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how To Raise Sheep Farming South Africa
The fiber and fleece wool that is used for making warm clothing is a product of sheep. Winter is one season that makes living for other people hell because one can never get used to cold, but thanks to this livestock that was created to have such goal
to produce. For centuries, many families have been keeping sheep for their personal benefit such as meat, milk, wool, hide and manure; however, the main focus for most has been meat because you get either lamb or mutton from sheep and manure.
For beginners, it is best to have basic knowledge on how sheep especially the good breeds ideal for first time keepers; know their instinctive habits, caring for them and know the history of the breed starting off with. If you are scared to start with a large number of sheep then have four or five to keep and you will learn their traits in no time.
Sheep are easy to rear, easy to care for, have good quality pasture, clean water, clean housing and their overall management in order to keep healthy sheep.
The overall success of your sheep is through the shepherd. If your sheep are left to be wanderers, the farmer will be loosing sheep daily like a person experiencing alopecia areata (hair loss) unexpectedly.
Types Of Breeds
There’s a wide range of breeds to choose from as a beginner but it is advisable to select the ones that are sociable to humans and those who mature quickly. Be knowledgeable of your location suitability of breeds and their production rate.
Let’s us look at the breeds are for sheep keeper beginner;
- Dorset Horn Breed – this type can breed all year round and it has incredible meat and milk production.
- Suffolk Breed – is one of the most common breed known for exhibition in youth shows, meat and milk production.
- Dorper And Katahdin Breed – are a hair breed which grows more wool though they self-shed annually in warm weather.
- Corriedale breed – are developed by crossing Merino, Lincoln and Leicester. They are cherished for wool, considering they are great foragers and adaptable. You can raise them primarily for meat and wool.
- Southdown breed – this breed of sheep is priced meat, fleece and improving other breeds.
- Polypay breed – this is dual purpose breed (meat and wool) and the crossbred ewe is derived from Dorset. They are all yearly producers and with ewes producing twins or more. Good milk producing breed too.
Feeding
Sheep will eat varied plants which make them weed destroyer and the grass should be at least 8-10 cm long. They are considered conventional converters of grass to wool and meat, though when pasturing care for the area to avoid severe erosion. Include supplementary feeding in their diet and avail adequate water which should be given with the feed.
Housing
Sheep are housed in different form of housing which could be outdoor, indoor, total confinement, and hybrid systems that allow sheep access to both indoors and outdoors. Your sheep’s housing needs will vary depending on the environment, season, breed, and type of production. You should always take your sheep’s’ adaptability, physical attributes, and behavioural patterns into consideration when deciding on what type of housing you will use.
Lambing
Ewes exhibit certain behaviours when lambing and close monitoring is essential. Labour is short, taking about twenty minutes but it may vary with the litter size. The ewe might need assistance in case of complications which could be;
- Ewe has been in labour for one hour and there is no sign of the water bags.
- There’s no sign of a lamb an hour after the rupture of the water bags.
- If the lamb appears to be wedged in the birth canal or if there is an abnormal presentation.
To assist in lambing, you must been trained, otherwise have a vet in your area assist you. If the vet is not available, rather seek guidance from another sheep farmer.
Lamb After-Care And Mothering
After birth, check lamb breathing to ensure clear nostrils from mucous. Treat the lambs’ naval with 10% iodine solution and repeat at least once, two to four hours later – dip the navels of all lambs born indoors to minimise the risk of infection.
Make sure lambs receive colostrum immediately after birth – a healthy lamb should be trying to walk and suck after a few minutes. If the lamb is cold, warm the lamb first before feeding colostrum.
If extra colostrum supplies are needed, colostrum from another ewe in the flock is preferable to artificial colostrum. Do not overheat when thawing out frozen colostrum, as this destroys the vital antibodies. Defrost slowly in a water bath.
Breeding
To maintain a compact lambing period, remove rams after 35–40 days. To assess how many ewes have been mated and which rams are working, ruddles and paint can be a useful tool. Change ruddle colour every 10 days. Start with light colours and end with the darkest. Ensure harnesses fit well – they may require adjustment as the ram loses condition during tupping. Too loose or too tight may rub and result in brisket sores.
Record-keeping
All sheep keepers must obtain a holding register. The following details must be recorded for each animal:
New or replacement ear tag numbers and date of application
Movement of sheep moving to and from your holding
An annual count of the sheep on the holding on 1 December
Date of death and tag number, where known
Handling
Well thought-out handling reduces stress on animals and reduces the risk of injuries to you and the sheep, by understanding how animals react and what stimulates them can help with the design of better handling facilities.
Know How To Handle Sheep By The Following Tips;
- Keep calm and talk gently.
- Maintain a flight zone – remaining quiet and calm can reduce this zone.
- Exploit the sheep’s willingness to negotiate a system rather than using fear as a motivator.
- Familiarise sheep with the yard and race layout.
- Try to reduce the severity of any treatment.
- Take into account the animal’s perspective.
Bio-Security
Keeping a closed flock is a way of reducing the risk of disease entering the farm. A genuine closed flock does not allow animals to be bought in, even on a temporary basis. However, this system can be difficult to manage as it requires there to be more groups of stock on the farm.
Keep incoming sheep away from the main flock for a minimum of three weeks. Some diseases, such as enzootic abortion, can remain unidentified until lambing time. How To Raise Sheep Sheep may not appear to be ill; however they could be incubating a disease. So, the gold standard is to keep replacements separate until after lambing, if facilities allow.
Health plan for flock
All flocks should have an active health plan which is followed and reviewed regularly with the vet. A health plan should be a working document, tailored to your farm’s circumstances, which can be updated depending on current disease levels or improvements. An annual health and performance review undertaken with your vet is a requirement of farm assurance schemes.
Avoid using too much antibiotics (overuse or underuse) which will make sheep antibiotic resistant and this will endanger humans and animal health. If you are to administer antibiotics, do so under supervision of the vet officer or preferably have the vet administer to your animal.