Katahdin Sheep question

[MBhorses]

Hey

I wanted to ask if anyone knows about Katahdin sheep. My husband is thinking of buying some.I wanted to know if Katahdin sheep can run in same pasture with miniature horses? I also wanted to know what is the best fence for these sheep? Do these she causes any problems for miniature horses?

Thanks

 

[mini horse mania]

I do know that sheep cannot have copper..which,is in most feeds.my inlaws had sheep with their goats,and the goats ate the wool off them.

 

[circlesinthesand]

hmmmm, I know that sheep ran with my horses for years and ate their horse feed (these were Suffolks but a sheep is a sheep) with little harm. I'm buying some Katahdin from my herding instructor and he said feed them cattle feed and a bit of hay and they'll be fine. Edited to add: I should mention that my herding instructor is also a expert on feeding livestock. I know goats and sheep eat differently and it's mostly the copper amounts (but I can't remember which way it goes.) I do know that sheep will compete with horses for the same grass (causing over grazing which could be a good thing with a mini ) and that goats do not (OMG! I love a pasture that goats have cleaned up, so pretty and full of grass! no weeds or trash trees sprouting up!)

Of course I'm not buying these to raise or even for meat production, these sheep are just wethers that I'm using to teach my dogs to herd so they don't really need the finest of everything, just enough to keep 'em healthy.

 

[drmatthewtaylor]

I do know that sheep cannot have copper..which,is in most feeds.my inlaws had sheep with their goats,and the goats ate the wool off them.

Common misconception.

Sheep, like all animals, must have copper. The problem is that the range between too much and too little is quite narrow. I supplement both ponies and sheep with a trace mineral salt block with selenium (but ask your Vet about your regional requirements) and then I am sure to keep any other copper sources away from them (horse feed).

I run sheep with my ponies and have for years, many of my sheep are katahdin crosses. I think the 2 work very well together.

Dr Taylor

 

[MBhorses]

Thanks you all for help. My husband is wanting some of these hairless sheep

 

[MBhorses]

what type of wormer and shots schedule do these sheep need?

 

[Minimor]

Do find out what the accepted amount of copper is and be very careful not to put anything out that will cause copper poisoning to the sheep. A neighbor of mine had several ewes die a few years back; a number of his other ewes became ill but did not die--they did live but were never right afterward--they got very thin & would never put weight on & he ended up having to dispose of them. When his sheep began dying he couldn't figure out what the problem was--then he looked at the mineral supplement he used. He was buying a liquid supplement that was custom mixed for sheep...only the company had made a mistake and added copper to the mixture. That copper had poisoned his sheep. It was really pretty grim--very sad seeing what sorry shape those sheep were in.

 

[Shari]

I ran/raised Miniature heritage sheep with my horse's for years and I now have Katahdin and a Katahdin/Dorper cross with them.

Been halter training my two latest lambs.

Katadhin's for the most part are quite mellow, but many of the wether's and Rams can grow to be 250lbs.. so you would have to way the pro's and con's between the copper issue and the sheep size, compared to miniature horses.

Here is some info on Sheep and copper, while they need some, it is much, much less than other animals needs. When running mixed herds, you have to take that into account. I have seen a number of sheep deaths due to copper toxicity over the years.

http://www.sheepandg.../coppertox.html

http://www.merricks....copper_req.html

http://www.merckvetm...m/bc/210700.htm

Here is Caspian the Katahdin/Dorper

And Charming, pure Katahdin

 

[Shari]

Your sheep will need at least... CD&T and if you live in an area with a lot of Rabies, a Rabies vaccine too.

There are now dewormers for sheep and it is good to do fecal exams.

This is a great site to learn about sheep.

http://www.sheep101.info/

 

[MBhorses]

I ran/raised Miniature heritage sheep with my horse's for years and I now have Katahdin and a Katahdin/Dorper cross with them.

Been halter training my two latest lambs.

Katadhin's for the most part are quite mellow, but many of the wether's and Rams can grow to be 250lbs.. so you would have to way the pro's and con's between the copper issue and the sheep size, compared to miniature horses.

Here is some info on Sheep and copper, while they need some, it is much, much less than other animals needs. When running mixed herds, you have to take that into account. I have seen a number of sheep deaths due to copper toxicity over the years.

http://www.sheepandg.../coppertox.html

http://www.merricks....copper_req.html

http://www.merckvetm...m/bc/210700.htm

Here is Caspian the Katahdin/Dorper

And Charming, pure Katahdin

what cuties

thanks for sharing

did you find yours local?

Your sheep will need at least... CD&T and if you live in an area with a lot of Rabies, a Rabies vaccine too.

There are now dewormers for sheep and it is good to do fecal exams.

This is a great site to learn about sheep.

http://www.sheep101.info/

thanks for site I have been reading it

 

[Shari]

You are most welcome.

There seem to be no sheep within 2 1/2 hours from where I live in VA. I bought these lambs from a breeder,( 6 hour trip to get them)... lets just say if I had a choice, I won't of bought from them.

Sheep are that hard to find here. Far cry from Oregon, where I can find just about any sheep breed one could want and from Shepherds that know what they are doing.

 

[minie812]

We raised American Blackbelly sheep for a time. Was not my cup of tea. The males do get large horns on them and they are hair sheep so no clipping.