Start up costs sheep

[Strangelybrown]

I am looking to very start off my experience with sheep. I'm looking to try and find a local shepherd to impart some knowledge, and once I've gained enough experience start my own small flock, perhaps numbers of 10-20 to start things off.

What start up costs would I be looking at?

How many acres would be sufficient (I live in a relatively lowland area)?

What breeds would be best?

Is it better to start off with ewes, lambs, ewes with lambs at foot etc?

 

[Lili]

I am looking to very start off my experience with sheep. I'm looking to try and find a local shepherd to impart some knowledge, and once I've gained enough experience start my own small flock, perhaps numbers of 10-20 to start things off.

What start up costs would I be looking at?

How many acres would be sufficient (I live in a relatively lowland area)?

What breeds would be best?

Is it better to start off with ewes, lambs, ewes with lambs at foot etc?

Get your experience first. When you start working with them you may find that that they are not quite as desirable as you first thought.

 

[spin cycle]

whilst wishing you all the very best as my 'learned collegues' advise you please forgive my 'indulgence' as i settle down with some....

 

[spin cycle]

Get your experience first. When you start working with them you may find that that they are not quite as desirable as you first thought.

NAHhhh....i started off learning from scratch ....oh wait

 

[Highland Mule]

Well done for coming here before jumping in - too often we see the opposite and the resultant animal welfare issues.

As others have said, get the experience first, but don't be too worried long term. As for order of attack, I'd suggest buying cull (old) ewes with lambs at foot in spring, then keep them for the summer. Sell both the old ewes and wedder lambs after weaning/ as they come ready and keep the ewe lambs for the winter, giving them a season to grow on before you need worry about breeding. If you want out, you can sell the grown ewe lambs the next autumn for someone else to breed from them, or you can buy a tup and start a breeding flock with around 18 months of the basics behind you already.

That may not be the most exciting way into sheep, but I think it will give you a decent experience before you commit to a lambing.

 

[Yale]

You can borrow my sharp spade……….the short memory comes with experience.

 

[Strangelybrown]

Well done for coming here before jumping in - too often we see the opposite and the resultant animal welfare issues.

As others have said, get the experience first, but don't be too worried long term. As for order of attack, I'd suggest buying cull (old) ewes with lambs at foot in spring, then keep them for the summer. Sell both the old ewes and wedder lambs after weaning/ as they come ready and keep the ewe lambs for the winter, giving them a season to grow on before you need worry about breeding. If you want out, you can sell the grown ewe lambs the next autumn for someone else to breed from them, or you can buy a tup and start a breeding flock with around 18 months of the basics behind you already.

That may not be the most exciting way into sheep, but I think it will give you a decent experience before you commit to a lambing.

Any suggestions for a manageable number of ewes for a new starter?

 

[spin cycle]

Any suggestions for a manageable number of ewes for a new starter?

upto 15....buy from one source .....decent quality....if you see a sheep limping anywhere whilst viewing don't buy....get them bucket trained

 

[Highland Mule]

get them bucket trained

Good idea, which probably means buying something without horns and with a white face. Do not be tempted with natives off a hill.

 

[spin cycle]

Good idea, which probably means buying something without horns and with a white face. Do not be tempted with natives off a hill.

i started with 25 wiltshire horns

 

[Derrick Hughes]

Dad decide to buy some sheep and take life easy , given he did not know one end from the other , got on the phone and bought 2000 Scottish Mules
My addvice after that experience is get hold of a few draft Welsh and put a Glamorgan Welsh Tup on them , learn the easy way

 

[Bury the Trash]

I am looking to very start off my experience with sheep. I'm looking to try and find a local shepherd to impart some knowledge, and once I've gained enough experience start my own small flock, perhaps numbers of 10-20 to start things off.

What start up costs would I be looking at?

How many acres would be sufficient (I live in a relatively lowland area)?

What breeds would be best?

Is it better to start off with ewes, lambs, ewes with lambs at foot etc?

20 well bred Exlana Shedders would be ideal for you.

 

[toquark]

We started with old drafts, tupped them then kept the ewe lambs and the best of the old girls. Cheap way to get into it but expect the older ewes to eat a lot and die a lot. How many depends on how much land you have. Here it’s no more than 2 breeding ewes per acre unless you enjoy buying hay, worming and losing money. As others have said get them bucket trained it makes life a lot easier and precludes the need for a dog or a bike if you’re working with with small numbers.

I’ve found @neilo offers plenty of sage advice on the sheep job on this forum.

 

[Mc115reed]

What ever you work out that it’s gonna cost too start up, double it… actually maybe triple it…

 

[Estate fencing.]

Buy 20 welsh ewes, less likely to die and when they do at least you have only lost £60 on £170! Electric fence train them and you will wonder why people make such a fuss about owning sheep. Get yourself a NZ Suffolk tup and you should end up with some nice lambs to sell straight off the ewes, my bit of advise is get the lambs away early, they won't do on pp and will end up with a load of wormy lambs going backwards.

 

[ARW]

You may need hypnotising into been eternally optimistic that next year will be better

 

[sheepdogtrail]

I would also ask yourself how much effort and time can you put into your new venture. Can you put in 60 hours a week if you need too at lambing time?

The feet/farm junction is the most critical metric that you should use to start out. Without good feet on your farm, everything else that you do takes a lot of time to manage it. Without good feet, a sheep is in trouble.

Learn about sheep's feet now. Their feet have a direct interface to your bank account and your mental well being. Not to mention your retirement plans.

Keep the ones that have no issues with their feet. The ones that have feet problems will always have feet problems. Fast growing hooves are also a problem. You should not have to trim their feet more than 1 time per year. Ideally, you never have to trim feet.

Ideally, you can get lucky enough to find some no more than 10 km from you and that is already localized to your environment.

Other than good feet, good land, good feed and good fences, a good work dog will make your life easier when it comes time to gather or drive. Depending on your situation, it might be wise to get a work dog a couple of weeks before you get sheep. Have someone who knows what they are doing show you how to work with the dog properly.

Wish you luck. For me, their is nothing else I would rather be doing.

 

[delilah]

Good idea, which probably means buying something without horns and with a white face. Do not be tempted with natives off a hill.

Sound advice, so I will go the other way...OP should remind him/herself of the primary reason for keeping sheep and get something that's tasty. Get some Portland's, the meat sells itself and would be the most rewarding part of the exercise.

 

[Derrick Hughes]

Cows are a lot less work and more rewarding

 

[neilo]

We started with old drafts, tupped them then kept the ewe lambs and the best of the old girls. Cheap way to get into it but expect the older ewes to eat a lot and die a lot. How many depends on how much land you have. Here it’s no more than 2 breeding ewes per acre unless you enjoy buying hay, worming and losing money. As others have said get them bucket trained it makes life a lot easier and precludes the need for a dog or a bike if you’re working with with small numbers.

I’ve found @neilo offers plenty of sage advice on the sheep job on this forum.

Thank you, but don't blame me!

As for the OP, I don't think he should even contemplate keeping livestock without getting some practical experience on-farm. From other posts, he has stated that he has absolutely no experience and is looking to find work on farms locally. That is the first thing to do, then maybe think about livestock in a year or two.