The SECRET to HUGE MEAT LAMBS (We just got 5)

[@Ross19kilo]

Awesome! I use to watch every episode religiously but have been busy these last 2 years and man you’ve come along way!

[@fsbjewellery]

We love our texels, they are fantastic meaty animals that grow fast. I also find it interesting how you say about friends thinking they wouldn't like lamb before trying it. As a New Zealander it's so foreign that lamb isn't a normal meat to eat! It's definitely our fav, although we usually wait til they are hoggets so we get a bit more meat off them. Sheep are definitely not difficult husbandry wise, so long as you keep up with regular basic care they are MUCH easier than cattle (especially as smaller to handle).

[@AndyViant]

I always worry when I see a Kiwi say "sheep are not difficult husbandry wise" Greetings from across the pond ;) For Americans, seriously, sheep and goats are the most common meat animals in the world. Cooking a Lamb Roast for Easter right now. Delish!

[@jaynewiley6498]

We have a goat dairy in Delaware. I've been thinking about sheep, so this is awesome. Thank you for linking their info.

[@Homesteadyshow]

They are great! Give em a call

[@brich2929]

Where are you located? Did you ever get sheep?

[@taktakoriginal]

I discovered dairy sheep recently and am trying to get ahold of those to go with my meat sheep. Those are the biggest lambs I have seen! The fact that I can use them to mow my hills rather than me mowing and I get meat too, best investment.👌

[@Homesteadyshow]

YES! I have a hill I used to mow, hated mowing it! Now I just graze it 😁

[@raspberryrunfarm5958]

Nice looking lambs ! I am getting 4 in about 6 weeks. Thanks for sharing. 🙂

[@Jennyharris15]

I just got a baby Katahdin 2 weeks ago, she was 4 days old. she is a bottle baby. I got her to be a buddy for my livestock guardian dog (puppy). I brought her home and she immediately had joint ill, ive been giving her penicillin twice a day and she’s getting better thankfully. i had no idea what joint ill was and it almost killed her. Bottle lambs are a bit intimidating for someone with no experience 😳

[@Emily-mq1lj]

Thanks for this! Been debating adding Katahdins in with my Dexter's.

[@nitapachulski9758]

Them are some beautiful lambs.

[@FarmFreshIB]

Feeder lambs are great for the homestead! Easy way to raise excellent meat and save lots of money at the same time.

[@CynBrown]

They are beautiful.

[@alliboogaloo]

Do the video please. My shetlands and Romanovs have been pretty easy but knowing what to look for in disease recognition is the hard part. It will help lots of newbies.

[@nathandukelow1863]

what weight do you sell the sheep at when there finished out?what age they get weaned

[@InomayWolf]

Im hopeing to do lambs next year. We moved from az to alabama this week and have the ability to do some homesteading.

[@Homesteadyshow]

Yay! Congrats

[@mariag5594]

A sheep video would be amazing!!

[@valerierobinson8872]

Maria, check out Sandi Brock on you tube. She raises sheep in Canada. Very informative as well.

[@quickstrike06]

I just got our first lambs--3 ewes for future breeding and 3 rams for the freezer. Here's the thing: they are intact and about 4 months old. 1) Is it too late to castrate? 2) if I don't castrate them, will that negatively effect the flavor? I just want this first experience to be positive.

[@samuelpiper9301]

We have St Croix x Gulf Coast Native in Old Fort, NC. we don't neuter our ram lambs and butcher them at 120-170 pounds. Did not notice any strong flavor, nor any aggression towards us (humans). The adult rams get into shoving contests and sometimes butt heads with each other, but normally get along. They're not very friendly towards dogs, as they will charge a dog and try to hurt them. Packs of loose running dogs are our worse predators. The sheep stay in their fenced pen (electric netting for sheep from Premeir 1) unless something unusual happens like Hurricane Helene sending 12 feet of flood water over their field. Overall, they don't require vet care, deworming, or help lambing. They just need forage, clean water, and sunshine.

[@ChrisCubberly]

In central florida and looking for info and direction so I can make decisions

[@cameronsmith5048]

In the beginning of the video it was stated that Goats are much more work and trouble. Can you do a video showing the difference between goats and sheep as to why people switch from goats to sheep. Or what the troubles are? Thanks

[@lydiaschmoore3195]

Yes please!!!! I was going to get goats because I thought sheep were the needy ones! Please let us know!!!

