Greg Judy explains how to build a parasite resistant sheep flock

Sort out the sheep that do not perform when you do not worm them. Move them often to prevent camp sites where parasites are concentrated.

[@HomesteadAppalachia]

So glad I found you - we are about to homestead in Georgia and we really wanna do grassfed sheep but have been worried about parasites. Thank you sir.

[@eugeneson0108]

Mr. Judy! You're awesome!

[@yoopermann7942]

i love your sheep, they are the best money makers i think i can/could find, i priced imported lamb the other day and couldnt belive the prices on it, why aint more farmer/ranchers raising sheep/lamb? help make AMERICA great again!!! GREAT VIDEO!!

[@And…ow3ch]

You’re a blessing, Greg. Thank you for sharing your knowledge & experiences w/ us.

[@EcosystemDesignConsulting]

I was just about to write that I missed sheep videos! ))

[@andyr.3194]

I’m in southern VA, similar climate. Thanks for your practical knowledge

[@hicoteo]

Some good advice mixed in here.

[@thomasreto2997]

Fantastic mindset! I’ve been following you on you tube now for a little while, and you make a hell of a lot of sense! Wife and I trying to figure out what to do with our 4 acres of agricultural zoned land 20 minutes drive from Hawaii volcanoes national park. So it’s a tropical rainforest lot that is quite weedy. Once we get surveyed and a proper perimeter fence, we might start (small)with only a couple St. Croix or Barbados black belly Thank you

[@lorilovesgreen9lookingup821]

At time stamp 1:33 it looks like one of the sheep is listening intently and even stopped and starred at the person talking. Amazingly funny. Also helpful information thank you. I just have one goat and want sheep.

[@johnrambo2473]

Great video .

[@abdulnawaz4314]

Very good advice

[@Digger927]

Sheep look great Greg! We've all been really enjoying mine I bought from you, they've become the local attraction and conversation piece as have the dogs! Both are doing very well, no issues yet. The sheep have cleaned up several acres since the end of August and the grass looks amazing where they've grazed over. They really can just completely transform old worn out land!

[@gregjudyregenerativerancher]

That it s awesome Brent, glad our sheep have adapted to your farm along with out young livestock guardian dogs. Thanks for the update!!

[@pecivilwaterandenvior8318]

excellent

[@markpiersall9815]

To build a flock look over your Ram lambs when they meet market age. Keep the 10% that look like Champions; breed your Alphas. Sort through your ewes and eat the bottom 10% of culls or take them to market. Then sort through those 90% of remaining ewe lambs and eat or market another 10%. Successfully build a flock by breeding the top ten percent of Rams and the best 81% of the Ewes.

[@Dorpers89]

I run sheep, cattle, and chickens together between all of them they clean up everything pretty well.

[@kiddfamilyfarmllc9962]

Mr . Judy stumbled across some videos made of you or by you some years ago. I an so glad you are putting out your own stuff on your own channel. I know when you share information it can be taken to the bank. Thru your own experience and the school of hard knocks I suppose. . How do you feel about goats for cleaning up your pastures?

[@gregjudyregenerativerancher]

Goats are awesome if you can keep them on the farm

[@carlhaldeman420]

Mr Judy, you are to livestock what Scotty Kilmer is to automobiles.

[@welshhomestead]

I like the idea of breeding resistance into your stock - can I ask how much land youre rotating the sheep over please? we have 5 acres of pasture but a low number of sheep (10-12) but I don't know whether there's enough land there to successfully rotate over to keep the worm burden down over time? I'd welcome your advice - thank you!

[@daygreenenvironment]

very nice

[@abdulnawaz4314]

Thanks

[@SoilMatesofGeorgia]

Thanks for another great video! Do you finish the lambs on a specific forage variety before processing or is your general pasture mix all they need? - Alex

[@gregjudyregenerativerancher]

They only get what is in our pasture. But it is a quite diverse pasture.

