Storey's Guide to Raising Sheep

by Simmons, Paula; Ekarius, Carol

• ISBN13: 9781612129846
• ISBN10: 1612129846
• Edition: 5th
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2019-06-25
• Publisher: Storey Books

Summary

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.

Author Biography

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