Holly's Homestead
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Holly's Homestead — Other Livestock

Sheep

Ovis aries · Meat/wool breed
DIFFICULTY Easy–moderate
TYPE Livestock, kept for meat and/or wool
PRODUCTIVE LIFE Meat breeds processed 4–12 months; wool breeds shorn annually for years
Space
2–3m² shelter, 400m²+ grazing area per sheep
Diet
Pasture-based, hay in poor conditions, minimal grain needed
Water
Constant fresh access
Temperament
Calm, flock-oriented, skittish if handled roughly
Lifespan
10–12 years

01Rotate the pasture

Sheep are efficient grazers and, like most ruminants, do best on rotated pasture — moving them between paddocks improves pasture health and helps manage worm burdens.

02Housing & setup

Shelter
Simple shelter or shade — sheep are generally hardy and need less housing than pigs or goats.
Fencing
Standard stock fencing; sheep are less prone to escaping than goats.
Bedding
Straw if housed overnight, though many setups rely mainly on shelter belts and shade.

03Daily care

  • Rotate grazing paddocks to manage pasture and parasite load.
  • Provide hay when pasture is poor, especially over summer dry spells or winter.
  • Shear annually if keeping a wool breed.
  • Keep in groups — sheep are strongly flock-oriented and stressed when alone.

04Health & problems

  • Worms — manage with pasture rotation and monitoring; resistance is a growing issue, so avoid over-reliance on drenching alone.
  • Flystrike — particularly in wool breeds in warm, humid weather; regular checks and shearing help prevent it.
  • Footrot — in wet conditions; keep ground as dry as practical and trim hooves as needed.
  • Predator risk to lambs — secure paddocks at lambing time.

05Production & harvest

Processing age
4–12 months for meat breeds depending on target size.
Wool
Shorn annually, typically spring, for wool breeds.
Yield
Roughly 40–50% of live weight as dressed meat.
Storage
Meat: fridge a few days, freezes well. Wool: store clean and dry until processed or sold.

06Compatibility & considerations

Good with
Other sheep (flock animals)Orchard grazing (light, with trunk protection)
Avoid keeping with
Being kept aloneVery wet, poorly drained paddocks (footrot risk)
Note
A good low-input grazing animal if you have pasture area to spare beyond the vegetable and orchard zones.