[@SoilMatesofGeorgia]

Greg Judy Regenerative Rancher Thanks! We don’t have sheep yet. We’re just planning so far. We just started using poly braid for our rotational grazing of cattle (thanks to your books and videos).

[@rodneyjack3309]

Hi Greg, I have been custom making and applying compost tea for a few years with great success on poor pastures and hayland. Have you done any work with Elaine Ingram or David Johnson? I think it's a quick restart to higher production the first years with unproductive land. What do you think?

[@icryostorm3727]

bring one over when your next in blighty!!

[@icryostorm3727]

What area are you on in that paddock greg?

[@damonmayfield5087]

How old are your lambs when you sell them and how much do they weigh?

[@reds6836]

Greg, I think it’s time for some new coveralls

[@jasonlemaster4197]

Greg, I've just recently found your channel and I wish I would of found it years ago. We're down in south central Missouri and when we bought our property it was completely over grown. We bought goats and they've really knocked a lot of the brush and weeds down. We've recently started a small flock of sheep since we're getting more grass. The issue we're having is this place was also over grown with perilla mint. How do we get rid of it with using 2-4 D or what have you?

[@gregjudyregenerativerancher]

Jason, we have some paddocks that have Perilla mint on them. Our sheep do not eat the poisonous plants because we move them often enough that they never get that hungry. I personally know folks that have lost major groups of sheep to mint plants, but the sheep were basically forced to eat them. There was nothing left in the pasture but Perilla mint plants. We do not spray our pastures with any herbicides, so not sure what chemical would kill them.

[@jasonlemaster4197]

@@gregjudyregenerativerancher thanks for your reply. We haven't had anything eat it thankfully. It seems like an uphill battle with it. Just figured you might of known a trick, without pulling up each and every plant.

[@4philipp]

Each plant has a purpose. You can use that against it.

[@thomasreto2997]

@@jasonlemaster4197 I have heard vinegar, dawn soap, and table salt water solution along permanent perimeter fencing. Maybe take a spray bottle and spray individuallymint plants on a sunny day. This way no poison, and also maybe get general soil test and adjust for ph only after test comes back. Weeds are there fore a reason….probably soil ph too high or low

[@lindaferguson593]

I have katahdin sheep. One ram and one ewe have come down with diarrhea. Dirty butt. I observed ram having very dark loose stool. What should I do with these two? Can they be used for meat or not?

[@peaceandlove5214]

I want to be like you.

[@meh4164]

Do cows and sheep have similar stocking densities?

[@4philipp]

My understanding is the measurement of AU works here too. A AU (animal unit) equal 1000 pounds. Commercial cattle weight around 1500 pounds, so 3 AU equals 2 cattle. Greg’s cattle average 1000 pounds, so the same 3 AU gets him 3 cattle. Same stocking density but more animals. We average sheep at 200 pounds. That puts 5 sheep into an AU. So the 3 AU from commercial cattle equals 15 sheep. I think you are supposed to stock 1 AU per acre. That works with daily moves. But if you move them trice a day, you can stock 2 AU because the animals are impacting the land only for half the time. Anyway, what was your question? I guess by weight the answer is yes.

[@gokuro91]

Greg, do you take any steps to keep your young ewes from getting pregnant too early. We just got a 3 month old ewe and ram and based on past experience with goats were thinking we need to keep them seperate until she is 7 months old. Thoughts?

[@gregjudyregenerativerancher]

Yes they are sexually mature at 16 weeks. Keep ram away until you target what month you want to land in.

[@gokuro91]

@@gregjudyregenerativerancher Is it safe to have them together if I don't mind a winter lamb perhaps? We had a goat get pregnant to early and could not deliver. That is what I am worried about the most.

[@gregjudyregenerativerancher]

Its always risky breeding animals before they are physically mature. It can stunt their growth for the rest of their life.

[@gokuro91]

@@gregjudyregenerativerancher so after 16 weeks you would say it is safe then?

