Welcome to Granny’s Homestead and to this new beginning adventure of sharing with you how to be a Sheep Farmer. I live and operate my Sheep Farm on a homestead or small acreage. I also have a few other different animals living on the homestead with us, but my main focus is Sheep. You are beginning a rewarding journey.
In the summer of 2016 my journey began on becoming a Sheep Farmer. My stepson was changing jobs, needed to move thousands of miles, and had two ewes he needed to sell ASAP. His dad and I had 12 acres we lived on. I would help him by paying him what he paid for the ewes, then resale them for what I paid at the local livestock auction. Seemed like a good plan. No where in this plan was the thought of beginning a sheep farm.
Plans do not always go the way you plan. We have all been through this path. I went to the livestock auction to price check what ewes were selling for before I put mine in the auction. The selling price for ewes was half of what I paid for them. I decided to wait until the price came up. The ewes were not costing me money eating the grass and weeds in the horse exercise pen I placed them in. I would wait and sell when the price comes up. Every Saturday for five weeks I went to the auction waiting for the price to increase. I noticed during sitting and watching, lambs were selling for twice the amount of money as the ewes were…. might be a possibility.
Then it happened! I went out to do my morning chores and it happened. I checked on the ewes and what did appear, I had two ewes and a LAMB! This was not in the plan. I had become a sheep farmer.
It is now August 2021, I am a dedicated Sheep Farmer. From the two ewes in the beginning, I built my flock to 75-80 ewes in 2019. Then I did a serious cull in 2019 to concentrate on commercial seedstock and have a closed flock. Currently my flock consist of 8 commercial ewes, 7 registered fullblood Dorper ewes, 11 registered 50% Dorper ewes and 2 fullblood Dorper rams with the plans to build my flock to 100 registered Dorper ewes.
I invite you to come with me as I share my knowledge of raising sheep from the small beginnings of two ewes to the goal of 100 registered Dorper ewes and beyond.
Granny
Granny's Homestead 