Banding sheep for castration is a common practice that just about any farmer who raises sheep for meat, milk, or wool will need to do. It is most common in sheep raised for meat since the ...
How Long Do Sheep Live & What Factors Contribute to Their Longevity?
If you’re thinking about raising sheep, there are lots of factors you’ll need to consider. Where will you house them? What will you feed them? Most importantly, how long can you expect ...
Steps to Ensure Successful Sheep Breeding and Lambing in the Fall
For most people, fall is the time of year when things start to slow down. The leaves fall from the trees, the garden chores are more or less over, and even our work obligations might be slowing ...
Tetanus in Newborn Lambs: The Causes and How to Prevent It
A few weeks ago, I received an email from a concerned shepherd wondering why her lambs were dying. It took some investigation to get to the root cause. She said that her lambs were fine ...
OJD in Sheep: What Is It, Symptoms, Prevention, and Treatment
A few years ago, a friend of ours' sheep died from a mysterious disease. Whenever my husband came home to tell me about it, he could never remember what it was called. “James disease? Johnson’s ...
Ear Tagging Your Sheep: How to Do It Safely and Correctly
Should you tag your sheep? While there are several reasons farmers might choose not to ear tag their sheep (not having enough time or the costs associated with doing so are two major reasons), ear ...
15 Plants That Are Poisonous to Sheep & Other Toxic Things to Avoid
If you’re new to raising sheep, you might find yourself looking around your pastures in a panic. Will that unidentifiable weed growing in the corner be safe for your sheep to eat? What happens if they ...
Jacob Sheep Breed Information: Excellent Wool-Producing Sheep with Remarkable Horns
When you think of animals with spots, what comes to mind? Dalmations? Appaloosas? Jaguars? What about sheep? Spotted sheep might not be the first animals on your list when you’re trying to ...
Cheviot Sheep Breed Information: Is This Intelligent Sheep Right for Your Farm?
Not too long ago, I purchased a livestock trailer from a sheep farmer a few hours from where I live. Upon arriving at his farm, I discovered that he was raising sheep that looked a lot different than ...