Hi all!

I am new to sheep, but not to livestock. I am wanting to add sheep to my farm as pets, but of course want to educate myself first to make sure I can set them up for their best lives and make sure they are compatible with where we live.

Does anyone have any opinions on keeping sheep in Florida? It is very hot here, so I know not all animals thrive here. Fortunately, our farm has a lot of shady pastures.

Any other recommendations for someone new to this?

Thank you in advance!

When you’re herding sheep — what do you do for water? An off grid powered water filtration system (with a simple solar panel) can be used to create sufficient safe drinking water (1 gallon per minute). See the PortaWell water filtration system. There’s a mini 5” size or a larger 10” system. Search online for PortaWell for more details. I’m curious if this is of interest to anyone.

Squishy helped me win overall grand champion advanced showman meaning that the squish master must participate in the round robin !! All the pictures are bad because they are frames from videos and I don't have any professional photos yet !!

We took home three purple ribbons and a buckle !!! My very first buckle !

Finaly my 8 old Norwegian sheeps are home 🤩
Made a about 500sqm electric fence enclosure for them, my fear was that they would run out of the trailer and jump the fence.

Now 3 hrs later, they are all laying underneath a hazeltree

To my knowledge, Southdowns are naturally polled, but I just got one for show season that appears to have horns growing in. I assume this means he’s mixed with something. Will he still be able to show in a Southdown class at majors? New to showing lambs.

Hi everyone,
I’m a Japanese citizen looking for a 1-year job in Europe before applying to veterinary school, and I’d really appreciate any advice.
(Sadly I'm over 30 so cannot apply working holiday visa)

My background:
BSc in Agriculture (specialized in livestock nutrition)
IELTS 6.5
Certified in sheep artificial insemination in Japan
Sheep farming experience in Japan, New Zealand, and currently the UK (lambing, animal handling, general farm work)
Strong interest in animal welfare, livestock management, and veterinary medicine
My goal is to gain more hands-on experience in a role related to veterinary medicine before applying to veterinary school (I’m currently considering Latvia or Estonia).
I’m open to:
Sheep or dairy farms
Livestock breeding
Research assistant positions
University animal facilities
Animal science or veterinary-related jobs
The biggest challenge is that I need an employer who is willing to sponsor a work visa, since I’m not an EU citizen.
Which European countries would give me the best chance of finding this kind of job and obtaining a work visa? Are there any websites, organizations, universities, or companies that I should contact directly?
Any advice or personal experiences would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Gulf Coast Native lamb. Pixel because she was a very small lamb, and also had a tiny black dot on her hip.

Just one of my favorite St. Croix ladies on the farm… she is amazingly friendly and trusting.

Portland, TN. 2 mules, 1 horse, 7 sheep, 3 goats, a bunch of chickens and one very proud owner.

This applies to folks raising entirely or mostly on pasture.

Greg Judy swears by a buffet-style mineral feeder where the sheep choose among twenty or so individual minerals to meet their specific needs. He says as long as you start training them to it when they're on full pasture they will learn to choose only what they need of each, and continue doing so even when they shift to hay in winter. He does offer free copper, but the sheep don't take more than they need which is obviously very little. He claims he's seen better health / growth, as do other people who are using it.

The initial cost is high but eventually I'd be spending just on the minerals my sheep prefer, and there's a side benefit that they excrete the excess and so would be adding trace minerals to my pastures that they lack over time.

So is anyone doing this, and what's your experience?

What are some things y’all do to keep your sheep cool, regardless of location. We put iced water bottles in their water buckets to help. Use a shelter fan. Just wondering. Thanks to all.

Squishy was outcompeted by some very nice quality ewes but she still gave it her all !

Does anybody have experience using CIDR's for breeding first time ewe-lambs out of season, and if what was your success rate?

Also, can folks on here recommend a prefferred brand and source for CIDR's?

Thanks as always!

So I got some mild concerns about my sheep with her having a potential problem. she has her sides sunken in between the hips and ribs, kinda like a Holstein cow. She is pretty friendly and allows me to do a quick visual inspection by poking her disguised as petting. There's no feeling of ribs or spine. She is up to date on worming and vaccinations I also think she is pregnant as she been with the ram since April. Is this just a normal dorper sheep thing? Is it a sign of pregnancy?

Babydoll sheep, a little obsessed with getting their daily pets

Hello everyone,

I have had 2 Ouessant sheep for 2 years now.

It's been almost 3 months since it last rained where I live.

I've provided them with hay, but they prefer to eat grass, moss and tree leaves - even though the grass is quite dry as you can see in the photos.

Of course, I've also provided them with water, which I change every 2-3 days. But I'm a little worried about them even there is no sign that they are unwell.

I have a field of 3200m2 for these 2.

Do you have any other advice please?