We often find ourselves answering sheep raising questions, perhaps due to sheep ranching sliding under the radar since grain and cattle ranching are often the main enterprises on Saskatchewan farms. Here are the most frequently asked questions and our answers to them.
Do you shear them yourself?
No. We hire a shearing crew who does the actual shearing.
However many people can and do shear their own sheep. There are sheep shearing workshops for those who want to learn how.
Typically people with only a few sheep will shear their own sheep or truck their animals to a farm where a large flock is being shorn. It's often not worth a shearing crews time and travel to shear at places with only a few number of sheep. Also many people who wish to only keep a few head of sheep will keep a hair breed variety to avoid the necessity for shearing altogether.
What do you do with the wool? Isn't wool worthless?
Sheep wool from commercial flocks isn't completely worthless yet but it's not worth much either. There are other avenues for wool besides the open market though. However, this requires research and effort on the part of the producer.
Other than the typical clothing, socks, and carpet uses, wool is known to be a very good mulch material. Wool mulch can be used around hedges in the yard or around fence posts to keep the grass at bay. It makes great stuffing for pet beds, is used for nesting material for rodents, and felted wool can be used as a liner in hanging plant baskets. Wool has also been used to insulate dog houses and human houses too.
There remains a viable market for quality fleeces and wool for hand spinning so it is an option to undergo sheep raising with a breed suited for this purpose.
What do you do with them in the winter, they can't live outside can they?
This question about sheep raising used to surprise us but we've become used to how common a misconception this is. The short answer is yes wool sheep can and do live outside - all winter - even in a winter climate like Saskatchewan's. Yes, even when it's really cold.
Wool sheep have their houses on their back and can do fine outdoors provided they have some natural shelter or wind breaks to ease the cut of the winter winds.
Perhaps the reason this is such a common sheep raising myth is due to the fact that, in Saskatchewan, there are many flocks of sheep being housed in barns. These flock producers lamb during the winter season and lambing must take place indoors if you are going to do so successfully during a Saskatchewan winter. But sheep do not need to live indoors and seem to prefer not to, and lambing can take place outdoors in the early summer.
Sheep to cows, how do they compare?
There isn't a short answer to this sheep raising FAQ. It's kind of like comparing apples to oranges or if you've ever tried to compare economics with another producer, it's kind of like that.
Generally speaking though:
It is a common rule of thumb to say seven sheep are equivalent to one cow. With the larger breeds of range sheep we feel the ratio is more like five to one.
Sheep and cattle graze differently and eat different plant species. This means they can compliment one another in a grazing system rather than compete. Grazing cattle and sheep can increase the efficiency of your pastures.
Sheep do not overgraze pastures as is commonly thought, ranchers who leave livestock on the pasture too long overgraze pastures.
If they are taken care of sheep won't get sick any more often than healthy cows do but when sheep do get sick they can succumb quicker just due to their smaller size.
Cows typically have single births, sheep typically have multiple births. So on the basis of pounds of meat raised and seven sheep equating to one cow, sheep will out produce cows.
With sheep raising you do have internal parasites to manage to a greater extent than with cattle.
Sheep are more prone to predator trouble. This is one area where cows can help though.
Sheep can be managed and handled without complex handling systems or round up crews.
I've thought about raising sheep but I'm not interested in the extra labour and barn lambing and all that.
Basically, there are three ways to raise sheep: confinement, semi-confinement and on grass (pasture). Confinement will take considerable effort and labour and input cost. Semi confinement takes the middle ground although will still take a fair amount of effort and labour during periods of confinement and also incurs significant input costs. Pasture (grass-based) is the low labour, low input approach for people who are not interested in working so hard for the ranch but prefer the ranch work for them.
If you've got the right sheep and the program to match, sheep can lamb without a lot of assistance and be a lower labour enterprise overall.
I've heard sheep are hard to keep inside a fence.
Provided they have good grass at their feet they're really more content to just eat. If you cheat them on food, yes, they are hard to keep in a fence.
Due to the wool, electric wires on a sheep fence should be spaced appropriately otherwise the animals can make it through without feeling a jolt from the fence.
Some breeds are more prone to fence crawling, or jumping.
Lambs are sooo cute. Do you name them all? This question is often followed by, 'But you don't eat them, do you?'
No we don't name all our lambs but it seems that every year there is the eccentric animal or two that ends up naming itself. Many smaller flock producers enjoy naming all their lambs.
Yes, lambs are cute, adorable really, no denying that. We raise a flock of sheep for the purpose of meat so yes, we do eat them, but not when they're lambs! Sheep raised for meat follow a similar approach as cattle raised for meat. The male offspring are de-sexed and raised to a suitable slaughter weight. The animals are a year or older when butchered. They are of adult size and are no longer the cute little lambs people are thinking of.
There isn't a short answer to this sheep raising FAQ. It's kind of like comparing apples to oranges or if you've ever tried to compare economics with another producer, it's kind of like that. 
