Sheep

The sheep is a cloven-hoofed mammal that has been domesticated by humans to provide wool, among other things. In addition, they’re mainly kept for their milk and their meat.

The ideal environment

• It is best to take sheep off the pasture during autumn and winter in order to preserve the grass.
• Make sure there is plenty of drinking water. After lambing, a ewe can easily drink 5 to 10 litres of water per day.
• Provide adequate fencing, so that your sheep do not wander off onto new pastures.

Reproduction

• A sheep’s gestation period is 147 days on average, and its heat cycle lasts around 17 days.
• Most breeds of sheep go into heat when the days start to shorten, usually from August to January.
• Ram lambs should be weaned promptly to prevent them from mating with their mother or sisters.
• Keep track of mating. This way, you will be able to better predict when lambing will take place.
• Use a different marking colour for each heat cycle to ensure you know for certain whether sheep have mated.