BLACK vs. WHITE DORPER SHEEP, Deworming, Bottle Jaw, Scours // YOUR QUESTIONS ABOUT SHEEP FARMING

[@pcdreams1]

Love your channel. I can tell that you have a well thought out parasite plan. I'm blown away on how thorough and thoughtful you are around dewormer and soil health! You're an inspiration.

[@brettpayton6286]

The more I watch the more I fall in love. 2 things. 1) your passage you put at end of video please keep it in place longer to give us the ability to read fully. Always seems like I get one line in to reading it then it disappears. 2) what type of microscope an what else is needed to run your own fecal's. Again great work. An have a blessed Sunday

[@theShepherdess]

Great feedback on the verse ending. I’ll be sure to update future vids accordingly! I use a student microscope from Am Scope. Works great and only cost $80. -the Shepherdess

[@MillhavenHomestead]

What a terrific video. We have just noticed that 2 of our Wiltipoll sheep have sloppy poo and suspect worms as the culprit. Your video answered a few questions for us. Keep up the great work. You are a genuine blessing to us newbies Down Under.

[@theShepherdess]

I am so glad it helped you!

[@jimetnavarro6003]

I like the farmer scientists look and your microscope 🔬 , by the way I just today got certified in Bovine AI at college Station ,Texas.

[@theShepherdess]

CONGRATS! That’s great news. Thanks for sharing! -the Shepherdess

[@robertlhoyt9775]

Thanks for being thorough and concise.

[@footplate0]

And so even more information given out. If only I was a few decades younger, I might have tried out sheep farming. Love the disclaimer, you can never be too careful. Loved the tips on a runny stool as a keeper of over 30 cats, I know that any runny stool needs to be treated very quickly otherwise every cat will come down with it. And the same goes for runny eyes and or sneezes, they all have to be treated quickly. I had not thought about the odd throwback in colour being a trait of cross breading in the past, but it seems obvious now that you explained it. Thank you for a very informative video and for posting

[@theShepherdess]

Yes, the disclaimer can’t be forgotten or I would soon be everyone’s enemy. 😄😄 I knew had cats, but I did not know you had 30!! What an undertaking! Thanks as always for being a part of the community. -the Shepherdess

[@footplate0]

@@theShepherdess Those are the outside cats, I have 10 more indoors :-)

[@dennispeters3279]

Everything you tell us is relevant and important, their is a lot to learn 😀

[@theShepherdess]

Thank you, Dennis!

[@heavenly-dreamsdairygoats]

Wonderful video. Thank you for sharing. Till next time God Bless.

[@MerryMallett]

This is so helpful! Thank you!

[@MrTraveler33]

It’s can also be aluminum poisoning if your taking grass from the medians of highways after mowing. Happened in Tennessee with some people I know from axis powers Japan after they took over some farms in the 1980’s. Later made shakers to separate the grass everything. 1984-8 drought was hard here in East Tennessee.

[@breesechick]

That's interesting. Thanks for sharing!

[@breesechick]

Thanks for sharing

[@Mountaincreekhopper]

Great info!

[@Tappedline]

thanks

[@Rhodietoo]

Try seeding chicory into parts of the pasture to help reduce worm lodes organically, see what other edible plants in your specific climate zone are also useful for this purpose.

[@tedwazonek7956]

Great vid. Thanks for keeping it real. Keep up the great work. 👍🏻✌🏼🙏🏼

[@sandyhalsted855]

Thank you so much for answering my questions. ☺😀 This has been very helpful to watch, especially in regards to the various reasons you chose to pursue and stay with black headed dorpers. It does seem the black headed dorpers are more available and my family prefers how they look anyways. Great info too about buying sheep with immunizations and ways to manage that. All the questions were good and I had also wondered why you chose to stick with dorpers over other breeds like the katahdin sheep. Thanks for taking the time to address all these questions. It is much appreciated and really helpful. About the next sale being this spring, how long after the babies are born before they are weaned and able to go to their new homes?

[@theShepherdess]

Thank you, Sandy!! I plan to arrange pickup for the 2nd week of June. 🐑🐑 -the Shepherdess

[@yoopermann7942]

thank you for the tip on lamb weights

[@theShepherdess]

So good to see your name in the comments again, Yooper! I’ve missed seeing you here. Hope you are well! -the Shepherdess

[@brianrotach3153]

As always great information. Great video.

[@theShepherdess]

Your comments keep me going! Thanks very much. -the Shepherdess

[@javinoda]

Thank you

[@theShepherdess]

You are welcome! Thank you for commenting. -the Shepherdess

[@thebamlife1775]

Great informative video! Thank you for sharing!!

[@theShepherdess]

Glad to hear this! I really appreciate your comment. -the Shepherdess

[@rlyman111]

Good suggestions.

[@theShepherdess]

Thank you, sir!

[@jlpaints]

Great video. Very informative.

