The most fought over animal on our homestead: the sheep. Backstory- dear friends of ours have teased us about getting sheep, they had wool sheep and I think were just trying to enable us more by getting more animals. Hard no. Another close friend was switching breeds of sheep, so impulsively we caved, trading chickens for sheep. Jake was so displease, why sheep? Why would ANYONE want sheep? It probably wasn't until the following spring when he fell in love with them. Their friendliness, their lawn mowing abilities, no desire to escape fences- it was perfect! It quickly became "Jake's girls" happily following him around the property like a shepherd and his flock and now we'll never not have sheep.
Katahdin sheep are a great choice for our small homestead. They are medium sized weighing about 140-180 pounds-- although some commercial lines can top at 300 pounds! They considered hair sheep, which means they do not produce fleece and do not need to be sheared. Their hair will shed off in the spring and summer and grow back in the fall for winter, making them extremely low maintenance. Breeding ewes at 7-9 months is common among farm-flock and small-pasture sheep operations, while others prefer to wait at least a year old. Ewes generally reach maturity at 6-8 months while rams much quicker at 4-6 months. Keep that in mind when housing the two together! Katahdin sheep produce superior lamb crops, 1-4 depending on ewe age and nutrition and are stocky meaty carcasses. The ewes lamb easy and are good natured mothers. They can be processed/butchered in 9-12 months for mild, tender, and healthy meat. Around this time they usually average 75 pounds.
Super docile and easy to handle, they adapt well to rotating pastures. Wondering about space? As a rule of thumb, you can say 6-8 sheep per acre. It's best to keep them in groups called flocks. It takes about 5 sheep for sheep to display their natural flocking instinct. In the minimum, pet sheep should be kept in pairs- they can also be kept with other livestock like goats but they prefer their own kind. Rotating smaller pastures more often will help reduce the natural parasite load. In a grazing season, we do not have our sheep graze over the same space more than once- but as long as it's a month after you could have them back in the same area. Most people think of goats as mowers, but they're actually suited better for clearing brush. Sheep are excellent at mowing down tall grasses and pruning trees. They are respectful with a mobile electric fence making the perfect for cleaning up your front yard while naturally fertilizing along the way. Learn more about sheep grazing!
While in the past we have sold our spring lambs, they're now much needed on our grazing jobs throughout the spring, summer and early fall. We so appreciate your desire to support our homestead, so please keep us in mind in the fall if you are still wanting to add to your flock. As an added interest, pasture raised, whole processed lamb could be available in the fall upon request.