You're Feeding Your Sheep The Wrong Food

[@bmooreskier]

Planning on getting sheep in the spring so I can raise my favorite meat instead of mowing my 2 acres every week. Thank you for your informative and digestible videos!

[@homesteadingwithPJ]

Glad these videos are helping! No better way to mow!

[@NotASheila]

Your a legend helpin me with ma first sheep

[@homesteadingwithPJ]

Glad to hear it! Sheep are super fun animals! Frustrating at times, but usually fun!

[@abbyu209]

Thank you this was helpful.

[@euricovianna3419]

Copper is not a problem, in fact it's essential, if offered as a separate element in a free choice mineral cafeteria style. A copper balanced diet prevents parasites and a copper sulphate diluted into water can work as an efficient dewormer. Another colleague here already recommended Pat Coleby's book, it's worth reading it. From the book you'll learn that most veterinary books recommended copper sulphate over chemical drenches up until the 60s, and that the trials that 'forever' tarnished the use of copper (pun intended lol) were done using very toxic pesticides together with copper. The key is to have it free choice and not mixes with other minerals.

[@CMiltonDixon]

They can't process copper very well but it is essential. I give my sheep copper as part of a free choice smorgasbord.

[@euricovianna3419]

@@CMiltonDixon that way has been helping me too.

[@PetesSnakeBiteKit]

Your videos look so nice and professional!

[@homesteadingwithPJ]

Thank you! I have an amazing editor!

[@PaulJWong-yk8uw]

great video! our sheep will eat anything you put in front of them. we're already pulling them into the barn this week for the season as we overseeded some clover into this old field to fill in where the alfafa died off. young clover just came in the spots in august so gotta let them establish. means we gotta get them onto some hay soon. a good practice is the animals that dont get fat on grass can go to freezer camp and you keep the ones that do. i only have a few ewes that under perform body wise but do tend to produce nice healthy lambs so they keep getting the pass for now. about the pigs... if you have the option to buy in bulk, i suggest grabbing 2 of those big plastic totes and bringing them to a feed mill. i spent way too much time in the past constantly picking up bags of feed. i also saved 40% of my feed bill just by buying the custom bulk feed rather than bags. you gotta raise 3-4 pigs at a time to go through a tonne, but well worth it in my books. i do that for chicken feed too and as a small supplier, it makes a huge difference.

[@homesteadingwithPJ]

Brilliant practice, keep the ones that get big on pasture. Whoa, 40% savings on pig feed! That's considerable! I'll need to go that route if/when we do pigs again! You have amazing advice Paul (aka, Canadian PJ 😉). Thanks for adding your wisdom to the channel!

[@harvestvillage695]

Great advice. I really need to with over to bulk purchasing. Question: what are the plastic totes you referred to and where would one find them? Thanks!

[@nathanpegram2312]

We are about to get some dairy sheep and it has me excited to learn about them. Of course we already have the gateway flock, chickens, and we are adding on to it now. I love your videos, I’ve seen About 12 videos already and I am binging your videos. Trying to remember to like them as well. Thank you for making these videos. My wife has been trying to convince me to do many of the things you are suggesting like using the animals to take care of our lamb. I love the produce your own food philosophy. It is the healthiest and cheapest way ( as far as money goes/ not counting your own labor) to eat healthy and close to organic foods as possible. Not to mention that you know the diet your animal has. And it’s fun. Lots of work, but fun work. That’s what our family enjoys. Again thanks for your video and living in NC. It’s where we are. Near the Winston salem area. A lot of the sheep KZbinrs I’ve seen are from here lol

[@ShepherdsCreek]

I tried giving my sheep some corn leaves and they turned their noses up at it haha I guess corn is all around just a hard no.

[@homesteadingwithPJ]

Haha! I've never given them any corn leaves, funny that they turned their noses up at it!

[@ShepherdsCreek]

@@homesteadingwithPJ haha I thought it would be a good use for the stuff we shucked off for dinner. Apparently they're only good for composting 😆

[@peasantrobot]

@@ShepherdsCreek is a good aliment for goats in the winter.

[@kayspitzmueller7544]

Same with tomatoes

[@blubac]

They love corn leaves, and they will eat young corn on field if they escape the pasture. Also they will graze rye in spring also

[@AnnaPost-c6l]

You should read Pat Coleby's book "Natural sheep care" second edition. Sheep do actually need copper. And a whole lot of other minerals that we tend to miss. Obviously it's something that needs to be provided with care, but you shouldn't avoid it like a plague.

[@trappedinroom1014]

It’s more likely that the sheep are maybe deficient in coppers cofactors!

[@popandbob]

One slight thing I would add… some unimproved wool breeds are heavy browsers. My Shetlands will clear an area of all leaves before they really touch the grass. I consider them the goats of the sheep world! On a related note, I’ve had a big drought this year and my ground has gotten so hard I can’t get any electric fence posts in the ground… do you have any suggestions on how I can still graze them without breaking the bank or taking hours of time? I’ve done a bit of halter grazing (where I’m 2’ away holding the halter while they graze) and I’ve done a little bit of zero graze style (cut the grass and take it to them) but both ways are hugely time consuming. I tried drilling small holes for the post but then they weren’t rigid enough in the hole with the wind 🤦‍♂️ the fence blew over.

[@peasantrobot]

The best solution is to move your herd on public lands... if possible. If not, keep them in their barn and feed them grains(not too much), bread, foliage, potatoes, etc., any expired vegetables you get from the store for almost nothing, until you pass the bad period of time. If by any chance you have concrete iron bars, use a "big hammer" to fix them in the ground and then tie the poles of the electric fence on them - if conducting electricity is a problem, use short pieces of PVC tube and adhesive tape.. Damara Sheep is the best browser of all! And is also a fat tail and a hair sheep. Win-win on all fronts.

