Creating a Safe & Sustainable Home for Your Flock of Sheep
Many small farms pride themselves on the quality of care they provide for their flocks, and we are certainly part of this group. We love sharing insight into how we raise our Gotland sheep because they are a beloved part of our farm family and they also have a very important function providing natural fiber and restoring soil health.
In a regenerative farming approach, we see three equal partners—land, animals and farmers—each contributing in ways that are beneficial to the other and collectively raising the whole enterprise, and farm ecosystem, to higher standards of health and happiness. If you are thinking of raising a small flock of sheep on pasture or you just want to learn more about the sheep behind your farm yarn, here are some basic practices we follow for sustainable, humane sheep care at Six Dutchess.
Our goal is always to farm with flocks as sustainably and humanely as possible and a big part of doing so is utilizing the natural resources of Mother Nature, which is usually the preference of animals, too! If we could actually see the deep dreams of sheep, it would surely involve munching their way through endless fields of green and most definitely not cooped up for months inside a stuffy barn or hanging out on a dry feed lot!
As a small farm following a regenerative, pasture-based grazing model, we aim to keep our sheep outside, on pasture 12 months out of the year; only during the winter months, January though March, do they spend their nights inside a closed barn, when weather conditions limit our own abilities to provide consistent outdoor amenities. Other exceptions include shearing time and lambing season, when vulnerable sheep often need extra protection from the elements. With thick woolen coats to keep them warm, and a hearty determined drive to forage in nature, sheep are well suited for winter conditions.
Rotational Grazing on Pasture
Sheep love grazing on open pastures more than just about anything else. It is the way nature intended for these peaceful, loving animals to roam. It is also an environmentally responsible and restorative way to raise sheep. If sheep are allowed to graze just enough and rotate to new pastures before depleting root reserves, they can work wonders to naturally fertilize soil, rejuvenate pastures, and help sequester carbon in the deep roots of the earth.
And, in turn, by helping to improve pasture quality, sheep also directly improve their own grazing diet. Rotating through a continual series of fresh, nutrient-dense pastures, harvesting their own food, sheep are able to increase their nutritional intake and decrease parasitic pressure, which thrives in wet, over-grazed pasture land. When this system of rotational grazing works, as intended, farmers benefit, too. They are able to eliminate grain feeding costs and improve soil and animal health, which, by extension, improves fiber quality since the quality of a wool fleece is directly related to animal health and nutrition.
For this system to work properly, several conditions must be met:
Have a solid grazing plan, considering the amount of grazing pastures you have and the number of sheep. Make sure you have enough grazing space for the size of your flock (3-4 sheep per acre) because if your grazing area is over-saturated with sheep, they will degrade your pastures pretty quickly. You will need to sub-divide your pastures for rotations, ideally not allowing any pasture to be re-used within an 8-week period, and often longer, depending on your pasture quality and re-growth.
Invest in electric portable fencing (we use ElectroNet® from Premier 1) and rotate your sheep grazing areas regularly. For us, every 3-5 days, depending on pasture conditions, heat, and wetness. Electric fencing provides boundaries for your flock and helps to keep predators away.
Get to know your pastures. Rotational grazing is system of observation and action. Farmers must work diligently to manage and assess their pasture conditions regularly, move fencing quickly, and encourage a continual cycle of growing, grazing, resting and replenishing. Success is based on continual movement of livestock to fresh grazing pastures, at their peak, and removing them before over-grazing, so pastures can re-grow and diversify plant-life before being grazed again.
Make sure your pastures are viable and diverse, otherwise your flock will get restless and also miss nutrients they need. Robust pastures need a healthy mix of grasses, legumes and forbs. If you’re unsure of your pasture quality, take a soil sample and a forage sample and send it to a lab that can assess your ideal growing conditions. We use the resources at Cornell University. Re-sow, or amend soil conditions, as needed, and be mindful of the need for both cool-season and warm-season grasses.
The Essentials—Shade, Shelter, Clean Water & Mineral Feed
Sheep are very hardy by nature, and they are born problem solvers with the help of the flock. However, as humans move them to open pasture settings, often in full sun, it is OUR responsibility to provide shade shelter and other protections they need.
A three sided shelter or shade structure — while sheep love to wander and ruminate in open fields, they also need a safe sheltered area to protect themselves from extreme elements, whether glaring summer sun or icy, wind storms. Provide them some sort of physical, stable structure in which your sheep can seek shelter if they need it. If they don’t have a three-sided physical structure, like a mobile shed, it is essential that you provide them with some form of shade. Sheep MUST have shade protection from direct sun and heat or else they can overheat quickly.
Clean water, daily. Even in the dead of winter. Ensure you have a heater to unfreeze water. Non-negotiable.
Supplemental Mineral Feed—your sheep have mineral needs that cannot be met by pastures alone. We give our flock a free-choice mineral supplement daily, and they can take it as they need it! We also provide them with free-choice kelp, in moderation, because they love it.
Annual Shearing
Through the years, sheep have been selectively bred to produce lots of wool for human consumption, and, today, modern farmers must shear annually, unless they are raising hair breeds. Shearing is NOT cruel; on the contrary, failure to shear is cruel and can lead to health problems. Wool is completely renewable, just like human hair, and shearing is the equivalent of a human getting a haircut. Sheep with overgrown wool can suffer from all sorts of health conditions, from skin irritation, to lice infestations, to wool blindness, and removing a heavy fleece after the long winter season gives the sheep tremendous relief and a chance for new, fresh wool to grow in. So find a good, capable shearer (DO NOT shear yourself unless you have been trained to do so by a professional) and make sure to book your shearing dates early! Your sheep, and Shearer, will thank you.
Regular Vet Checks & Parasite Control
Just like humans, your sheep need annual check-ups. Have a good vet on hand and find one that handles livestock, and, ideally, small ruminants, because sheep are not house pets. You’ll want a farm vet that comes out to your farm and can examine your sheep, provide vaccinations, as needed, collect fecal samples from some, or all, of your flock, depending on size. Check parasite numbers regularly (monthly), especially in the summer season, because they can build up very fast and overtake the system of your sheep. De-worm only those sheep that require treatment. Do not treat sheep that don’t have a high parasite count, as this will only decrease the effectiveness of the drugs when they are really needed. Only use when needed.
A Winter Plan
If in the Northeast US or other cold winter regions, have a plan for the freezing winter months when your pastures are covered in snow and there is no natural foraging. Make sure you have placed an order for good quality hay (if you don’t harvest your own ), far in advance of when you will need it.
Have a winter paddock available near your barn or house for the winter months when you may not be able to access your distant fields. And always provide you sheep with a dry, wind-blocked resting place with access to water that is not frozen. During the winter months, we rotate our sheep within a much smaller sub-divided pasture, and we provide overnight shelter from the elements inside the barn. But, sheep being sheep, we know they would rather be outside, as long as they have some shelter to seek comfort, when needed.
Quality Time
Different sheep breeds have different temperaments, some are more social than others, but all breeds need daily contact with their human shepherds, who provide care, comfort and security. Get to know your sheep, observe them daily, be pro-active in spotting any potential problems, and let them know you are there for them. I can’t say this enough, if you are raising sheep, spend time with them! You are one of the flock, too! With these steps, you’ll be well on your way to good flock care.
