How my Sheep Farm Differs from GREG JUDY's | Deworming a Flock of Dorper Sheep 

Rotational grazing is going to take you a long way. We had goats for 8 years and dewormed. We moved to a larger property and started grazing rotationally. We've been here for over 7 years and have not dewormed once. The last time I thought a doe looked a little skinny I took a sample to the vet and he couldn't find even one egg or worm!

I’m in school to be a clinical herbalist and dr Naturopathy. One of my things I’m working on is herb use in my Cattle health. Another thing we are planing to do is use our chickens to follow our herd in glazing. So they will keep down any parasites. So after the cows goats and sheep leave and area in comes the chickens to do their job.

Regenerative farming has various levels and constant improvement. If you are conventionally worming your flock, I'd keep them off pasture for a while. Dewormer products will pass through the sheep into their manure and kill any dung beetles in your pasture. Those dung beetles are critical for regenerative farming principles. As you said, a breed or stock with genetics with parasite resistance from the start is critical to the success of regenerative sheep farming.

Greg Judy runs his flocks on 100s of acres with daily relocation of the flock. So it makes sense that there would be differences in parasite management on a small pasture/farm.

I love seeing people farming the way that is right for them and not just following what people in other situations are doing. Our flock had not been dewormed for years when we got them. After a year of rotational grazing and many discussions with our vet we started deworming and noticed an improvement in our small flock.

Greetings from the LooseNatural farm in Andalusia Spain where we currently look into buying our own animals

watching from Machakos county Kenya am a goat farmer

I am amazed as I see the progression of the flock. I watch these videos and see The hand of The Lord in our decisions. Keep moving forward. Can’t wait for the lambs to come!!! 🐑

Excellent job! I love how you turned the folcks health around! GreaT show from a more conventional way raising to a more rotational grazing method of raising sheep!!!

Thanks for sharing, blessings to you. Down under in NZ I farm a small block lifestyle block with Suffolk sheep, God is also blessings us with good flock health with only One sheep death (accidental) in five years. God is awesome.

This a a great video. As many have stated, local environmental conditions, in conjunction with local demands for animal products, as well as the individual farmer's requirements for income; will always trump any generalized system of raising/managing livestock intended for human consumption. That being said, it is important to remember that the genesis for Greg Judy's sheep flock came DIRECTLY from an older farmer who had spent well over a decade taking already parasite resistant St. Croix sheep, and doing exactly as Greg Judy advocates in his videos. Mr. Judy then took the starter sheep that he purchased from that man, and, over time, developed, and refined, his own unique methodology for sheep management. As he has stated in many of his talks, and videos, NOT having to worm, trim hooves, trim horns, feed grain, house the animals, feed hay in a confinement paddock/shed/barn during winter weather, or be present when the mother is giving birth; TRUMPS all other considerations. The entirety of his management system is based on those considerations. Thus, his inputs are incredibly low, compared to conventional methods of raising sheep & cattle. He is also a ruthless culler of any animal that does not meet his quite high standards. As a result, his herd of cattle, and his flock of sheep, are quite profitable. Seed stock is a primary source of income. There is plenty of room in animal agriculture for many ways of doing business. Best wishes to the Shepardess!!!

I do rotational with cattle, but it's takes a lot of land. I'm getting tired of it so I am considering collapsing it down in size, this whole operation, and doing sheep. I penciled out and realized exactly what you did- I can make so much more on sheep and the efficiencies for me here will scale better with my existing facilities and I can give up some land ( extra work and land taxes gone). Only thing I have to do is put up weaved wire fence and get a LGD at some point. I only have three sheep right now but they seem to trial well through my existing cattle handling stuff, I'll just have to make a couple adaptions for lambs.