[@FarmFreshIB]

Sheep require decent grass, clean water and protection from predators. They like a place to get in out of the rain. That is about all a feeder lamb will need. Buy healthy animals from a breeder you can trust. They grow incredibly fast. Our purebred Katahdins are 45 to 55 pounds at weaning at two months old. With a weight gain nearly a pound a day! It doesn't take long to reach 85 - 100 pounds which is prime for the freezer. Goats are hard on fences, climb on everything, can kill your trees, noisy, smell worse, and have more issues all around than sheep do. Sheep flock, which means you can move the group easily with a bucket. A group of goats each have ideas of their own. They also fight more amongst themselves.

[@williambuchanan6530]

The difference is apparently wool sheep? which I know nothing about and would never own. But I have been raising hairsheep for 30 years. No comparison with goats and I’ve had both. Goats smell like urine, are much harder to contain and the lambs are constantly getting their heads caught in the fence. They have to be wormed way more often and provided shelter, and their meat sucks. Everyone I’ve known that has had both, eventually got rid of their goats. Hardly a day goes by that I don’t pull over and get one of my across the street neighbors goats free from the fence. Bless’em… Pros for goats, their lambs have more personality and they are better milkers. (I would strongly advise a polled breed)

[@theconsciouscorgi2103]

I would be interested if you guys did a video on raising sheep depending on the different geography types around the country. Like should someone who lives in the southeast raise lambs? I am interested in it but I live in the coastal Carolina region. It’s very hot and humid in the summer , mild in the winter but very wet with lots of rain and plant growth everywhere. Would I have a lot more issues than someone raising lamb in Oklahoma?

[@samuelpiper9301]

Depends on your breeding stock. We also live in NC. Our sheep are highly disease/parasite resistant. While others in the county were losing sheep to barber pole worms, ours weren't troubled. I would suggest St Croix, Gulf Coast Native, Florida Cracker, Katahdin, or their crosses. If you have swampy land for grazing, definitely mix some GCN into the mix, then select for hair verses wool.

[@samuelpiper9301]

I forgot to mention the Black Bellies. They have disease resistance and they're gorgeous.

[@CaponeCabin]

Nice! They look a lot easier than goats! They are excited to be KZbin stars!

[@jillembree7343]

We raise katahdin. I wish I could get our sheep to weight in 12 weeks. How do you get them to that size by 12 weeks?

[@samuelpiper9301]

In the film they mentioned crossing the Katahdin to Texels, It's called a terminal cross. They do a lot of that out West, with Suffolk and other huge sheep.

[@fidelsseecoomar3279]

What were the cost of the 5 lambs.

[@AshGreen359]

Never heard of that breed. How do you spell texle?

[@justicebinder6544]

#askhomesteady do you have any knowledge on jacob sheep? I hear they are extremely hardy and easy to care and am considering raising them for wool and meat and as a bit of a pet after I am experienced with chickens and ducks

[@ghostghosts6794]

Can I put duck in box with no light?. With some holes in box? Please tell me fast I am going to buy 4 baby ducks.

[@pnhnut]

I wonder what her opposition to Dorpers was. We love them. They are meaty and shed also.

[@brandonandkeiafink204]

Did I see it correctly where the Katahdin Ram over the Texel Ewe made a lamb with hair?

[@dragonrider1467]

Yes.... But I think the mum they were referring to was one of their Texel/Katahdin ewes that was supposed to be a market lamb. It can take a couple of generations to breed back to hair (the original form from wild sheep).

[@samuelpiper9301]

Texels are a wool sheep. When you cross them with a hair sheep, the quality of the wool decreases but they are still a wool sheep. It takes a few generations to get back to a hair sheep.

[@jordanisekimoglou1283]

What did they eat?

[@jenniferr2057]

Please do the video on how to keep your lambs alive!

[@breesechick]

The Shepherdess can help you with that! She's an amazing teacher! I purchased her master class after I purchase a couple of her classes Olive cart and the wealth of information is amazing! So far the only live stock animal that I have phrased are chickens but with her master class I'm confident that I can keep a lamb alive from birth until 8 months when they're in the clear approximately. Once I get out of the subdivision man it's going to be me and the sheep 🐑

[@fionajane56]

You need to try Dorper.Just because this breeder doesn't like them for what they are doing doesn't mean they're not suitable for home raised lamb. Dorper truly finish way faster on grass.

[@arlenevieau9016]

I don't understand why you say sheep are hard animals to rear. I need you to elaborate. I think they're pretty easy, but they were the first animals we got for our homestead so maybe I just don't know any better. Frankly I think they're so much easier than goats!

