Sheep farming? Here is a simple guide 

People start farming without determination and they end up making losses. Farming is difficult but extremely important and rewarding when you have put in enough effort in whatever you are doing.

There are some common mistakes people ignore in sheep farming not knowing that they are very crucial and today we are looking at some of them so that  farmers are assisted and these include:

Samuel Kayiwa, a sheep farmer says that you have to think carefully about your reasons for raising sheep, as well as the unique characteristics of the breed you choose.

Kayiwa says that sheep rearing can be fun and rewarding if you live on a small farm with little grazing space available because they are humble, gentle animals for hobby farms, and they serve many purposes, such as providing meat, wool, and milk.

Underestimating the space

Kayiwa says that farmers underestimate the space where they want to put the sheep yet they thrive in spacious environment. The recommended space is 16 square foot per ewe with a lambing pen at approximately 25 square feet.

“It is very dangerous to put sheep in a congested place with little fresh air, such animals need space to look healthy because it may result into  diseases ,” he says.

He adds that rearing sheep needs experts for guidance because you need to know the number of sheep   you can accommodate according to the available space, make sure you have space where they eat and rest.

“To avoid making losses make sure that you get space for the lambs, ewes and rams because sometimes male sheep tend to harass the females which is not good especially when they are pregnant,” he says.

Lack of awareness

Kayiwa says that another mistake farmers do is to start farming without knowledge about the type of animals they are interested in.

“You need to know the profit, startup capital required.  Do some research to learn about it so that you get a chance to understand what you are going to venture into,” he says.

Unfortunately several people choose to remain ignorant only when they are familiar with the concept of real of profit.

When people make profits they ignore other mistakes and taking them as irrelevant yet they are very important to know.

“Because of ignorance farmers tend to choose wrong breed yet when it comes to raising sheep, knowledge is a must. While choosing the breeds you need to know how it is supposed to be handled and the weather that suits them. Some farmers normally start with one sheep yet they are very social animals with a strong herd instinct,” he says.

Poor fencing

Kayiwa says that poor fencing is another common mistake. It has to be long enough for sheep to jump on it – and it does not have holes that are big enough for your animals to stick their heads through.

“The most suitable perimeter fences for sheep are multi-strand, high tensile, electric fences, and woven wire fences with electric offset wires and barbed wire above and below the fence. The inner fence is used to subdivide fields into small areas for grazing,” he says.

Feeding mistakes

Kayiwa says that sheep should be fed in such a way that the shepherd does not have to enter the pen with the flock. Use walkthrough or the feeder splits the two pens, allowing the producer to feed both pens and a bunk feeder accessible from the street. “There should be enough bank space to allow all the sheep to eat at the same time.. This allows smaller, more obedient animals to eat at the same rate as the rest of the flock,” he says

Kayiwa says that good feeding helps maintain an average physical condition in the pen and helps reduce the incidence of overeating in the feeder lambs.

Feeding mistakes

 Kayiwa says that sheep should be fed in such a way that the shepherd does not have to enter the pen with the flock. Use walkthrough or the feeder splits the two pens, allowing the producer to feed both pens and a bunk feeder accessible from the street.