First of all, kudos for having the fortitude to venture into farming/ranching. It takes an extraordinary young woman to do what you're doing. You have my respect for that and I wish you all the best. I just subbed. A correction that needs to be made to be fair to Greg. He doesn't just let parasites kill weak sheep. Greg will cull any sheep that show signs that are not resistant enough. He manages for resistance through culling not by neglect...big difference. You're doing something similar by using FAMACHA and not worming sheep that don't need it. The difference is you're likely still breeding the ones that need wormed and by continuing that practice you'll be forever breeding a resistant flock because you're breeding the ones that are parasite susceptible. (I'm assuming you're continuing to breed the one's that need wormed here, I could be wrong as it's not 100% clear in the vid) Another correction is that Greg doesn't necessarily move his flock daily. He moves every couple of days. Most of the parasitic worms can cycle in as little as 3 days so more than that and you're building a parasite load. This doesn't always hold true in adverse conditions not conducive to parasites, like cold weather...less of a norm there in TX than here in MO and KS. Parasite resistance builds over time with maturity in the sheep as well. Personally I think it'd be fair to the animals to worm them their first year if necessary and give them a chance to build their resistance. If they're still needing wormed by their second year they need to be culled and not bred (retained in the flock). The goal to obtain parasite resistant flocks is to breed the most resistant ewes to the most resistant rams, otherwise you're not gaining very efficiently.

Sheep in shades, a snowman and a rainbow!!! Great little fun visuals splashed throughout the content. Great job. And indeed sheep need a shepherd(ess).

very well put we cant wait!!!! to get your book.

You are a amazing person. Thanks for sharing.

WOW. Thank you, my wife are teachers, empty nester and looking to diversify and heavily supplement our one day retirement. Your information is exciting and helpful. We'll be praying for you and continue following you. Our plans are for being stewards of land either in the Kerrville -Fredericksburg area or somewhere between Minerwells and Gainesville. thanks

Our LGD has been tremendously helpful in lowering our parasite load surprisingly enough. She keeps all the deer and other critters off the property which has helped lower incoming problems. After about 2 years of constant battles with worm load we're finally getting on top. We use famacha, and are down to worming only once or twice per year now. Closer to once. Boer goats central Texas.

ABSOLUTELY LOVED this video!!!! Keep up the great work! You are such an inspiration!!!!!! 🙌🏻🌱🐑

Dear Shepherdess m quite impressed by your way of working ...in fact m a regular follower of yours n i am soon gona to start the sheep farm insha allaha ...We have the same climatic conditions as yours ....

Great video. Appreciate you showing that Greg Judy, while is great for some, isn't the end all be all. That you have to farm for you, your location, your breed, and what it is you want to achieve. Awesome!

Thanks for sharing your thoughts and your faith in our Lord and His Word .

Glad you made this video, I am from Kentucky and the climate and rain we get each year create a huge problem with parasites and we struggle with parasites becoming resistant to the normal chemicals. The University of Kentucky has an amazing sheep herd and program and they have been using copper sulfate. Seems successful here. Might be worth a try if you run into resistance problems. If you’d like I’ll send you the dosages and instructions.

I came across your channel here about a week ago and I am really enjoying your content. And don't be ashamed to use that wormer when needed. It looks like you are doing a good job managing your sheep. I really like the dorper sheep and had some mixed with my goats at one time but decided to go with all goats. As for doing things the Greg Judy way, it works for Greg really well, but like you said he had to cull and takes loses to get his sheep where they are, and they are totally different sheep from the dorper too. Another thing other than just having had that time for selection of his sheep is he has the advantage of running at a much larger scale for what he can rotate on. Running on small property as you are can sure get it done but at the same time its harder to have longer rest time for the ground. Keep it up. I like what you are doing.

I think you're doing well. Looking for land to farm myself. Im 43 and just starting. Looking forward to following your journey. Cheers!

Great job. I hope the sun come out and start thawing out. The sheep looks great.keep up the good good job.

Hello, I´m from Uruguay, South America, I like your videos and your work, everything loos very nice, well done, congrat´s!!

I believe in your deworming advice

Thank you for the details! May The Lord continue to bless

Maybe your best video yet. Thanks for sharing.

Young lady you are truly a inspiration!! I love your approach on your given activity. Do you sell your sheep commercially or privately? Please keep up your good work you definitely are and will be blessed!!