[@williambuchanan6530]

Agree 💯! I’ve raised them both and there is no comparison. Hair sheep are crazy easy in literally every aspect. Been raising them over 30 years. Way easier to contain, more parasite resistant, the meat is better, no shelter needed, and my hairsheep will eat anything a goat will eat and don’t have horns to get stuck in fences! And they don’t play urine games and STINK. 😂 I guess goats are better if you’re looking to get goat’s milk. 😂

[@lionbearcat]

I've been saying it wrong in my head for ever 🤣🤣

[@truenorthhaven7676]

Does she sell ewe lambs as feeder lambs or just the wethers? Are the girls kept back and sold as breeders? #askhomesteady

[@dragonrider1467]

I think they were sending everything that was texel mixed to the sale barn, and breeding pure katahdin for breeding stock and replacement ewes. They were saying that the one texel mixed mom they have was an exception to their sale barn run.

[@joanneganon7157]

Very interesting. Thanks for sharing the info 😊. JO JO IN VT 💕😄

[@candicechristensen1753]

I have dorper/kathadin cross sheep. I love them. I actually don't taste a difference between my hair sheep and wool sheep. They're all incredibly mild and everyone says it's the best lamb they've ever had.

[@Homesteadyshow]

Dorpers… wool?

[@fsbjewellery]

i've never noticed any breed tasting different enough to another. I think some people are sensitive to the 'sheepy' taste and it's more that, than hair sheep being milder tasting.

[@moniquem783]

Gosh those two little ones were cute! I can’t get anything that cute and cuddly the first time. I’ll get too attached and they won’t make it to the freezer! There’s a line in Victorian Farm that’s funny but obviously true too. The sheep is the only animal in God’s creation looking for the quickest way to die. A video on some of the ways they’ll try to die and how to avoid that would be excellent 😊 I’m almost packed apart from the bare essentials. About another week I think and I’ll be ready to get photos done and list this place. Went to look at one homestead. Location was great, land was great, was so lovely and quiet, but the house and shedding wasn’t quite right. It had potential, but once I started adding up all the things that needed to be changed in order to do what I want it ended up a huge list including an immediate bathroom reno. I don’t want to deal with that. Not straight away. Spoke to another agent and there’s another one due to hit the market soon that sounds really promising so fingers crossed that that’s the one.

[@Kevin-mn4hd]

This why I use screws 😂 I've used some 3 or 4 times

[@sharrelldavis7617]

I have Jacob Sheep

[@ambryacres]

so cute

[@Becauseimme]

Viva Zapata!

[@adamlittlecousin3223]

👍👍

[@TwiztedHumor]

Yes it doesn't feel good to kill and eat your friends. I'm surprised how close they were being with them actually

[@graydonturner]

You ain't getting those kinds of gains on pasture. Especially not this early in spring in PA.

[@emilylyons1424]

I’m not feeling the mustache in this video 😂

[@candicechristensen1753]

I don't think anyone is ever "feeling" that mustache 🤣😂

[@emilylyons1424]

#Askhomesteady Austin, no disrespect meant, but I want K’s true thoughts on this mustache, your old, shorter mustache was so much better IMO 😝

[@FelixTheAnimator]

I can kill chickens. I don't know if I could kill lambs. 😍

[@DimitriMichaelidis-up6sl]

Lambs are no longer lambs once they become adults at 6 months... That's when they taste like mutton very gamey unpalatable meat. Lamb tastes best around two to four months with no gamey taste and melts in the mouth like butter. Don't listen to the profit driven sayings that a 12 month old sheep is lamb or hogget, it's not, it is mutton

[@falynch]

😂 it's been lamb under 12 months 12-18 hogget and over 18 months mutton before supermarkets even existed, even mentioned back in the 18th. Have you ever seen a supermarkets selling hogget? No because it's not a profit term. Lamb doesn't taste gamey because of sex hormones but lanolin which is higher in wool breeds. Hair breeds produced very little

[@Marketto8777]

boooooo!!!! THE SECRET TO HUGE LAMBS IS BUYING A BIG BREED? WASTED MY TIME

[@Homesteadyshow]

Sorry Marketto, but you must have missed the point… the secret as Becky explained, is Heterosis, the process you get when Crossing 2 different breeds of Lambs. This leads to a very large and usually healthy lamb.

[@tylerconklin5206]

Texels aren’t a huge breed, they are very short and incredibly sticky. A texel crossed on a frame breed will be big market lambs. Texels are super cool I think, but I will disagree with the idea Boer are difficult. Good well managed Boer on good feed are great