA, but we're happy to share our expertise with regenerative farmers worldwide! We're glad you found our channel!