How to Take Care of Sheep
Are you interested in keeping some sheep and keen to find out how to take care of them? Perhaps you already have some woolly friends and are in need of some troubleshooting? Or maybe you’re just curious about how much work is required to look after a fleecy flock? Read on to find out!
Taking Care of Your Sheep
I have had my Dorset Poll ewes for over four years at the time of writing this post. We have tackled a variety of issues over this time and my knowledge has increased exponentially. That said, the woolly ones keep me on my toes and there is always more to learn! Here are the key points from our journey so far.
Space and Set-Up
The first requirement for keeping sheep is an appropriate space! Approximately one acre of good grazing per sheep is ideal. It is important to note that a single sheep should not be kept by themselves. Sheep are herd animals and should be kept with at least one friend for company.
You will need a secure and sturdy boundary fence to prevent any crafty sheep from escaping; they have an uncanny ability to find and exploit any weak point in your fence!
You will also need to be registered with a good vet with the knowledge and ability to care for livestock.
It is worth setting some money aside to cover recurring and emergency costs.
Equipment and Supplies to Keep in Stock
There are some important items to keep in stock for your woolly companions.
- A pair of good quality foot shears.
- A pair of hand shears for trimming fleece on the face (if required) and dagging around the rear end.
- Antibacterial spray, to treat any wounds.
- Blow-fly, insect, lice and tick repellent.
- A supply of needles and syringes, in case you need to administer medication.
Get to Know Your Sheep
Once your sheep arrive, take some time to get to know them. A bucket with a small supply of treats can be useful here!
Spend some time each day sitting outside with your sheep and they will soon get used to you. Try to give them a gentle scratch behind the ears or rub their backs as they’re taking snacks from the bucket. And before you know it, they’ll be eating out of your hand.
Time invested in building a relationship with your sheep early on is well worth it. This will make all the tasks of routine care so much easier.
Feeding
If you have good pasture and no more than one sheep per acre, then you should not need to supplement your sheep with any additional feed.
You should always ensure your sheep have access to a trough of clean water.
During the summer months, you may choose to strip-graze your sheep on one area of land whilst allowing the grass to grow on a separate area, so that you can take a hay cut to store for winter feed.
I always keep a bag of sheep nuts in stock to use sparingly as a treat when necessary.
Shearing
Sheep need to be shorn every Spring, as the weather starts warming up. You can either enlist the services of a shearer, or you can learn to shear your sheep yourself.
For the first few years with our sheep, I booked a professional shearer. The main reason for doing so was wanting the job to be done quickly and proficiently, to cause the minimum amount of stress to my woolly girls.
However, sheep can only be shorn when they are dry, which makes booking a date with more than a couple of days’ notice rather challenging.
I also quickly realised that nobody else will be as gentle or as patient with my sheep as I am.
So I decided to shear the sheep myself this year. I used my hand shears and the sheep stood very patiently to have their hair cut.
Depending on the breed of your sheep, you may also need to trim the fleece on their faces throughout the year to prevent wool-blindness. It may also be a good idea to trim the fleece around their rear end (know as “dagging”) to help them stay clean and reduce the risk of fly-strike.
Foot Care
The horn on sheep’s feet is continuously growing, in a similar way to human finger and toe nails. Before they were domesticated, sheep would have roamed on a variety of surfaces, which would have kept the horn down. But now that most sheep live on grass, this wearing process does not really happen.
It is important to check your sheep’s feet regularly, at least every 6-8 weeks, to ensure they are healthy. However, most vets advise against routine trimming of the horn unless they are particularly overgrown.
If I do need to do any trimming, I always spray the foot with antiseptic spray afterwards (commonly called the “blue spray”) in case my intervention has created a portal for infection.
Vaccines and Preventative Treatments
Sheep require an annual vaccination to protect against a range of common infections. I used Heptavac-P.
After shearing, I apply a Spot-On treatment to protect against blow-fly, ticks, lice and mites during the warmer months.
Daily Checks
It is important to spend time observing your sheep every day, so that you catch any signs of illness or injury early and take swift action to remedy any issues.
We’re at the end of our whistlestop tour of the basics of keeping sheep. If there is a specific topic you would like to find out more about, please leave me a comment!
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