Dad had sheep on the yard to keep the grass trimmed up until the early 1970's.
Are there any "Mutton Producer's Associations" in your state or region. They could be a good source for both basic information and state of the art information about the industry. Your state's extension service might be another source of basic information. Your local veterinarians may know who has good breeding stock in your area.
Make sure you have a market for your wool and slaughter animals, and someone who will shear them in a timely manner. One large local herd butchers some of their own animals. They have a meat market on the farm that sells mutton directly to consumers and they deliver their mutton to other meat shops in the area.
Sheep are smart enough to always find an open gate within minutes but are too dumb to get themselves out of trouble. Woven wire fences are a must, dogs will run sheep straight into fences. Sheep just get tangled in barbed wire fences, they panic and often kill themselves trying to get out again. Some local herds now use donkeys and lamas to fend off dogs and preditors.
Are you located where you have year around grazing? If not you will need to feed them over the winter. Try to time it so the butcher lambs are sold before the pasture runs out in fall. That way you only have to winter feed the breeding stock. If your land is good you may put the best ground into hay and grain to supply your winter feed more efficiently than pasturing.
Try to select bucks that are not too agressive. It hurts to get knocked down from behind without warning, especially if you get pinned against something and get hit several times by a large buck.
It sounds like you are doing your homework. Good luck.
We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today. [ About Us ]
Today's Featured Article - Grain Threshing in the Early 40's - by Jerry D. Coleman. How many of you can sit there and say that you have plowed with a mule? Well I would say not many, but maybe a few. This story is about the day my Grandfather Brown (true name) decided along with my parents to purchase a new Ford tractor. It wasn't really new except to us. The year was about 1967 and my father found a good used Ford 601 tractor to use on the farm instead of "Bob", our old mule. Now my grandfather had had this mule since the mid 40's and he was getting some age on him. S
... [Read Article]
Latest Ad:
1964 I-H 140 tractor with cultivators and sidedresser. Starts and runs good. Asking 2650. CALL RON AT 502-319-1952
[More Ads]
All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of any part of this website, including design and content, without written permission is strictly prohibited. Trade Marks and Trade Names contained and used in this Website are those of others, and are used in this Website in a descriptive sense to refer to the products of others. Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy
TRADEMARK DISCLAIMER: Tradenames and Trademarks referred to within Yesterday's Tractor Co. products and within the Yesterday's Tractor Co. websites are the property of their respective trademark holders. None of these trademark holders are affiliated with Yesterday's Tractor Co., our products, or our website nor are we sponsored by them. John Deere and its logos are the registered trademarks of the John Deere Corporation. Agco, Agco Allis, White, Massey Ferguson and their logos are the registered trademarks of AGCO Corporation. Case, Case-IH, Farmall, International Harvester, New Holland and their logos are registered trademarks of CNH Global N.V.
