Storey's Guide to Raising Sheep, 5th Edition: Breeding, Care, Facilities

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.

ISBN-13: 9781612129808

Media Type: Paperback(Reprint)

Publisher: Storey Publishing LLC

Publication Date: 06-25-2019

Pages: 368

Product Dimensions: 7.00(w) x 9.20(h) x 0.80(d)

Series: Storey's Guide to Raising

A respected authority on sheep raising for over three decades, author Paula Simmons has written many books and magazines articles on spinning wool, and is the coauthor of Storey’s Guide to Raising Sheep. Simmons lecturers and conducts workshops in the United States and Canada on the subject of raising sheep and spinning wool for a living. Together with her husband, she has been raising and sheering sheep, and spinning and weaving wool for over 20 years on their farm in Washington. Carol Ekarius is the coauthor of The Fleece & Fiber Sourcebook, The Field Guide to Fleece, and Storey’s Guide to Raising Sheep, and the author of several books including Small-Scale Livestock Farming, Storey’s Illustrated Guide to Poultry Breeds, and Storey’s Illustrated Breed Guide to Sheep, Goats, Cattle, and Pigs. She lives in the mountains of Colorado.

Table of Contents

Preface
1: Starting with Sheep
Some Background on Sheep - Sheep Farming Today - Behavior - Breeds - Buying Sheep - Home at Last
2: Breeding and Breeds
Breeding and Genetics - Genetic Diversity and Sheep Breeds - Individual Breeds
3: Pasture, Fences, and Facilities
Pasture - Fencing - Facilities
4: Herding Dogs
Traits of Herding Dogs - Breeds - Selecting a Dog - Training - Dog Trials
5: Protecting against Predators
Managing for Predators - Guardian Animals
6: Feeds and Feeding
Digestion - Nutrients - Feeding Practices - Types of Feed
7: General Health Considerations
Healthy Strategies - Recognizing Sick Sheep - Alternative Health Practices - Natural Defenses - Causes of Illness in Sheep - Parasites - Other Disorders of Sheep - Drugs for Sheep
8: Problems of Rams, Ewes, and Lambs
Problems with Rams - Disorders in Ewes - Lamb Problems
9: Flock Management
Successful Breeding - The Ram - Ewes
10: Lambing
Preparation for Lambing - The Lambing Process - After Lambing - Problems with Newborn Lambs - Orphan Lambs - Care of Baby Lambs
11: Products and Marketing
Merchandising to Reach Your Market - Wool - Meat and Milk - Pelts - The Live-Animal Business - Odds and Ends - Recipes
12: Showing Sheep
Kinds of Shows - Show Classes - Training Sheep - Fitting - Show Ring Strategies
13: Records and Animal Identification
National Sheep Improvement Program - Computer Software and Spreadsheets - Sample Record Charts
Appendixes
Lambing Calendar
Feed Requirements
Composition of Common Feedstuffs
Resources
Glossary
Metric Conversion Charts
Index Show More