Best to Work

[coyotecreek]

I have sold my goats just recently and would like to look into getting something that Kate and I can practice her stockdog work on.

 

I am hoovering between sheep and ducks..can anyone tell me the benefits and disadvantages to each one, in their opinion?

 

Kate has NEVER been around ducks..she has worked sheep...once.

 

Ducks seem to be abit less expensive..but sheep will run more along the lines of what my place is set up for and something that there is a market for them in my area..lambs sell pretty well.

 

Now the other half of my question..if you are a sheep person..the two types of sheep common in my area that do well are dorpers and barbados..I have been told barbados are flightier then dorpers..and can at times be harder to work.

 

Im also interested in learning about each breed's individual tolerance of heat and insects..which we have alot of down here in texas..I make sure all my cattle are brahman types, because it does get to terriably miserable down here in the summer..I want the best type of sheep for this area, that will produce fast growing lambs and will work for my stockdog work.

 

thoughts please?

Sarah

[juliepoudrier]

Hey Sarah,

I kept ducks for a short while, just for fun, and if you are willing to put up with a lot of feed waste and general messiness, they can be enjoyable. But there are plenty of dogs who have no interest in working poultry, so you could get ducks and then find out that Kate just isn't interested in working them.

 

If you are set up for sheep and like sheep, then I would get sheep. Having a market for lambs is a bonus and can help pay for the cost of keeping sheep in the first place. As for barbs vs. dorpers, I think dorpers would be much more suitable for a beginning dog and handler. With work, dorpers seem to get slower and heavier, but over time you can sell off the well broke sheep and keep replacement lambs and keep refreshing your flock. Barbs are well known to be extremely flighty. While I think it wouldn't be a huge deal working a trained dog on them, I wouldn't want to have to start a youngster on them if there were other alternatives, and especially if neither you nor the dog are experienced.

 

I would guess that if most of the people around your area are keeping either dorpers or barbs then you can assume that both breeds do well enough for your climate and parasite conditions. Where you would be more likely to have trouble in that regard is if you brought in a breed of sheep that's not common to your area, since you'd have no idea whether they would thrive. But if you can buy stock from someone who is local and trustworthy (not to sell you the problem sheep), then you should be okay with either type from an acclimation and thriftiness standpoint.

 

J.

[hsnrs]

We had ducks for the dogs but they got eaten by something while we were gone so don't have experience working them. We have had the sheep for years and love them. We have the rams butchered and the ewes are either kept to breed or sold (they always go fast). They are St. Croix/Katahdin and are very workable for my dogs. They are excellent mothers as well. They keep the weeds down around our farm too.

[Smokjbc]

Another vote for sheep, and I would go with the Dorpers as well. In my experience, that's what they are good for- beginning dogs. They drive me nuts now, they are like instantly dog-broke and way too heavy but they are great if you need something forgiving.

 

If you get more experienced, I've found that the Barbs crossed with Dorper or Kathadin make fun sheep to work (once you are solidly at Pro-Novice level or have a good handler to get them semi-dog broke). They move well off the dogs, are better for teaching driving and they stay that way for a long time. The one's I've had are also great for a penning challenge, they seem to find any holes in your game plan instantly and can give you a lesson in timing. I have one old ewe that's 1/4 Barb and 3/4 Dorper and she's as wily as they come, I don't work her much any more but occasionally I throw her in there because she's fast and smart and the dog will have to pay close attention to her.

[coyotecreek]

Thank you all so much for the input!

 

I was not real keen on ducks..I had one..a baby I raised to adulthood..and she was the messiest, nastiest animal Ive ever delt with! I didnt know if I could deal with a 4-5 of them!

 

I have afew leads on some sheep in the area..making some phone calls..I know a person who crosses dorper/barbs..so in the future, if I need abit more of a challenge, the market is there..surprisingly, sheep are not "cheap"..pygmy goats run about $50 a head around here..sheep are double that..Im assuming possibly due to them being bigger and potential money makers versus the smaller PG's.

 

I will need to designate an area for them..as I know they cannot have horse or cattle feed..Ive got a small pen behind my barn that I kept my goats in that I can probably expand with the electric mesh wire..are sheep the escape artists that goats are??

[juliepoudrier]

IME sheep are not as bad as goats about escaping fencing. If you go with any sort of electric net, though, be sure it's got a good charge on it or they will simply ignore it and go through anyway.

 

J.

[coyotecreek]

what about livestock panels??? like hog panels?

[juliepoudrier]

I think cattle panels would work fine. I know even my big old BFL ram can jump electronet, so I imagine they could jump hog panels too. Maybe they wouldn't want to, but you'd have to be feeding them pretty good. My round pen is made of cattle panels and t-posts....

 

J.

[denice]

My vote is also for sheep. I bought some ducklings, raised them, fed them... and while they were fun for a bit I much prefer sheep. THe ducks do bring out more eye I find. They are fun to drive but really don't do much in the way of teaching covering.

 

Sheep can be challenging to keep in but generally goats are harder. It will depend on how the sheep are kept now and what they are used to and the "habit' they have. Some sheep can be jumpers, some learn to run into fences or gates to get through when the fence is poor. Hog panels are to short, cattle panels work well but I have had some sheep get their head stuck. I have used hog panels and then put a couple strands of barbed wire above them but never "worked " in that area with the dogs.

 

I have electric fencing from Premier and really like it but also make sure to turn it off while working the dogs. The problem there is some of the sheep are pretty good at telling the fence is off and will run through it.

 

Hope that helps

 

Denice

[coyotecreek]

Again, thanks Denice and Julie...

 

my goats were able to slide under cattle panels (like the prefiert panels)..my concern was a motivated sheep could do the same..when Im talking fence, Im talking about mainly to "keep" them in..I have a roundpen that will work for working..its solid sided and made of steel..you can see it behind my pony in this photo

roundpen reference

[Mona Howard]

My two cents: my entire 15 acres is fenced with cattle panels with the exception of my lambing area.

I have Dorpers too. One thing I would not do if I was not very experienced with sheep is to use a Dorper

ram on Barb ewes. When I got my first Dorper ram I was told he would throw small birthweight lambs but

I found I had to assist quite a few births due to elbow lock. This wouldn't be true with all rams but you would

have to know the bloodlines. Most Barbs have a tiny pelvis. Enjoy the sheep! M.

[coyotecreek]

Thank you!

 

I actually went and looked at some sheep this weekend..

 

Her ewes are full dorper or high percentage..her ram is dorper x Katahdin..great great looking animals.

[coyotecreek]

Small Update

 

I am now the proud owner of a ewe and ewe lamb, with another ewe lamb coming the end of this month!

 

I am also looking into getting a ram, to help suppliment their care by breeding them and selling them.

 

Thanks again for the thoughts and nudge in the right direction.