How much milk do dairy sheep produce? East Friesian Sheep

[@FulbrightFarmstead]

Another well done video Nathalie. I wish I could find some British milking sheep in my area. For now I have found East Friesans, Lacaunes and Finns. Do you have a video of your milking area? I caught a little glimpse in this video and I'd love to see your setup.

[@waykeeperfarmandnerdery]

This is probably the video that shows our set up the most: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gaWaenmtoJ18Y6s But we did upgrade since we recorded this... now we have 2 stanchions (one on each side of the milking machine) so we can milk 2 sheep "sort of" at the same time. We get them both up and milk one, while we prep the second, and let them finish eating their grains.

[@christinaw2736]

Your videos are answering so many of my questions, thank you!!! We are hoping to get some dairy sheep in the near future. One thing I wasn't completely clear on, is your averages of milk per day given in this video per sheep or for all sheep combined? Also would love to know, how long does the milk stay good for in the refrigerator? Thanks so much!!

[@waykeeperfarmandnerdery]

It really varies a lot - for example, right now we're milking 4 sheep, just once a day. One ewe is giving us half a gallon per day, while the other 3 give us half a gallon combined (so 1/6 of a gallon each). Our milk stays good in the refrigerator for about 4-5 days, we like to use it up within this timeframe at least. :) We also make yogurt and freeze extra, for making cheese later or drinking down the line too!

[@buffimpreza07]

Massaging the back udder helps too :)

[@waykeeperfarmandnerdery]

Yes!! That is a great suggestion - I think I mentioned that in another video, so glad you brought it up too :)

[@spinderella3602]

I've got an Awassi ram and East Friesian that I'm going to breed in the fall. I'm weaning right now and share my milking's. I'm getting a quart a day from my share. Yesterday I made lavender honey sheep's milk ice cream. It was easy and delicious. I highly recommend sheep's milk ice cream.

[@waykeeperfarmandnerdery]

We love sheep's milk ice cream too, it's amazing :)

[@noahriding5780]

Wow. I had the same idea of mixing honey with the milk haha!

[@yourvirtualhelpbiz]

Nathalie you are living the dream! I've been following you for awhile and just seen this because of your recent founders video. I will definitely binge watch on these videos when my internet connection is back. I can't wait!

[@waykeeperfarmandnerdery]

Thank you so much!! I'm glad this is an interesting view into our little farming journey for you

[@LovingSoul61]

This is informative, thank you!!

[@waykeeperfarmandnerdery]

You're so welcome!

[@noahriding5780]

If you aren't sure if the ewe has parasites or not, is there a way of doing something with the milk after milking to address this? Also I'm curious if there's a way to flavor the milk with honey somehow?

[@waykeeperfarmandnerdery]

Usually, when we're talking about parasites in sheep we're referring to internal parasites that suck the sheep's blood from within (gross, I know!). So it's not so much something related to the milk, though there could be bacteria in the milk if the ewe has an infection. In that case, I wouldn't recommend drinking the milk. The best thing to do is keep everything clean and keep your animals healthy overall, and then cool the milk immediately after milking to reduce the changes of any bacteria growing in there. And yes, you're more than welcome to flavor the milk with honey, just add and stir!

[@noahriding5780]

@@waykeeperfarmandnerdery Thanks for the reply! I appreciated the information. I guess it does help to know the parasites don't get in the milk... (?) At least I hope they don't.

[@brco6466]

Thank you for the information. What type/ brand milking machine do you use?

[@waykeeperfarmandnerdery]

You're very welcome! I use a Simple Pulse milking machine with attachments for goats and sheep. :) I'm very happy with it!

[@israelnemitz8323]

Great video

[@waykeeperfarmandnerdery]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@madisonspotts5724]

How much milk do you supplement away for the lambs? Vs how much do you save to drink yourselves?