[@theShepherdess]

Thanks so much for your constant support!! My video is not a success until your comment comes through. 😄

[@jlpaints]

@@theShepherdess Yikes.... so much pressure 😬 🙂

[@mohameddoccali7872]

Good information

[@theShepherdess]

Thank you! I really appreciate your comment. -the Shepherdess

[@jimmynoland5137]

What you worm with , an do you doctor with la 300

[@MrTraveler33]

Do you think ducks going through the field prior to the sheep so as to eat snails and slugs that pass many parasites?

[@edwinfai5910]

Is there a microcontroller for animal

[@Dorpers89]

What type are your Dorpers are they registered

[@sadiegrey3690]

When you dewormed with Prohibit, do you follow the dosage recommendations on the package, or which recommendations for dosage do you follow? Thanks!

[@theShepherdess]

Definitely not! We got into trouble following package instructions. Here is a video I made with a link to proper dosing instructions. kzbin.info/www/bejne/nYqQZphqgNaIm7c I hope this helps you out!! -the Shepherdess

[@claudiamcbride9746]

Why are Dorper tails docked but other hair sheep usually aren't?

[@johnpierce5007]

what about wool do you shear and sell wool

[@theShepherdess]

Dorper are a hair sheep, so no wool product is harvested from them. Thanks so much!

[@BaljeetSingh-oz8co]

Nice 👍

[@theShepherdess]

Thank you!

[@jorgealvarado8131]

Hello, I went the same route and got me 2 dorper ewes 7 months old but had them since they we're 4 months old. I practice rotational grazing and never had issues with worms until i started adding sheep & goats from auctions into the mix. Just noticed one of my dorpers stool had worms. Any recommendations on a good reliable sheep & goat dewormer? Your areas conditions sounds like mine, i live in Ga

[@theShepherdess]

Cydectin is an effective Dewormer!

[@jorgealvarado8131]

@@theShepherdess Thank you!

[@jorgealvarado8131]

I've heard of this one, I'll try it out. Have you ever tried or if you did had success with natural deworming such as garlic powder & molasses?

[@markspurlock9147]

Dear Shepherdess I know you live in East Texas and therefore have issues with flies, horseflies, mosquitos gnats and other obnoxious insects attacking your sheep. How do you abate this problem and what do you use? Thanks for Your time, Mark in Bynum Texas

[@theShepherdess]

I use vetericyn spray as an antibacterial, then pack any wounds with Vaseline and finish off with a general fly spray. Thankfully my ewes keep a bit of hair on their backs, which helps keep the flies at bay. -the Shepherdess

[@gerrilondot9038]

I just found your videos. I'm new to sheep,and respect your experience. I have yearling St Croix. 1 ram two ewes. My husband brought home a three day old Dorper cross ram lamb. He is now 26 days old, at 20.7 lbs. He stays with my St Croix all day and barned separate at night. He has access to alfalfa hay and a 50/50 mix of alfalfa pellets & lamb feed in his barn at night. He's getting 13 ounces of lamb replacer in 4 feedings per day. I'm going to remove one feeding today. I can't find any feeding schedule amounts that make sense to me. The chart I found just keeps increasing daily replacer amounts. Like huge amounts. I want to keep and breed this lamb to increase lamb sizes. My two ewes have bred with my St Croix ram. Expecting in spring. I will keep the ewe lambs. How do I proceed with feeding this ram lamb? I've gotten so much conflicting advise😢

[@theShepherdess]

At 20-25 lb I maintain 3 feeds per day, but make sure they are 8-11oz per feeding :). Feed the formula cold as you increase the amount to keep the lambs from eating too fast and bloating. Hope this helps!

[@gerrilondot9038]

@theShepherdess Thank you so much..🌼 I cut down to 3 yesterday. I've fed 13 oz per feeding last night and this morning. I can cut back more. He weighed 21.3 today. Im pleased he's doing well. Bright,alert and gaining. I will continue watching your videos. And I appreciate your advise immediately. Thank you.🌼🌿

[@isaaccampuzano1320]

What do you think about suffixes breed

[@theShepherdess]

Many people are breeding Dorper-Suffolk crosses. The Suffolk is a beautiful sheep, but if I am right they are a wool breed. Since my operation is for producing meat animals the cost of shearing would cut into profitability too much. Thanks so much for commenting! Your support of my channel means a lot. -the Shepherdess

[@markstamm272]

I keep being attracted to the dorper carcass. But I'm on 80 acre Rocky side hill high elevation. 2 seasons winter, summer. Extreme temperature shifts. Katadins thriving. Bought 5 more nice dorper x katadin ewes. But I'm beginning to think, that a dorper carcass is not going to thrive in my environment .just seeming a fast shedding lighter carcass ,is doing better here. Also notice the dormers aren't as smooth moving as katadin and other range sheep. So maybe that's an issue to?

[@Digger927]

Very reasonable explanation of dewormer use. The hard core antivaxxers and anti-dewormers are silly IMHO. If you get a sick animal and can save it, it seems pretty negligent not to do so.

[@theShepherdess]

AMEN. I think there’s a far cry between good husbandry and babying. I think the latter can be avoided by knowing your animals... which comes easy when you are with them every day!