I have enjoyed you program so much till it has gotten me purchasing 17 new ewe lambs to start my dairy herd. Thanks alot

I'm going to say it for the 100th time, how can you give this young farmer 4 thumbs down, don't get it. Must be those funny people from people eating tasty animals!! I'm sorry they pronounce it p.e.t.a. please keep up the great work!! Thank you for keeping it real!!

Amazing.. Keep it up

I really like the scripture you used at the end of your video. Sure adds context to what Jesus said about being the good shepherd and we are his sheep. I really enjoy your channel!

FAMACHA THE best method to check your mob daily if possible. plus the way you then do deworming as and when and where needed, ensures your mob does not become resistant to meds. Love following your journey.

Hmm, that makes me wonder if there's a way to treat the ground 🤔 Maybe a nematode spray or something to treat the ground for parisites. I'll have to do some research 👍 Edit: 10 minutes into reading, information I've found so far re-enforces what you're stated along with mowing to expose the parisites to UV and using larvacide. There's also a few papers on using high nitrogen fertilizers under damp conditions to neutralize larva but I believe that was barber pole worm. I'll keep looking.

I farm geese (pigs with feathers), ducks, and chickens. Adding some Dexters and some Pygmy Goats to eat. Really harsh winters up here in Central Upstate N.Y.

Hi shepherd's im from Australia running dorpers 800mm rainfall please look up lanessa farms i now use copersulphate for worming it works its cheap and now worm resistance

Hi, please can you do a video on how do you teach to obey your calls, it's really awesome to watch them come to you instead of herding them from behind. Thank you in advance. Love your content.

I am a Judite and really appreciate the fact you are worming. Wad really wondering how in Louisiana you could get around it. When my friends come to Louisiana their continental comment on all the BUGS.

Great book you probably have read, “A shepherd looks at Psalm 23”. Keep up the hard work.

Great Episode.

I wish my son had done one ounce of research before dumping so many sheep on my little place. 😢. He just doesn’t get it but I’m sending him your videos in the off chance he does get it. I feel bad for these critters. I have 4 acres fenced and told him last year it would support 4 to 5 sheep pretty easy. He dumped 14 on me. Now their lambing and it’s just a stupid count. I don’t know what the hell to do. Vent over, I’ll continue to send him your videos.

The number two reason that allows Greg Judy to do without worming the sheep is that he does not use Dorpers . Dorper are meatier but they are very parasite prone. He used St. Croix which are slightly smaller but very parasite resilient. Let us not forget his number one reason which is rotating them through huge farm land with a huge rest period between paddocks which cause the parasites in the soil to die.

Your flock looks great! Keep up the good work, Greg talks about raising St. Croix as a specific breed that's really parasite resistant, have you thought about getting a couple of St Croix or royal whites to introduce to your flock to make them more parasite resistant?

So not a sub, never been here before only stopped by for the man in bold. Nicely done. If you dont watch it to the end...

The Grass fed Homestead has a recipe for natural wormer with molasses and garlic powder if your interested. He also said it's good to give them DE. Love seeing you and your sheep 😊!

Just curious, but have you looked into farming yaks as well? I'm thinking of starting up a yak, sheep, and alpaca ranch

Do you do worm egg counts over there? When We had our farm here we managed intestinal worms by doing fecal egg counts. We get kits form local land office, collect fresh poo samples drop them off and they email results in a couple of days. It’s on a scale lower counts we don’t treat ( drench ) moderate maybe monitor hi drench. Do it this way we found it helped with drench resistance of worms by not using when not necessary. If you get your rotation going well you’re not treating very often. Was a small cost to test but we considered it worthwhile. 😊 commented before I seen the eye test you do, if that’s working it’s a great idea.

Can you make a video on solar powered boiler ?

Wow, I didn't know that it snowed in Texas.

Stay warm.

Snow in Texas, crazy!

