I know sheep CAN pull a cart, I'm curious how many people have used sheep as draft animals and what your experience was? There's not much information out there. How did it go? Did you notice the average weight they could pull? A difference between breeds? Any problems or insights?

Leave some signs in the comms !

The Churra Tensina and Churra de Tierra de Campos (CTC) are 2 different breeds of sheep belonging to the Churra breed group. I was informed through many many google searches and Spanish translations that CTC is the original/traditional Churra breed group member. However, for the life of me, I am unable to find a picture of the CTC. The closest I have come to is concluding that the Churra Tensina looks almost exactly like the CTC because if you research CTC and then Churra Tensina you get pretty much the same images.

I would love if someone maybe had a picture of both or, at least, explain that they look the same or if they look different. Thank you.

Remember to hug your wooly friends today, it's hug a sheep day

like they kinda eventually lose interest as adults but as lambs they are fascinated by cats, they try to play with them, they go up to them and sniff them whenever they see one, and are overall friendly towards them

is it like.. a sheep thing or is it just our flock that does this?

Hey everyone! My team and I are working on a project to help sheep farmers with common challenges, especially during lambing season.
We’ve found that some farmers spend long hours monitoring ewes around the clock to keep them safe.
This has a negative impact on farmers, especially when labor is limited.
For those who work with sheep, do you face this issue?
How do you currently manage lambing periods?
Any tips, tech, or practices that help make this easier?
Would love to hear any insights on this or other big challenges you encounter on the farm.

Thanks in advance!

I’m wondering what publications everyone follows to keep up to date on the sheep industry. I’m Canadian and know of two subscriptions in the country, but am looking worldwide, I crave the knowledge.

USDA Sheep Data App - RuminantReport

Over the last few years of trying to time the market right for our lambs, I’ve spent some time this year aggregating available data from the USDA on their sales from 2021 - current.

I began identifying trends in this data and creating charts my own personal use. Speaking with other producers they showed an interest in a tool to view current and historical data on Sheep sales.

With that comes the launch of

ruminantreport.com

In its current state we are offering very basic features and the ability to view data in table format based on location and year.

Future features are to include configurable charts and we are hoping to add forecasting! Feel free to leave any feedback here or suggest new features.

Starting a herd and ran into a situation.

Purchased some sheep and goats from a local farm to start our own herd. The sheep and goats all lived together. Fast forward a week and one of the goats had an abscess which has since popped and the puss was cheesey and looked like CL (from what I've read online).

I had assumed the animals were healthy at time of purchase and never gor a health clause in the contract (yes I know, dumb).

Spoke to the seller and he said CL is "very common" in sheep and "like 90%" of sheep has CL and it's not an issue.

This goes against what I've found online but I obviously don't know enough about CL to know better.

So how common IS CL and should I be concerned? We quarantined the goat from the rest of the animals, but the vet says it the one has it, then there is a high chance that the rest would if they have been together this entire time.

TL;DR - bought some sheep and goats and they may be infected with CL, is that concerning?

Hello, I am on a farm in upstate NY with about 60 acres of pasture (used to be a cow dairy). We are now seriously looking into a starter sheep flock. Definitely want a heritage breed that is dual purpose (meat/wool) with the added bonus of a bit of milk for our consumption if possible. We'd like a breed that is beginner-friendly with a good/docile disposition, parasite-resistant, with excellent meat and good quality wool resale value for the niche spinning/knitter market. Ability to do well in the US NE climate is a must. Also, we'd love for them to look cool just for our own personal entertainment. Ability to be worked by a herding dog is a plus. Added bonus if they are on the conservancy list. Here are the breeds we are considering:

Jacob
Icelandic
Finnsheep
Romney
Teeswater
Tunis
Romeldale/CVM

If anyone has experience raising multiple breeds that's even more helpful. But in general, please weigh in on any and all of these breeds. They all have wonderful characteristics and we are feeling torn.

Hi everyone, I'm trying to optimize my pasture use for a group of 80 ewes with lambs from April 1. to October 31. I have plenty of pasture of good quality wich I graze in portions. My question is: should I move to fresh pasture every day or make larger paddocks for 3-4 days for optimal lamb growth ?

Pro daily moving:

• always fresh, nutritious feed
• even grazing

Pro large paddock:

• less stress for the sheep
• more feed to chose from on the first day/days