Top Tips for Buying Sheep
If you’re a sheep fanatic like me, when you’re finally in a position to add some into your family, it’s hard not dive in head first. However, before you bring home your first flock, here are a few top tips for buying sheep.
Research
Breeds
Research is normally boring, right? But when it comes to buying sheep it’s heaven because you just get to eat, breathe, sleep sheep all day. Specially, consider why you want sheep as it will help you select the appropriate breed. A good meat breed might likely be a cross, whereas if you want milk, fleece or sheeps simply to graze extra pasture, there are some fantastic breed specifics - as showcased in this book!
Finding the Farmers
Finding farmers is relatively easy. Join a few local FB groups on homesteading or perhaps the breed society for the type of sheep you want. I also highly recommend you try to attend some agricultural shows and livestock auctions. Although I wouldn’t necessarily buy at these places due to biosecurity concerns, it’s a great place to network and find sheep breeders you can buy from.
Snoop the Farmer
The modern world makes snooping very easy. Most businesses these days have some form of social media, and I advise looking through any prospective sellers coverage. Do their sheep look healthy and happy? Are there lots of photos or just end products; and by this I mean, are there pictures of the sheep or just the meat and woolen products? Do their ethical beliefs align with yours? For example, I would rather buy from a high welfare, pasture grazing farmer than from one who practices high intensity barn farming.
Visual Check
Once you’ve found your farmer, networked and arranged to go and see the sheep, you should conduct a visual check. Points to consider are:
Environment
If sheep are indoors, is their bedding clean and dry? Do they have access to fresh water? If the flock are outdoors, is the pasture close cropped and covered in poo? If so, there could be worm burden. Or, is the grass lush and green because they’re regularly moved?
Be sure to ask questions whilst you’re looking; what’s their worming and vaccination programme? Why are they selling these particular sheep? And advice on breeds?Flock Health
The next thing to look at is the overall flock health. Look in particular for mucky bums, shedding fleeces, coughing and sneezing, and limping. If one or two sheep have this it’s not a major concern, but if there’s a high prevalence across the flock, consider trying a different farmer. The last thing you want is to bring new sheep to your farm with health problems.
Physical Check
After the visual check, ask to see the sheep that are being sold and if they can be put into a race or crush so you can see them. Any unwillingness to do this should set off alarm bells! Once you’ve got hands on your sheep, look at:
Head
Check that the eyes are clear and bright, and the ears have no signs of mite. The mouth should have clean, white teeth on the bottom and the top pallete should be closely connected to the roof of the mouth, not coming away. To check for potential worm burden, use the FAMACHA test; pull down the lower eyelid and look how pink or white it is. White highlights anaemia and high parasite load.
Body Condition
Body condition score runs from 1 to 5, with 1 being the thinnest and 5 the largest. Ideally you want a 3. Feel down the spine; if it’s a high, thin ridge, it’s too thin. If you can barely feel it, it’s too fat. If you have the choice of 2’s or 4’s, choose 2’s as it’s easier to get weight onto sheep than to remove it.
Bums
Bottoms should be clean, dry and with very little signs of muck. If the wool has been closely clipped, ask why. It could be sign of prior flystrike. Check the genitals for ram and ewes you want to breed, and ensure they only have two nipples - sheep sometimes have a mutation which causes 4.
This is a very quick overview of tips for buying sheep, and if you want to learn more then check out my video below which goes into more depth. If you have further questions on the matter, please ask in the comments and I’ll do my best to help! I’ve also put together a list of my sheep supply recommendations.