[@andreytrigubko4361]

Vaxxi/devorming/antibiotics ...there are two sides of the coin IMO Can be good short term but on the long run it’s real bad for the future genetics. Just an opinion.

[@theShepherdess]

@@andreytrigubko4361 thanks for commenting with your perspective. It contributes to healthy discussion. 👍🏻

[@Digger927]

@@andreytrigubko4361 Depends on the circumstances. If animals "need" any of that stuff on a regular basis to perform then there's a definite issue with the animals or the conditions in which they are being managed (or not managed). There's a difference between an animal that's too susceptible to illness and one that has been mismanaged beyond reasonable expectations.

[@swamp-yankee]

I think there's something to be said for field dressing anything that isn't preforming either for oneself or the dogs. I generally fix most anything that I think I can, but a mentor of mine tries to fix every sick animal on the farm. To me it sometimes looks less humane than a knock to the head.

[@getivan]

Saw this, ma'am, and thought you might find it interesting: (they won't let me post the video link) They were saying that Chickory and Plantain are effective at deworming lambs. Just thought you might like to try-it-out. :)

[@theShepherdess]

Thank you very much for those recommendations!

[@andreytrigubko4361]

thx for the vid! Question: Weight of the Dorper sheep comparing to other breeds is clear but its not all... lambing gives only 1-2 ewes 1,4 avg. for Dorper if i am correct there is a breed that can give 4 offspring per lambing => different effect on profitability & how fast it is possible to multiply your sheep flock

[@theShepherdess]

Thanks for commenting Andrey! It is good to hear from you. I don’t know that there is a breed that will consistently give you 4 lambs per lambing. On a pasture based system you don’t want more than 2 lambs per mom. Triplets often result in a bottle lamb which is expensive and time consuming for the farmer (hard to profit off of bottle babies). 4 lambs per year would either be the result of accelerated lambing (breeding your sheep twice in a year) or a factory farm situation where fertility is increased through chemical hormones or a huge grain based flushing rations. My flock produced 1.3 lamb crop last spring. This was low, however 50% of my ewes were first time moms, producing singles in their first lambing. I am aiming for 1.5 in 2022 and a consistent 1.7 by 2025. I hope this info helps! -the Shepherdess

[@andreytrigubko4361]

@@theShepherdess The answer of a truly devoted person, thank you! Future of young regenerative farmers looks brighter now & it warms my heat. It is true that mom could have not enough milk to feed more then 2 offsprings at the same time. Goat or cow milk can be used in this case > it’s time consuming but profitable. 1,3 is good result, as many other breeds are at 1,1 If you get it to 1,7 mark with pure Dorper - I would propose a swap for my 2,8 breed))) ...4offsping per lambing is not rare for this breed btw, sometimes it gets as high as 6-7

[@swamp-yankee]

@@theShepherdess check out Romanovs. A friend of a friend is getting into them in a grass based system, and I look forward to seeing how they do. He's just moving onto his family farm in Maine this year and hasn't bought stock yet. I'm pretty interested in the far norther European and Eurasian breeds. I like the idea of a sheep that can get wet and survive a driving below freezing wind with just natural cover. I'm going to experiment with crossing my mixed breed hair flock to polled icelandic.

[@pieterse4075]

@@andreytrigubko4361 do you know the difference between a pig and a sheep?

[@peterpepper2983]

What is your take on mixing breeds of humans? For example-- purebred indigenous germans. Would you mix a purebred german woman (ewe) or man(ram) that can trace their genetics back for many generations with a mixed race muslim or an African man (ram)? As I get more into livestock I think of the similarities in human stock. Any thoughts on this?

[@peterpepper2983]

Also, would you mix in a bunch of mixed breed random rams into your pure bred flock of dorpers on your farm (or country if we were talking about humans and mass immigration of military aged fighting men.) Thanks

[@badmoonrising8275]

DorPer is a cross of Dorset and Persian. The Persian is what gives the black head. When you get a white head is when the Persian is bread out and is near or all Dorset only. They really need to stop calling them DorPer at that point.

[@theShepherdess]

Interesting information, thank you!

[@jandrevanzyl4979]

Still taking bragging rights on them Dorpers😂🐑

[@swamp-yankee]

I think whoever's saying their animals are too small to make a profit probably isn't pursuing the right markets, or is spending too much money on things that don't bring returns. Blaming your chosen breed can be easier than honest cost accounting.

[@theShepherdess]

You are right with respect to markets. As a farm to table grower the carcass weight is critical. If 80% of your animal is bones and internal organs, it really cuts into the bottom line. A 100lb dorper lamb can produce 35-40lb of saleable meat. Definitely an advantage for the market farmer. -the Shepherdess

[@theShepherdess]

Good info in this comment. Have you had any experience with pure St. Croix carcass yield? -the Shepherdess

[@bishiali1671]

black head orginal from only somalia and south africa got from somalia

[@natemissin3893]

I have a question 🙋‍♂️ are you married 😏

[@benbrits6840]

whitehead dorper is not a true breed its bread with a marino sheep to prodice more meat and wool