[@waykeeperfarmandnerdery]

We go based on timing - so we separate the lambs during the day and get to milk the ewes before they rejoin the lambs. Until a certain age, several months in the lambs don't need as much milk so we separate completely.

[@TexasIndiafarm]

Can dormer sheep produce milk? Which one does milk and meat both

[@waykeeperfarmandnerdery]

I personally haven't had Dormer sheep, but the idea is that you can milk any sheep - it's just a matter of how much milk you'll get and whether or not it's worth it. Here's another video on the best milking breeds: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hYiQiGx6p8-Vftk As far as milk and meat, both in one breed: you can absolutely eat dairy breeds, we do. Dairy sheep grow quickly so they make for great meet breeds, too.

[@molinator2a]

What Milking machine do you have?

[@waykeeperfarmandnerdery]

We have a Simple Pulse milking machine - I have a little video review video coming out soon too. :) I'm not affiliated with the company in any way!

[@gbfarm]

Nice video, how much liter production per day?

[@waykeeperfarmandnerdery]

It really depends - both on the breed, the specific sheep, and also how recently they lambed. For example, we just got some sheep who produce 2 liters per day, 100 days post-lambing.

[@ThunderChaserWX]

So our first EF ewe just gave birth to triplets and she seems to be doing good as a Mom. What I'm wondering is either after the lambs have nurses or we milk her what should her bags( utters ) look and feel like? And also after she has had her babies how soon should she be bread back if we are planning on milking her? Can she get pregnant if were milking her, if so at what point do you breed her back and does it change the taste of the milk?

[@waykeeperfarmandnerdery]

Hi Edwin! I highly recommend joining this dairy sheep Facebook group to ask more questions and also see how others do with their flocks: facebook.com/groups/283875238439778 In my experience, ewes seem to have very full/hard bags until the lamb really gets the hang of drinking milk from her. We do milk around 12 to 24 hours after she lambs, to help alleviate some of that extra accumulation - and we often give this milk directly to the lamb via bottle to make sure they're well fed right off the bat. We personally only breed once per year, and EFs tend to be seasonal breeders so they're likely going to be ready to breed in the fall. You can breed them even if you're still milking and I don't know if it will affect the taste, because we often dry our ewes before we breed again. :)

[@ThunderChaserWX]

@@waykeeperfarmandnerdery Awesome thank you so much for the reply. I will have my wife get on that FB group so we can check it out.

[@ericabalko916]

We are going to dairy tomorrow that we hope to buy East Fresian ewe lambs from. I’m so glad I saw your video. We are thinking of buying 4-5 lambs. Do you think 4 is enough? We want them to be happy. :) also how many should we hope to keep in milk? I cannot drink cow milk so this is driving the decision to keep sheep. Also their milk is wonderful. Do you freeze it? Does it keep its flavor and consistency after you thaw? Thank you!

[@waykeeperfarmandnerdery]

I think 4-5 lambs is a great idea! We currently keep 5 sheep, with 3 ewes and last year we had all 3 in milk. It was a little hard to keep up with that much milk and we had to make cheese every 2-3 days at the peak. This year we wanted to try just 2 in milk, to see if that's the right amount for our family. :) We have 2 adults and 2 young kids, I assume that when the kids get older we'll be able to drink more of the milk too. I haven't frozen the milk so I can't share my experience yet, but I definitely plan to this year. We weren't sure what to expect on thawing either, I'll report back with that info in a future video! :)

[@noahriding5780]

How did this project turn out with the lambs, and combatting cow milk intolerance? I'm very curious to hear about this.

[@BestyetJourney]

i was just thinking about sheep and did not think about the milk xoxo

[@waykeeperfarmandnerdery]

Yes! The milk is pretty good too ;)

[@jeffpetro-s1z]

Hello Nathalie, do you know of any books you recommend for making cheese specifically from sheep? thank you

[@waykeeperfarmandnerdery]

Great question! I really like the book "The Art of Natural Cheesemaking" by David Asher. It's not specifically about sheep's milk but it does talk about the differences in milk and how to adapt things for each type.

