Instructions
Determine the number of rams and the number of ewes. Rams can be aggressive, so decide how many of these you are willing to raise. If you are mating your sheep, a ratio of five ewes to one ram is preferable.
Think about your purpose for raising sheep. If you want to raise sheep for meat, Suffolks are the primary meat producers. Other meat breeds include the American Blackbelly, Barbado, Romanov, Oxford and Dorset. Choose the American Cormo, Debouillet, Panama or Booroola Merino for wool production. Other wool-producing breeds include the Coopworth, Border Leicester, Lincoln, Romney, Columbia or Costswold. Choose the East Friesian or the Lacaune for milk production. Purchase a cheaper crossbreed if you want grazing sheep that will control your grasslands.
Consider the age of the sheep. Decide if you want to bottle-feed newborn lambs, look after young adults or buy older, cheaper sheep. Think about why your seller is selling the sheep and how enthusiastic he is to get rid of them as a lamb with health problems may cause your costs to soar. Purchase 2- to 3-year-old ewes in good health as they are more resilient, having become used to rain and colder weather.
Inspect the sheep's teeth to determine its age. For example, by the time a lamb is 1 year old, it should have eight teeth showing along its bottom gum line and no teeth along the top gum line. By the end of one year, the two bottom-middle teeth will appear noticeably longer than the others. By the time the lamb is 3 years old the bottom-middle four teeth will be noticeably longer. At 4 years old, the six teeth in the middle will be longer. All eight teeth will appear fully grown when the lamb reaches age 5. After this, the teeth are more likely to break and decay.
Choose sheep that meet your standards after checking their feces, feet, records and owner. Feces should look like rabbit droppings, resembling separate little balls. There may be health problems if the feces is runny or long. Check the feet of the sheep by lifting each foot. There should be no swelling or infection between the two pads and the hooves should be well-trimmed. Inspect the sheep's records; the owner has a legal obligation to keep records of all stock. Look for medication information, treatment and illness entries. Ensure you are examining the correct lamb by looking at its ear tag and matching it to the record in the record book. Use your instincts if you do not know the seller personally. Think about why he is selling his stock to you. Listen to his reasons and be vigilant during your inspection.
How to Pick Your Sheep
Your reasons for keeping sheep are essential for deciding on the breeds of sheep you buy. If you keep sheep for meat, milk or wool, you need to pick a breed that produces the best of each. You can even buy sheep as grazers to control your grasslands. There are more than 1,000 breeds of sheep in the world with more than 50 in the U.S. from which to choose. Think about how many sheep you can accommodate; eight sheep rotating on two acres is a good rule of thumb, remembering that the land needs time to rest.