[@noahriding5780]

Aren't some breeds of sheep more disease/parasite resistant than others? Curious if someone has input on this. The rotational grazing aspect on parasite resistance is valid. But I just wanted to ask from a different angle also on the different types. Thanks.

[@rosejustice1227]

St Croix is the more parasite resistant breed.

[@JohnMarsing]

How do you spell the word your using for cutting down the plant? Sounds like "copasit"

[@JoJeck]

The word is coppice.

[@JohnMarsing]

@@JoJeck thanks. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coppicing

[@russsherwood5978]

can ya graze yer sheep and cattle together? followed by kunekune pigs then chickens? thank ya fer another class live stock ranching,,, thank ya fer the video

[@gregjudyregenerativerancher]

Yes you can graze them togther

[@coziii.1829]

When you cull do you process it for meat 🥩 or dog food or waist

[@gregjudyregenerativerancher]

Delicious grass finished hamburger.

[@gerrybrown]

Greg are you never worried bout ticks on your cattle or sheep grazing in such high grass or is redwater not a thing in america?

[@gregjudyregenerativerancher]

No worries about ticks

[@marthamaxim5924]

Why aren't you worried about ticks with your sheep?

[@elizabethmellady3640]

Have you had any issue with meningeal worm and your sheep? I heard you mention encouraging white tail deer in your pastures.

[@gregjudyregenerativerancher]

Nope

[@elizabethmellady3640]

You do have it in your part of the country correct? I am hoping that, just as with other parasites, you can develope an m-worm resistant herd. I haven't been able to find much information on it. However, there have been some studies yo suggest that non-lethal exposure to m-worm in moose populations may create individual immunity. So I figured if anyone had sheep with m-worm resistance it woild be you!

[@IceLynne]

I hope you don't use poison anymore...

[@gregjudyregenerativerancher]

We make money with invasives instead of losing money poisoning them.

[@marthamaxim5924]

Why aren't you worried about ticks with your sheep

[@Mate2Frio]

You sell stock?

[@gregjudyregenerativerancher]

We take orders in January. Sold out for 2019.

[@Mate2Frio]

Any advice for raising sheep on 6 to 10 acres?

[@gregjudyregenerativerancher]

Make sure that you have a good rotation set up so that it is 60 days before you return to the first paddock that you started at. This kills the parasite cycle that infects your sheep. Also do not graze the plants short.

[@jacquiweber1625]

Greg Judy Regenerative Rancher - I not sure about my math... I also have six acres. So if we’re supposed to move the herd/flock every day, and we can’t go back to the first pasture for 60 days, that would mean dividing 6 acres into 60 parts? (1 acre = 200’ x 200’)(x 6 /60) A 20’ x 20’ area? So basically you can only have 2 sheep? 🧐 Is that right?

[@4philipp]

Jacqui Weber you made a mistake in your math for paddock size. 10 paddocks at 20x20 = 400sqf x 10 = 4000 sqf. An acre is 44000 sqf. A 200x20 or 100x40 paddock size will get you the desired result. In that case your stocking density is 20 sheep.

[@MK-lf4kv]

Any more info on deciding to not dock tails?

[@prayerangel1]

Hair sheep don't require docking as the hair doesn't lend itself to fecal matter clinging to it like woolly breed tails do. I've found their tails to be of immense value in keeping the flies from biting them, as with any other animal, so not sure why anyone would dock the tail of a hair breed sheep.

[@gregjudyregenerativerancher]

Never dock the tail on a hair sheep!!!!

[@MK-lf4kv]

@@gregjudyregenerativerancher Awesome thanks!

[@peterjordan1649]

@@gregjudyregenerativerancher Don't do that! I love it when you say that in your video's.

[@rickmelhuish1602]

Are they Aussie whites Greg?

[@gregjudyregenerativerancher]

They are St Croix breed crossed with Katahdin

[@rickmelhuish1602]

@@gregjudyregenerativerancher nice!