Hair Sheep with Rocco Sinicrope

Join Rocco Sinicrope at our Grandview Living Web Farm as he introduces you to hair sheep that don’t require shearing. Many breeds are well suited for grassfed meat and thrive in diverse environments. Get insight on breed selection, adaptation, flock health, and more.

[@andreaperrault211]

Thank you for such an informative presentation!

[@jelanicampbell1438]

most informative video on sheep I absolutely recommend 👌

[@mercedescherokee6853]

I've enjoyed watching any video with Rocco Sinicrope since I first stumbled upon a video of him and Greg Judy getting into the nuts and bolts of it all. The video has since been made private so I cant find it but, its clear he has the right approach to this type of farming and the diligent note taking is another important aspect to this holistic management approach. Keep up the good work!!

[@ianloftushamilton]

Good stuff

[@wendyrowland7787]

What you need to do to get a tight lambing is to have a vasectomised teaser ram in for a fortnight. The ewes usually come into an aneostrus heat first. Then swop the teaser for the fertile rams. Allow one ram per 30 ewes for a tight lambing. I have always kept a minimum of three rams as the one to one confrontation is diluted. No smashed up fly worried heads and no broken necks. I do not agree with having over aggressive rams, more people have been killed by rams than bulls. I aim to lamb down in the space of a fortnight so that the cost of any extra labour is limited and the lambs finish together. In the UK we like to use a terminal sire on a thrifty ewe.

[@prayerangel1]

Exactly the way I was raising my sheep and I wish more farmers did it this way. Stronger animals, better soils, healthier and less problematic, while being much more sustainable for the long run. Excellent video! Though I'd switch to Katahdins if I were you...talk about 8 in 5, never saw a breed keep such good conditioning on just grass and hay. And they tend to slick off in large sheets, more completely and in a shorter amount of time. In the wild they'd have something to rub on to facilitate that, so you may want to provide a rubbing post of some kind attached to your mineral bin.

[@Skashoon]

I’m going with St Croix. Katahdin was my second choice.

[@inotaarto8719]

Id recommend finsheep. Our girls all gave triplets on their first run, they were 2 years old but out of 5, 2 also tried for 5 but half were dead on birth. But still, 3 and they live on hay and oats and misc. They also spend the minus 20-30 winter in a shed whitout warming.

[@kycolonel1001]

if you are looking at shorter and stockier sheep add a big dorper ram to your flock. a lot more meat and fast growing lambs when you cross them. you did a nice job on your video

[@downbntout]

This guy is breath-takingly good-looking. And he likes baby lambs! Aww 😍

[@raybankes7668]

this year will be my farm's 1st lambing in the 1st week of may. we put your rams in Dec. 2nd. last year , my 1st with these sheep, they lambed in march and the farm brought them into the barn our of 32 births 8 died near birth and 3 others later from neurologic issues with interbreeding etc. We got new registered rams from out the region culled the old rams and started a new program of rotational grazing and rebuilding the massivly over grazed ground etc. our ewe condition at Dec was great...

[@bayolisfamilyfarm3718]

Really helpful video, thanks!

[@thejmz]

This video is amazing. Thank you. Also, the Texas flag on you hat is upside down.

[@russsherwood5978]

oh great now ya got me thinkin that i can raise jist kiddin eerrr lambin ah jokin ...... planned on raisein sheep all the time,,,,, thank ya fer the video

[@taranadon4750]

"I basically don't want to do anything when having my flock" 😂😂 that's pretty much what I heard when listing the "criteria" he wanted.

[@timtation5837]

That’s a common thread among many hair sheep farmers… It’s often one of the reasons they go with hair sheep instead of woolies… And there’s nothing wrong about that, if that’s what they want. Greg Judy has the same criteria for his sheep. Shearing sheep can be a pain, and hot humid climates don’t tend to agree with woolies either. Sometimes the no fuss easy sheep are the only ones that make sense… Quite frankly, a farmer that doesn’t want the labor that goes with a higher care overhead animal, shouldn’t… Everyone deserves the right to choose what is best for them…. And that applies to far more than just livestock… There is nothing more American than the freedom of choice for the individual (so long as it doesn’t impose upon the rights of others).

[@peggysueway3889]

Great job!

[@maddog8148]

Rocco love your video here. What part of Italy is your family from?

[@davidwinter9398]

great video

[@donaldchavez3651]

New Mexico Dahl Heritage hair sheep are so hardy, they survived feral for almost 500 years and are now almost extinct because their habitat is gone. What do you suggest can be done to interest new hair sheep breeders so that this living history does not disappear?

[@Skashoon]

As with any exotics, the market for the meat isn’t strong enough to make a living.

[@inotaarto8719]

Just make them make more baby lambs, and try to reserve land for animals to grase

[@rongrey2110]

Do they all slick off themselves or do you have to help at some point if they can’t?

[@lindaferguson593]

How many times a year do you let your ewes lamb? Once or twice? I have 6 ewes and 2 rams. Do you lamb in April then again in fall? What month in fall is good to lamb in? How soon after lambing do you breed back your ewes?

[@TS-vr9of]

Great video. Can you share about how many sheep per acre your running as well as an estimated pounds of lamb per acre????

[@edurnegarcia4378]

I think 13 sheeps per acre

[@monicafelan531]

how many acres are you running per head?

[@aminkhalil]

How many acres per paddock. To equal 26 paddocks.

[@garlandthompson5970]

@@aminkhalil what size are the paddocks?

[@awalker8534]

Also depends on pasture quality, from what I understand.

[@247rug]

Where in Missouri did your sheep come from?

[@Skashoon]

My guess would be from Greg Judy

[@nancyk3615]

Hi, just found this. If it's hot is it possible to shear their leftover hair if they're panting?

[@denverbasshead]

If they dont shed their hair by themselves, cull if possible

[@speaklifegardenhomesteadpe8783]

Can they eat amarynth

[@abdelhamidahlouch6149]

hair of goats but wool of sheep !!!!!

[@Skashoon]

There are hair sheep that don’t have wool.

[@nancypoulin8016]

Great video but now I'm scared, thinking can we really raise sheep?

[@nancypoulin8016]

Very overwhelming!

[@Ptitnain2]

Go watch the video of Janet McNally. It's really informative on how to avoid having to wormer sheep. Keep them on the move!