Raise a flock of sheep in your backyard. Even with a limited amount of space, you can enjoy homegrown fleece and fresh milk, as well as the endearing company of these family-friendly animals. Sue Weaver provides all the instructions you need for selecting a breed; housing and feeding; harvesting fleece; and milking. With simple recipes for making cheese and yogurt, and tips on processing fleece for wool, you’ll enjoy the varied and numerous rewards of keeping sheep.
"The Sheep Book offers a template for both the beginner and the old hand. Mixing theoretical, technical and practical, Parker offers a buffet of tips for any sheep producer." --Joel Salatin, author of You Can Farm
• A comprehensive guide to raising sheep, goats, angora rabbits, and alpacas for producing fiber • Provides practical information on housing, fencing, feed, grooming, shearing, plucking, basic health care, breeding and birthing • Includes a comparison of popular breeds and how their fiber differs from breed to breed • Features a frank discussion of the energy and commitment that it takes to raise livestock, and how much room and land each animal species will need • Contains essential biosecurity practices to prevent spreading pests and infectious animal diseases, as well as advice on hand spinning and crafts to utilize your homegrown fiber
Storey’s Guide to Raising Sheep is the best-selling, most trusted reference for farmers and backyard homesteaders with any size flock. The fifth edition is now updated with full-color illustrations and photographs throughout, including a gallery of the best breed choices for both meat and fiber. With their small size and gentle dispositions, sheep are one of the easier livestock species to raise and offer varied marketing opportunities, including meat, wool, and milk. Detailed instructions and graphics lead readers through every essential procedure, including shearing, building a lambing shed, breeding and lambing, butchering, and marketing.
"Along the West coast, a range of people--from families with young children, to immigrants recapturing their homeland culture, to idealistic twenty-somethings seeking community--are turning their urban backyards into modern-day homesteads. Lori Eanes reveals the lives of 35 of these urban farmers through her photographs and stories"--P. [4] of cover.
For each breed he dedicates two pages, the left being a full page high-quality picture and the right giving a brief but comprehensive description of the appearance, history and uses of each sheep. Only the size of a postcard, the book fits perfectly into a rucksack or pocket so is ideal for the interested rambler who is keen to discover more about the flock fleeing from him at the time. Clear color photographs taken of sheep 'straight from the field' illustrate the immense diversity within this species.
When is the right time to shear a sheep? Is there a market for manure? What time of day is best to collect eggs? What is the correct way to milk a goat? What does a duck eat? Can a cow and a sheep share the same pasture? Which types of rabbits are easiest to raise? The perfect book for anyone who has ever dreamed of having that little place in the country, Barnyard in Your Backyard offers tried-and-true, expert advice on raising healthy, happy, productive farm animals: chickens, geese, ducks, rabbits, goats, sheep, and dairy cows. Each chapter focuses on a different animal, discussing the pros and cons of raising the animal, housing and land requirements, feeding guidelines, health concerns, and a schedule for routine care. Species that are easy to raise, hardy, and companionable are profiled. First-time farmers will discover simple, clear instructions for caring for animals throughout the year, as well as guidelines for processing barnyard products such as milk, wool, and eggs. Combining practical advice from real experts, easy-to-use checklists and charts, a seasonal care calendar, and detailed black-and-white illustrations, Barnyard in Your Backyard offers a comprehensive review of the ins and outs - the tribulations and triumphs - of living with and caring for a small barnyard.
Katahdin Hair Sheep - Raising a Profitable Breed of Sheep Table of Contents Introduction Chapter 1: What are Katahdin Hair Sheep Chapter 2: The Katahdin Advantage Chapter 3: Selecting Katahdin Sheep for your Flock Chapter 4: Reaping the Benefits of the Katahdin Breed Closing Remarks Author Bio Introduction More than a few people would use words like ‘dumb’ and ‘stupid’ to describe sheep. Not me. I use words like ‘trusting’, ‘habitual’ and ‘profitable’. I use these words because they are what I know sheep to be. As someone who spent over twenty years as a shepherd to several hundred head of sheep, I can say in no uncertain terms that I know the potential for sheep when it comes to making your farm a profitable business. The degree of profitability, however, depends upon the quality of your sheep. And when it comes to quality, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a better breed of sheep than the Katahdin. Katahdin are hair sheep; meaning they don’t have wool. So yes, if your intentions for raising sheep are for spinning, you will need to choose a wool breed known for the quality of their wool. But if it’s meat production you are after, look no further than the Katahdin.