I need to know about deworming and milking my sheep

Try diatamatious earth coming from South Africa I can tell you that the stuff works wonders with parasites (it does for me)

With you having 23 acres how many sheep do you have on your rotation grassing. How big are your grazing areas? We have just over 10 acres and I wanted to do 10 to 15 ewes breed and sell lambs at market age. Thank you for sharing. Till next time God Bless.

I’m in a similar climate in south Mississippi. What wormer works best for your sheep?

Any sites you recommend where aspiring farmers get in touch?

Beautiful flock

❤️ Love your content so much. Very appreciative of your real world approach! Have been trying to make some decisions about which livestock I want to run on a new farm myself. Zeroed in on meat sheep and was thinking royal whites or dorpers. Like you, I am also in a humid hot summer environment. (NC) I am very concerned about the parasite situation too. These are old cattle pastures. I have been an organic gardener from way back. Very organic farming minded now but not sure how realistically achievable that is with sheep. I’m with you, letting animals die because I have the wrong breed in the wrong environment and am not willing to medicate under any circumstance is not my thing. Do you have thoughts on what your ideal breed choices would be now with parasite resistance as a leading concern? If so… Would you introduce those breeds in as a cross or start rolling over to another breed or possibly even run more than one herd to test it all out? Love to hear your thoughts! Ricki

From what I gather from Greg Judy, his breed is parasite resistant. Plus he moves them a lot I would look into a video Justin Rhodes did 3 years back, a 15 year old from Florida was raising goats, and she used copper in their water to combat parasites. Her goats had none

I’m interested to hear about that solar boiler. Located up in Canada. Can you share that info?

How have you come up with a plan to get away from worming more? With the drought, maybe you just haven't been able to give it the attention you'd prefer? We're considering getting a few here on about 15 acres in central TX, as I've shared before. It's just so brittle here still though, with maybe 50% coverage (might be less).

Greg has become a RU-vidr....🤣

Why didn't you like sheep initially? curious

truely inspring which software you recording stock data ?

I'm not sure you should cull for parasite resistance after only one year. It's not all about natural selection, individual life forms also have the capacity to adapt to different conditions. If there's structural damage to the animal, then yeah, culling is the only solution, but the immune system (and perhaps even the digestive system) are more flexible and adaptive. So consider giving their bodies a chance to learn to handle some of the specific diseases in your area. If that doesn't happen after 2-3 years, then, obviously, you have to select for fit specimens. But consider giving them a bit of time.

Do you use ACV (water) or Diatomaceous earth (feed) with your sheep?

To me....Regenerative Farming is more about the health of the land. Healthy land feeds to stock and the stock feeds you. So yes...you should adapt your process to maximize the health of all.

Very interesting and in the same boat. We run some goats right now. I'd love to get into sheep in the future(one of the reasons I'm following). We live in the south east, it's not sure if it's a rain forest or a swamp but it's hot and wet. Currently using fecals and famacha in conjunction with herbal wormer and pasture rotation. But I expect to use traditional wormers going into this year as needed.

Have you thought about diatamatious earth instead to see if it works with your management plan?

What kind of dewormer do you use for pregnant ewes?

I am not a farmer but I have seen on YT that when you rotate your sheep to new pasture, if you then free range chickens on the spot where the sheep were you can then get the chickens to eat the bugs and worms left by the sheep. This would also mean that you would have a second crop on the same bit of land and I bet that they would be very tasty. Just rotate the chickens each time you move the sheep. The chickens would also fertilise the land for you so that you will get better grass for the sheep, let nature do the work for you. Just a thought.

