Starting a New Sheep Flock
A critical part of any new sheep operation is starting off with a healthy and productive flock. Buying
your ewes from a local dealer will, almost for sure, head you into a major disaster, although probably the
fastest way to learn about sheep.
Sheep have the ability to carry, and be susceptible, to many different diseases and problems and when
buying a healthy and established flock will undoubtedly start you off in the right direction. Some of the
problems that you may bring into your flock, from buying from a number of different sources, not only from
dealers, could be such problems as footrot, a nasty, persistent and expensive problem. Then another major
area would be in abortions, the main one being enzootic abortion. This is very contagious and you only
have to have a couple contaminated ewes abort on your farm to completely ruin your management program.
There are other expensive problems you can bring in, some of them are covered in the video. But the main
thing is to start with a clean and reputable flock. I cannot stress this enough. You wouldn't believe the
heartache of inheriting another's problems.
(Information on raising sheep)
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