Beginners Guide to Caring for Sheep

Where do I start to learn about sheep and their care? 

This is information about the Olde English Southdown Babydoll breed. 

This is information about the Katahdin Hair Sheep breed. 

This book is extremely useful, and contains a lot of very helpful information around fencing, feeding, disease prevention, maintenance and more: Storey's Guide to Raising Sheep

Here is the Code of Practice for the Care and Handling of Sheep from the Canadian National Farm Animal Care Council, which I found to be helpful as well. University of California Ag and Natural Resources has written a guide to breeding and more complex care of small flocks- PDF is here.  If you enjoy more in depth reading, you can dig into articles in the Merck Veterinary Manual and reach out to your vet with questions. 

What types of questions should you ask the breeder of your sheep? Here is an article on some things to look for. We welcome all questions! 

Please read up on Johne's Disease, CAE CL, Brucellosis, OPP and don't be afraid to ask us about biosecurity on property, health testing, fecal testing, and more. Why does this matter? Because some diseases are zoonotic, meaning they can affect humans as well. Click here to read up on potential diseases or ailments and how they are transmitted.  Prevention is the best first route. 

Should I get a small first aid kit together?

Click here for some recommendations on what to keep in your kit to start. Do you know of a good livestock vet in your area? You can begin your search by calling equine vets and asking them if any vets see ruminants/ sheep, or who they refer to. 

Can I just get just one sheep?

Sheep are flock animals. Therefore, they always need at least one other sheep flock member. We do not sell to homes that don't already have at least one other sheep.

Can I keep sheep on my property?

You'll need to make sure that your property is zoned for sheep and that your county allows sheep on your specific property. There are also rules for how many sheep you can have. If your neighbors enjoy complaining, also think about how close your property is to their home, since sheep learn to call out often once they see you, as they associate you with food. If your property is safe for the sheep to graze on, they will keep the pasture trim in no time. The more space you have for grazing, the less you'll have to supplement with additional hays. Here is information on Babydoll Sheep weeding from the OEBMSSR. 

How often do Babydoll sheep need to be shorn and have their hooves trimmed and vaccines performed? 

Katahdin sheep are a hair sheep and do not require shearing. They lose their hair seasonally. For Babydoll wool sheering, it's best to have sheep shearers lined up before you purchase sheep. We shear dependent on the weather and state of pregnant ewes, but generally in Southern California, yearly around March. Make sure they sheer Babydolls and come to your area. Here are a couple sheep shearers that generally see Southern California: 

Fred Flory

Kelsey

Click here for the California Wool Growers Shearer Directory for more contacts. 

** Important note: if you live in an area that has some Foxtail or foxtail type grasses, get into the habit of checking deep within the eye duct pocket of the sheep while you are trimming their feet. Right in front of the sheep eye duct, there is a pocket area with a bone in front of it. This is where the foxtails like to hide. Pull out any foxtail grass seeds that may have lodged in this area before it causes any problems. Also check ears and around the mouth. 

Check every 2 months, but generally, every 3 months for hoof trimming is good. We like this hoof trimmer. We vaccinate our sheep yearly (generally around shearing time, although exceptions apply for pregnant sheep to pass along antibodies (3-6 weeks prior to lambing), and a series of boosters are required for lambs.  For CD/T , we use this vaccine  dosed at 2ml each sheep and these needles (18 or 20 gage and 1/2 inch) and syringes (3ml Luer Lock). Communicate with your local livestock veterinarian for further recommendations on recommended vaccinations in your area. Here is a good article from Clemson University on vaccination protocol. 

What about sheep vets? 

San Diego Livestock Veterinarians: 

East County Large Animal - Dr. Blanche, El Cajon, CA.

Dr. Robin Perry, Carlsbad, CA.

Catching sheep to do any kind of procedures can be tricky with some lambs and adults, so we use this Shepherd's crook or this net.

What about deworming? 

We appreciate deworming as a way to keep our livestock healthy. That said, we do not believe in routine deworming, as we do believe you can over worm, and create other issues.  An affordable way to do this is to work with your veterinarian for a program, and discuss sending off fecal samples from your sheep (either through your veterinarian, or through an accredited laboratory, like WADDL or UC Davis Laboratory) for analysis before deworming. This will help you decide if you need to treat, and furthermore, treat appropriately for the parasites that are actually present, if at all. A good time to do a fecal exam is once in the Spring and once in the Fall.  If deworming is then recommended by your veterinarian, they may recommend a combination or a specific dewormer: Ivomec drench (oral) or injectable, Panacur drench or Valbazen drench (not for use in pregnant animals), or Prohibit, and you may need a DVM approval to purchase. 

Where do I buy sheep supplies? 

We have found good luck locally at feed stores, although online works great as well, and at Premier1, you can also call to speak to sheep experts for additional advice. We have found them to be very helpful with advice around fencing (either electric or permanent sheep fencing) to help maintain predator safe environment for the sheep. 

Premier1

Valley Vet

What do I need to feed them?

Olde English Babydoll Sheep are known for generally being easy keepers, as are Katahdins. Good pasture is the easiest way to feed them, if you have it and the rain or irrigation. For hay, generally Orchard/Teff/Alfalfa/Bermuda mix, and let them into the pasture late morning after the mist has dried off, staying there to graze all day.  We only give Alfalfa to pregnant ewes as a treat when they are pregnant or nursing. Giving Alfalfa to wethers (neutered male sheep) or rams (unneutered male sheep) is not recommended and can create urinary obstruction and stones. 

Pasture Grass: 

We have had amazing luck choking out weeds like Foxtails with pasture grass that is a cover crop with the annual Crimson Clover.  Information on sheep pasture from Cornell Small Farms. We ordered an annual seed (dies off in the summer) from our local feed store. Info on toxic plants: Toxic plants to livestock from UC Davis .

When the pasture dries up in late summer, we go back to only feeding the hay blend. We offer a very small amount of grain specific to sheep (copper can be toxic to sheep, do not feed goat grain as it usually includes copper), either textured (preferred) or processed grain, in extremely small handfuls as treats to lambs as a creep feed and during weaning. This is usually available at a local feed store, although sometimes we need to ask that it be ordered in.  Do your very best to lock it up in a secure location where the sheep have no access. Sheep will overeat and are at a high risk of bloat or toxidosis, both which require veterinary intervention and can lead to death. For pregnant or lactating ewes, we offer RSG Gestating or Lactation Nutrition. 

Minerals and Baking Soda: 

We also always have Sheep specific Minerals (Purina Wind and Rain Sheep Mineral) and offer free choice Baking Soda Food Grade for Ruminants that we buy in bulk from Premier1. They do nibble on both as they need. Please remember to never offer minerals that are formulated for goats or other animals, as it usually has copper included. 

Do I have to worry about predators in keeping my sheep safe? 

In one word, yes. Coyotes, stray dogs, mountain lions, and bobcats are all a concern and have been seen in our area. Some locations top off that list with Bears and Wolves. Lambs especially are at risk due to their small size. Stray dogs may not kill to eat, but they may still kill for the game of it. We recommend making sure they are locked up at dusk until morning to keep them somewhat safer from predators, but we utilize a full time team of Livestock Guardian Dogs, our Great Pyrenees, a dog specifically bred to guard livestock like sheep. Some other deterrents are motion sensing lights, electric fencing and more. If you feel like your lifestock protection methods are over the top, you're probably doing great. 

Want to learn more? There are several Facebook Babydoll sheep groups to learn more. We've also found local sheep groups in our area. Many shepherds/sheperdess' are on Instagram, and offer more sheep community.