Sheep 101

This year will be my 5th year showing sheep in 4-H. I have to say, if I had this knowledge when I first started out, I think showing and grooming my sheep would have been a lot easier for me. I recorded some videos down below. Feel free to watch them and read the stuff I wrote that goes along with the video.

Training your sheep

When you buy your very first sheep to raise for 4-H, they’ll most likely be untrained. It’ll be your job to walk and train your sheep. This video will teach you how to walk, train, and halter your sheep.

Feeding and watering your sheep

Just like you, your sheep needs to be fed and watered every day. When needed, you should always refresh your sheep’s water. This will allow your sheep to have access to clean water all the time. Your sheep’s diet does vary. If you plan on showing your sheep at your local fair, you should look at your fair’s rules to see the minimum and maximum weight your sheep must be. Watch this video for more information.

Video coming soon!

Grooming your sheep

Unfortunately, your sheep also needs to be bathed and groomed every once in a while. If you plan to go to lots of shows, you need to bathe your sheep at least every other day. You will need to groom your sheep at the fair. It’s important to know the correct tools to bathe, brush, and blow out your sheep. Watch this video for more information.

Showing your sheep

When you show your sheep, there are different categories you can enter. But the 2 biggest ones you will need to know are Market and Breeding. For example: If you have a Ewe (female sheep) that you raised for market, you can show her in breeding because she’s a female sheep. However, you cannot show Wethers (castrated male sheep) in the Breeding category. This is because at a young age, some rams are picked to be castrated. Castrated means to make a male animal, in this case a ram, unable to reproduce. This makes Rams less aggressive and easier to keep around Ewes. This video has more information on how to show your sheep, and the different categories you can show in.

‘Sorry about the dog being in it. Please forgive me. :(‘

Knowing if your sheep needs medical attention

If you notice your sheep is acting weird (Examples: coughing, sneezing, not alert, not eating, not drinking, cloudy eyes, limping, etc.) you more than likely need to get medical help for your sheep. If you’re in 4-H, you need to consult your sheep leader. But if you are older and not in in 4-H, you’ll need to consult a vet to take a look at your sheep. You must be sure you tell your vet everything weird that you have noticed about your sheep, including when you started to notice the symptoms start, all the symptoms you’ve observed, and, if your vet asks, what diet your sheep is on. It’s important to answer any questions your vet asks about your sheep, and to follow any medical instructions your vet gives you. This could include changes in diet and medicine dosage. Also, be sure to ask your vet what the withdrawal time is for the medicine. The withdrawal time is very important to know because it tells you when the medicine is out of the animal’s system and when the animals is safe to sell and consume. You also need to pay attention to the type of way the medicine is inserted into the body. Here are some of the different ways medicine is inserted.

Oral: This means the medicine is inserted into the mouth, usually in the form of capsules, tablets, or liquids.

Intravenous: This means the medicine is injected directly into the vein.

Intramuscular: This means the medicine is injected into a muscle.

Subcutaneous: This means the medicine is injected just underneath the skin.

Topical: This means the medicine is applied directly on the skin.

You must know which type of medicine you are giving to your animal. You don’t want to be giving your animal an intravenous injection when it’s supposed to be intramuscular. That could harm your animal internally.

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