How are you an expert?

[Beekissed]

I agree with that thought. Hair sheep, particularly the Kats, are more versatile~meat, milk and felt~ and stay in fences better than goats. They are hardier than goats, more parasite resistant. Less trouble all the way around and they bring a high price at the market right now...in most places they sell better than beef.

 

[Farmfresh]

I prefer the Katahdins for the same reason. I have disabling arthritis. I could not have a breed of sheep that required shearing. Sheep are also MUCH easier to fence in than goats. They rarely climb on anything and just don't challenge the fences like a goat does. In addition they smell better and are for the most part much quieter.

 

[Farmfresh]

Plus they are FUN. I love watching the babies play!

 

[NH Homesteader]

You guys are killing me. I had just decided to put off getting sheep for a few years!

What do you use for fencing?

 

[Farmfresh]

We only have three acres, so we are using cattle panels as our primary fencing. We are in a suburban setting, so have a lot of neighbor dogs as well as coyotes that the sheep need protection from. However regular field fencing with electric on the outside to keep out the carnivores also works well. They really don't challenge the fences, but they DO rub on them when they are shedding so you need good secure fence posts.

 

[Wannabefree]

Oh I want one of everything, with the excuse that just one will get lonely so I have to get two and then they breed and eleventy million animals and ten times that dollars later I think hmmm...maybe I should thin out a bit...chicken math...it applies to EVERYTHING!!!

 

[Farmfresh]

Better to do one thing well than a dozen things poorly.

 

[NH Homesteader]

I love cattle panels! I have a combination of them and welded wire for my does, and cattle panels only for bucks. My goats do not challenge fences really, I have mini alpines and Nigerians though. I don't have full size goats in part because I don't have adequate fencing.

Part of me would love to have more types of animals but it gets overwhelming for me. I finally convinced my husband to stick to raising a few pigs for meat and not breeding, so the only full time residents we have are the goats, turkeys (who I could live without) and chickens.

 

[tortoise]

Wool sheep here. We use woven wire fence (old, in poor condition) and 2-strand electric tape fence for rotational grazing. The only spots that need tougher fence are the fence line between ewes and rams. We keep them separated other than breeding season for husbandry reasons to complicated to explain here.

 

[Denim Deb]

I've been turned off to sheep by the ones where I board my horses. First there was Frodo, a ram. He should have never been there. He was a pain, quite literally. I don't know how many people he knocked down B4 he left. No one was sorry to see him go.

Then there's another sheep-I don't even know if she has a name. She had actually belonged to the neighbor, but got out and made her way to the farm. They were unable to catch her to take her home, so she's been there for years. She decided that she liked the field that I have. I had her, and a goat in my field for several months. The goat was a real pain. I had to either stand guard so he didn't eat the horses feed, or feed him some cracked corn. Plus, they were both eating my hay. Once I got the welded wire fencing up in the field, I was able to chase them out. If I didn't already own goats, I would have been turned off to them as well.

Oh, and the sheep is a hair sheep, I just don't know what kind. And she is not friendly.