Due to my recent move and the challenges with building the new barn before the winter arrived and during the height of the COVID-19 driven building supplies scarcity, the sheep are currently not housed on my farm. If all goes well I will have sheep once again in the summer of 2022.

Built as time allowed during the summer, the Sheep Barn was finished in November as the last of the chickens were processed and the greenhouse and garden emptied out.

I learned quite a bit building the Goat Barn and I tried to incorporate those lessons into the Sheep Barn. A smaller hatch in the ‘sheep’ door allows the critters to have access to the field on windy or snowy days while preventing their bedding from getting soaked. I used transparent roofing panels to create windows in the peaks of the building to allow in more natural light then just a single window.

Sheep are by nature avid and dedicated grazers and will take advantage of almost any opportunity for fresh grass. With constant access to fresh water and hay, the sheepies receive a mix of whole barley and Purina Ewe Chow twice a day.

Although they do not receive any treats (like the alfalfa cubes the goats love) per se, they do enjoy being hand fed whole barley whenever possible.

Lambs!

Although I have yet to breed my sheeple (that will have to wait until 2018 when they are old enough), one of the goals is to breed to not only expand the flock but the sale of lambs. While lamb meat is in high demand and market lambs generally command a much higher price today then they have in past years, the lambs themselves are sought after by hobbyists, sheep farmers, and mixed livestock operations.

Wool

It’s one of the things that sheep do constantly, growing wool – and they do it very well.

Wool can be sold uncarded and raw for hobbyists to use or it can be processed at a mill.

Typically, wool processed at a mill is exchanged for a quantity of finished products (blankets, socks, mittens, yarn, felt, etc.) that has been made from not just the wool any one farmer sends in but all of the wool submitted.  So although the products will have some of my sheep wool in them, they will not be 100% made from Simply Ducky Farm wool.