[@homesteadingwithPJ]

That sounds rough. I'm not sure I have a good solution for you. Although I have mowed or clipped grass and given it to my sheep. Do you have any perimeter fence? Perhaps you could just let them roam free over your entire pasture. I imagine the parasite load is low if the ground is that hard.

[@popandbob]

@@homesteadingwithPJ No the fence around the property is 3 strand barbed wire but I have about 300ft down and in need of new posts. My shetlands will get through that no problem. I don’t have anything that can cut and collect the grass so I’ve been using a weed wacker and a hay fork to collect some but its really time consuming, took about an hour for a day and a half of feed. I might try and build something over winter for next year though.

[@popandbob]

@@peasantrobot No public lands nearby and the local grocery stores are all tied in with local pig farms who can take everything. I’m heading into 6 months of deep freeze winter here soon so I’m feeding hay but its not cheap this year. Prices are $12-14 per small square in my area. I bet by February they’ll be up to $18/bale. Alfalfa pellets are $18/bag too so no breaks there either😕

[@peasantrobot]

@@popandbob you need a scythe and a whetstone for it... urgently! On the Wikipedia is a nice article about.

[@bens4380]

What grasses are growing well in you pastures given you location in Middle North Carolina? Orchard grass? Timothy? Tall Fescue? Something else?

[@homesteadingwithPJ]

I have tried all of these and all have done pretty well. I think tall fescue is good for sunny, open pastures. Orchard and perennial ryegrass in shady areas. White clover is a MUST for any sheep farmer. Also, whatever native grass wants to come up should be respected too. I love this site. Even if you don't buy from them, just browsing their blends for certain regions is super helpful www.naturesseed.com/pasture-seed/sheep-pastures/

[@TheMoyersFamilyHomestead]

What kind of sheep do I need to help eat the weeds and grass in South Texas? Maybe an acre at a time. And how many?

[@asktodd2000]

Thanks for the reminder that sheep do not need grain. I had all but drunk the Kool-Aid from other KZbinrs that made me feel that I was starving my sheep by not giving them grain mixtures containing fancy supplements. I went as far as buying one of those cheap cement mixers from Harbor Freight that one KZbinr promoted. I finally came to my senses and I now have an unused cement mixer for sale 😂

[@homesteadingwithPJ]

Yes, it's a common narrative in the sheep world. If someone can make money from it, they'll try to control the narrative and make you feel like you need to "spend money to make money."

[@blubac]

​@@homesteadingwithPJthe thing is, here where i live people used to keep only dairy cows (each house had atlest 1 to max 5) and they ware fed hay and grain for more milk,as that is what susteined people all year. Now there is not a single cow in the village,and people who keep sheep feed them in barns like cows or pigs.. i am the only one who does 100% grass fed.

[@peasantrobot]

Think about Middle East there are sheep with fat tail, where they store fat as a Camel because the vegetation there is not so great, is a dry biome... Those sheep eat even lower quality grass and shrubs that in U.S. and thrive. They process the food very well and yes, the fat stored in their tail helps them go through harsh periods of time but that region is almost a desert. Not the case in U.S. but there the grass and anything there is plenty for ruminants which are specially designed By God to thrive on grass and shrubs.

[@homesteadingwithPJ]

@@blubac I'm sure your sheep appreciate the lifestyle you're providing. If you can, keep it up! Cheers!

[@orlandogarcia7043]

I'm finishing out 3 dorpers. I wanna process them at 12 months and I'm feeding them cheaper weedy alfalfa no chemicals and when I pull weeds around the house I throw em in there. They seem to like a bite of fresh green to break it up. Also I'm going no grain. What is a good weight I should be shooting for on processing day at 12 months?

[@homesteadingwithPJ]

You know, I only know the hanging weights of mine. Because I'm such a small producer, I don't have any scales or anything for live animals. But I personally load up each ram into my truck bed by hand. So they are small enough for me to pick up. My hanging weights at 12 months are around 50-60 pounds for Dorpers. Sheep typically hang at half of their body weight, so by that logic, mine are about 120 pounds live.

[@orlandogarcia7043]

@HighMountainHomestead ok great mine are looking pretty good and I'm feeding em heavy so I think I can hit those weights. Thanks!

[@pretzeltwisttwist7740]

Dumb question - the sheep feed you find at the feed store, that's a grain feed, correct? Hay and grass/pasture is best?

[@homesteadingwithPJ]

Not dumb at all! Most sheep feed from the store, and pretty much any with a photo of a lamb on it, are grain-based. The only feed I like to purchase is whole oats (which I give maybe a few cup's worth every couple of weeks just to get them excited to see a bucket, or alfalfa pellets. Hay and grass is always better than grain. Some sheep won't get big without grain, and those sheep should be culled.

[@pretzeltwisttwist7740]

@@homesteadingwithPJ Good clarification, thank you!

[@Shadowfate93]

​@@homesteadingwithPJ even for pregnant and lactating ewes?

[@Agl_mario]

can i feed sheep fruit

[@glitchplays2253]

Can you tell me how can a farmer export live animals to India? Reply here or make a video on it because its very informative

[@ajdan5295]

I need a sheep

[@lhatfield0786]

make sure you get at least 3

[@Luvtallhorses]

Sheep do need copper. Just not a lot

[@davidfarm8095]

Corn to hot for me too. type 2.

[@andrewsackville-west1609]

Interesting. I had no problem with corn. But rice? Oof!

[@jeffpoling7093]

Have you ever considered fodder