We are raising dairy sheep on 10 acres in North Georgia. Our sheep are High percentage East Friesian and Lacaune. I love them so much. Very hardy and triple purpose. We need to maximize our production in our small acreage. These animals fit perfectly. We don’t like goats milk.
I didn't like goats milk till I tried grassfed Nigerian Dwarf Goat milk from a girl who really spoils her goats. When done right it is sweet and mild and I sometimes forget I am not drinking cow's milk! Also I have heard one lady say her goats' milk was perfect and delicious for about 5 days in the fridge. If you keep your milk more than 5 days in the fridge that may be why it's developing a "goaty" taste.
We have a small homestead like that with sheep and quail. Awesome to see others making it work on small properties. A lawn is a waste of space and I disliked mowing so we removed the toxic pretty stuff around the house and we were able to sell our gas mower to increase our grazing area. A little creativity and lots of hard work lets even a small property be productive beyond the conventional garden plot.
That is really cool that you can have sheep on such small acreage. I have wanted sheep for a couple years, but only have 2 acres so thought I didn't have enough area for them.
Good stuff as always. We walk our sheep two or three times a day in our neighborhood. We have a small hillside property, so the neighbors grasses are essential. We are blessed.
Thank you so much for your book, Grace! It is a work of art ❤. Even my husband, who usually rolls his eyes when I keep buying books...said "what a beautiful book" after paging through it! There are already some improvements we have implemented...pie shaped grazing around a central shelter and water...that is genius! Im also using your cattle panel shelters tied with rope and a tarp over. I had to tether it down though, not because of wind, but the sheep use it as a back scratcher! It's so light that they were pushing it over...lol
Hey friend, love your videos! I wanted to let you know that I think the description didn't get updated for this video. Maybe it's intentional, but "Raising sheep on pasture is an incredible experience that covers a broad range of climates. Today I am touring the farm of Roberta Mckowen in Jackson Louisiana. Roberta is raising a flock of 300 hair sheep on a pasture-based rotational grazing system." Anyway, super excited about this video. My husband and I were thinking of dorpers, but I really wanted our own milk supply too so now we are planning to do a mix and get some dairy sheep. YAY!
I LOVE the elasticity of Finn wool it is AMAZING!!! They are also HIGHLY productive she having multiples of 5, 6 and even more!! Some Folks bring them in to increase productivity of their sheep and fineness of wool…I had a beautiful cross of Shetland and Finn they were fantastic foragers and we loved that cross for fiber, especially when we blended it with our Angora rabbit fiber!!
Thanks for the inspiring video. Getting 2 bred ewes from a dairy in finger lakes in November, to add to my st croix flock. Looking forward to dairying 😊
@honeyhollowhome, yes, feeding copper needs to be well managed. We custom mix our feed to ensure there's no copper otherwise. As I mentioned in the video, it's not out all the time. To my surprise, I found out that my vet, who runs 100 head of dorper uses the same method of feeding copper sulfate.
Hi, please tell me exactly how do you give it and how much. I can only find information on how to make a drench with it but it sounds like you do something different
Great video!! I can’t wait to watch the whole thing! Thank you so much for sharing all of this information with those of us who are truly interested!! I LOVE your book and everything else you put out! ♥️
I also want to add....thank so much for branching out on info. It’s so gracious of you to help those of us interested in dairy.....even though that’s not your thing!!♥️
I have 8.5 acres of mostly wooded property. I feel like sheep are much easier to prepare our property to maintain. It's a bit overwhelming. Thanks for your videos.
I have found that smaller, heritage breed sheep are best in forest & foraging scenarios. Many of the hybrids just don’t know what to do with brambles and brush, make sure any potential stock still understand variety…
Alpacas (from the mountains of Peru) and Scottish Highland cattle are better with forest living and foraging as well! Look into a variety of heritage breed animals that can coexist and thrive in your situation. Sepp Holzer also shows how well land management in the deep Alps can be done with the right animals…
Hi, would you please tell me exactly how do you give it and how much. I can only find information on how to make a drench with it but it sounds like you do something different
I have free choice copper out for my sheep too as part of a cafeteria style mineral set up. They do take a little of it surprisingly. According to Pat Coleby (in her book Natural Sheep care), it is important that they have some in their diet.
It is. This is poor advice coming from someone who has only been doing this a few years. While it *is* possible for sheep to be copper deficient it's something you would want to test for before you start giving it to them. The homestead community has an issue with people picking things up for a few years then talking about it like they are an expert. No actual sheep farmer feeds copper free choice unless they *know* they are in an area that the forage is deficient in copper.
