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Anyone here have experience raising meat sheep on small acreage?

Posted on 6/29/22 at 8:33 pm
Posted by DellTronJon
Member since Feb 2010
1286 posts
Posted on 6/29/22 at 8:33 pm
I have about 3/4 acre of my 2.5 acre property cleared. I am wondering if that is enough to sustain a couple meat sheep. I know I would have to supplement in winter with that size.
Posted by diat150
Louisiana
Member since Jun 2005
43549 posts
Posted on 6/29/22 at 9:53 pm to
Biggest concern is predators and dogs. Mostly dogs in my experience. Also keep them wormed. I guess being a flock animal if a sheep is sick they are literally about to die, so keep an eye on them.
Posted by Cowboyfan89
Member since Sep 2015
12715 posts
Posted on 6/29/22 at 10:19 pm to
General recommendation I've seen is 6-8 sheep to an acre.
Posted by DownshiftAndFloorIt
Here
Member since Jan 2011
66763 posts
Posted on 6/30/22 at 5:56 am to
That's definitely enough room for some. Number depends on food available.

They're born looking for a place to die. If they aren't going to be close to your house you might need a guard dog.
Posted by Junky
Louisiana
Member since Oct 2005
8375 posts
Posted on 6/30/22 at 7:03 am to
I'd recommend hair sheep so they wouldn't need to be sheared, also depends on what part of they country you are in. Some say the meat is tough, I've never had that complaint.

Posted by eng08
Member since Jan 2013
5997 posts
Posted on 6/30/22 at 10:40 am to
Goats could eat brushy stuff in woods too
Posted by 9rocket
Member since Sep 2020
1208 posts
Posted on 6/30/22 at 2:30 pm to
Two adult sheep per acre. You can put more if you are able to implement rotational grazing ( moving them from area to area as the grass becomes available, and allowing time for the worms to die). You can crowd them a little if the grass is good, less if it is not good. If you are raising lambs to size for personal consumption, you can put a few more, as they won’t be there too long as you oppress only trying to get them to 55-65 lbs.
Make sure they have access to shade and good clean water, A shelter is recommended, three -sided is fine. Hog wire around the perimeter should keep out most predators. Good to make rounds periodically to make sure nothing is trying to dig under to get at them.

Katahdins are highly desirable, for their meat, hardiness, and rate of growth.
Posted by boudinman
Member since Nov 2019
5043 posts
Posted on 6/30/22 at 6:37 pm to
Use hog wire or cattle panel stapled to 4x4 treated posts in concrete. Use 8 ft posts and run 3 strands barbed wire around top of panels. Also, run elect fence around outside bottom of fence about 8 inches high. Get a elect fence charger that works for large animals like horses. I've coyotes, Bobcats, foxes, and dogs around my property.

I did this for a goat pen. No issue with predators coming over or under the fence.
This post was edited on 6/30/22 at 6:40 pm
Posted by 9rocket
Member since Sep 2020
1208 posts
Posted on 7/1/22 at 6:27 am to
Wow. That’s a heckuva fence. I know goats are bad about getting out, but I don’t believe they are getting out of that. And the coyotes ain’t getting in either.
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