I’ll be honest, after watching Greg Judy I feel like such a failure. There’s this sense that his way is the only way and if you trim hooves, deworm, or heavens forbid one of your flock gets hoof rot then you are a horrible shepherd. To be honest I’m only a year into my shepherd journey so a lot of this stuff I’m learning on the fly and there’s Greg Judy mistakes that I’ve already made that I can’t go back on. Thanks for putting out the video, I’m praying for wisdom from the good shepherd and learning bit by bit

I always thought about this pans we all know there will never be a study by any University or manufacturer only if it is independently funded. When we or animals ingest food,liquid the linings in our stomach absorb it and push input into our blood stream and through out the entire body so when we give a dewormer ( which cannot be made to specifically stay in the stomach) how much of it stays in the muscles, liver, and other organs? Are we not tainting the meat in who knows how many PPM. His thinking as a result of having cancer and understanding how cancers grow has made me never to CHEMICALLY give my sheep, donkeys and chicken any deworming or virus injections but to find a natural way to help just as I have healed myself from cancer with out surgery or chemo therapy and by only using good nutrition.

Keep at it! Jesus does! You’re on the right track. Love Greg Judy, but he will tell you it is hard work. He just has more time at it. Day at a time.

Lol. I meant save a ram from the ewes which do not need to be dewormed.

👍

The cull method isn't letting them suffer, it's getting them out of the flock. Competing the circle of life and harvesting them for compost, or treating them then selling them. Greg and I aren't raising a premium breed like you, Also, our flock is more of a complimentary enterprise that provides some revenue, but most importantly, performs a service to the land that improves it. I will NOT let an animal suffer, even if it means throwing every chemical or drug in the book at them. They have to be sold on the commodity market afterwards. I'd rather see you continue your current practice if you develop a solid local loyal customer. LOCAL trumps any certification. If that breed requires a "cheat" of sorts, but is something that benefits and nourishes a community, I say go for it. You're doing something to minimize less than ideal practices, and I have a feeling your lamb chops are probably noticeably better than mine or Greg's, the same way a true Japanese Wagyu A-5 steak has a premium value over my Choice Plus Dexter beef, it's a product that has it's place in the market. So does your product, as long as you can find and create the demand for it. Which I'd think you could, you have a story. Everybody loves a story.

Save a ram or two from the does which don’t need to be wormed. Culling is important but so is selection.

Are Black Head Dorper hair sheep?

Personally I'll deworm a sheep, but I won't breed a weak sheep that needed deworming. Or keep it's offspring. I'm in a 50 inch rainfall region. Many people loose sheep to worms, but I haven't lost any of my Katahdins, or wormed any. I've had some white Dorper crosses and they seem to fall out of the flock. I love the pelts off them though. Maybe you could upgrade your ewes to a Saint Croix ram. That's where Katahdins get their parasite resistance.

I don't know... what do they mean by parasite resistant? Not such a thing! Parasite resilience yes... resilience is measured by how badly the animal is infected before it affects the animal's condition , dorpers should have a good resilience except if it differs from the one's here in SA. How do you know if it has worms? When a animal is badly infected it will have dairee

My life is farming I am in Bangladesh

Greg's flock took years to get to the point where he never needed to work them. It's not an overnight thing.

Why would you compare yourself to Greg Judy? I don't think he expects all farms to be run the same way.

Forget the kardashions this is my kind of woman 🙏🏼👌🏼👍🏼

Unless you have an enormous farm, you have to worm, but it is important to rotate wormers to avoid worm resistance. The pre chemical method of farming in the UK was the traditional mixed farm. Greg Judy talked about his callous attitude to just let his sheep die if they lacked worm resistance. He could have segregated the wormy sheep, dosed them, fed them and shipped them. His management of the sheep is minimal. What he has are sheep producing fatty sheep with poor conformation. He said the Dorpers all died on him. Your sheep have a good life, I don’t think the other extreme of intensive farming is right for sheep either. Keep up the good work.

It's deworming, yes? I'm being bothered by you saying "We're doing a worming today." unless I'm not hearing your accent correctly! (Or you are giving them worms for some reason. DRAMA!!) >:-)

I enjoy your videos but I wish people like you who I am learning from would stick to the subject instead of all the back stories. Please don’t get me wrong, I am not trying to be mean in any way. I am trying to learn from videos like yours but sometimes it gets annoying and boring when all the back stories are told over and over again and not sticking to the subject. Thank you

You should apologize to Greg. Aweful thing.