[@jeffpetro-s1z]

@@waykeeperfarmandnerdery Thanks Nathalie, I have this book, however-I do not see him mention much about sheep's milk.

[@Amro_Ebn_El_Aass]

What 's the kind of milking system you use to milk your sheep?! it' s clearly different than the other milking system in big farm. Where you buy from?! If there a site link for the product factory pls put it in the answer Thank's a lot

[@waykeeperfarmandnerdery]

Hi there! I've got a video showing what milking machine I use here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/p6axm5-Bf9uhm7s&ab_channel=WaykeeperFarmandNerdery It's called the Simple Pulse, and there's a link in the description of that video too. :)

[@dtaylor9133]

I found with goats having the male around all the time effected the taste of the milk. Is this the case with sheep being around the ram?

[@waykeeperfarmandnerdery]

We haven't had any issues with taste and our ram is fairly close by. :)

[@dtaylor9133]

Thank you so much. @@waykeeperfarmandnerdery

[@zahidali3237]

Nice

[@waykeeperfarmandnerdery]

Thanks so much!

[@WonbyGrace2]

Do you make butter from the milk?

[@waykeeperfarmandnerdery]

I sure do, here's a video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/m4asXqOda82feas

[@jacquiweber731]

Where in Ontario are you? Do you sell your ewe lambs? What breed do you have?

[@waykeeperfarmandnerdery]

Hi Jacqui! Yes, it all depends on how many we have (last year we had 6 rams and 2 ewes born, and we kept the ewes). I'm in the Niagara region close to For Erie, and the breed is a mix of British Milking Sheep and East Friesian. :)

[@052450]

What do you drink when your sheep are off ?

[@waykeeperfarmandnerdery]

We're drinking store-bought cow's mil right now during the winter, but we are considering ways to freeze the milk and make some warmed things like eggnog or hot chocolate with our frozen sheep's milk next year. :)

[@BestyetJourney]

I came from Ernie Hatmaker channel

[@waykeeperfarmandnerdery]

Yay thanks so much for letting me know, super grateful for the shout out :)

[@lyndsiepperson4578]

How many would I need if I wanted to make cheese yogurt butter ice cream and have milk I'm a family of 4

[@waykeeperfarmandnerdery]

That’s a great question! We are also a family of 4, and we found that with 3 ewes in production at peak we could make cheese, yogurt, ice cream and have plenty to drink. With only 2, you could do it all too but for a shorter period of time. :)

[@Time_Chance]

The captions would be very helpful if their weren't so many errors; lambs reads as "lamp", etc. Also, please talk slower.

[@AccessAlly]

Hi Kitty - sorry about the captions, they are auto-generated by KZbin so they don't always get the right words based on the context. Thanks for the feedback on how fast I talk! It's a lot to balance everything I'm trying to say :)

[@waykeeperfarmandnerdery]

Thank you for the feedback!

[@TexasIndiafarm]

Where are you located?

[@waykeeperfarmandnerdery]

Hi, we're in Southern Ontario, Canada!

[@carlhall3015]

Surprised that you can do lamb share and still milk 2x day.

[@waykeeperfarmandnerdery]

It depends on how long after birth - at first you can, and then the lambs get bigger and drink more milk and that's usually when we decide if we need to completely separate or not.

[@noahriding5780]

With cattle they milk twice a day. So maybe twice a day might have some efficiency for volume with sheep also?

[@wisconsinfarmer4742]

nerd power!

[@waykeeperfarmandnerdery]

YES!! Thank you!

[@Astroponicist]

do you make ice cream, yogurt, & cheese?

[@waykeeperfarmandnerdery]

We sure do!

[@michaelalexander3828]

Poor audio !

[@waykeeperfarmandnerdery]

I'm so sorry to hear that, it happens to all of us!