Storey's Guide to Raising Sheep: Breeds, Care, Facilities

by Paula Simmons, Carol Ekarius

Whether you’re about to acquire your first sheep or are interested in diversifying your operation with rare breeds, Storey’s Guide to Raising Sheep covers everything small-scale sheep farmers need to know to keep their animals healthy and productive. Drawing from years of hands-on experience, Paula Simmons and Carol Ekarius provide expert advice on breed selection, lambing, feeding, housing, pasture maintenance, and medical care. You’ll also find tips on profitably marketing your meat and fiber products, as well as information on obtaining organic certifications.

Genres: Nonfiction, Agriculture, Animals, Reference, Research, Education

400 pages, Paperback

First published November 8, 2000

About the author

A respected authority on sheep raising, Paula Simmons has written many articles and books, including Storey’s Guide to Raising Sheep (with Carol Ekarius) and Your Sheep (with Darrell L. Salsbury). Simmons also lectures and conducts workshops across North America on raising sheep and spinning wool for a living. Simmons and her husband have been raising and shearing sheep, and spinning and weaving wool, for more than 20 years on their farm in Washington state.

Reviews

[Paper Lover · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enthralling journey of sheep-discovery

[Rex Personthing · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extremely infomative, a must-read for anyone considering getting into sheep farming or even just getting some as pets.

[Doctor_dana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent for someone who loves sheep and wants to know more about them and who doesn’t know much yet. It was a broad survey textbook that covered sheep breeds, care, feeding, diseases, pastures, dogs, wool, and meat. It had a focus on the experience of North American flocks, describing breeds and resources available in the US and Canada. I learned what to do if a lamb is ready to be born in any of a dozen positions and recipes for lamb bottle-feeding formula as well as lamb sausages. (I admit I skipped over the sections on meat and vaccinations but really enjoyed the rest of it!) I was surprised how much there was to know about tending a flock, and just how many things are apparently lethal for lambs. Most anatomical or “gross” things are fortunately drawn or just described, but the photos of sheep breeds throughout were really great! Overall, a good introduction to raising sheep; I think I would need more training on the specifics of procedures before I would be ready for a flock of my own, but it lets you know what you don’t know.

Edit: and I learned my new favorite word: “forb” which are basically weeds.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Skimmed the last half, but overall this seems like a handy resource. I’m not sure whether we will decide to raise sheep, but if we do, I will probably refer to this book a lot. I do wish there had been a chart of breeds rather than pages & pages of description—it would be a lot easier to compare the types and choose what seems best.

[James Greening · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very thorough book on the topic of "Raising Sheep", and one that should be kept on the shelf no matter your level and expertise with sheep. Thank you, Paula Simmons, for taking the time to write this book as it gives me much more confidence towards acquiring and raising sheep in the near future.

[Bill Mandeville · Rating 4 out of 5]

Am thinking about getting some Baby Doll sheep. This book was recommended as a primer for anyone interested in raising sheep

[Will G · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not much about grazing, which seems to be most of what sheep do.

[Janet · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unbelievably long-winded, surprisingly incomplete for as wordy as it is! With this type of book, charts, drawings, & pictures are all MUCH more helpful than long-winded paragraphs.

For example, several paragraphs are written about each of 62 breeds of sheep. However, the information in the paragraphs written about each breed is all over the place. For example, for one breed of sheep, it will state that the breed grows wool as well as hair, give some background on the breed (not at all helpful for a homesteader), give the weight of the rams (not the ewes), & tell you the breed has horns. The information on another breed will be that the breed does well foraging, that they only lamb once/year but that they have a high % of twins & triplets, but that they have a poor herding instinct so they don't do well on ranges. I could go on but I won't; the information on the breeds is all over the map. This is where charts come in handy, because then the author can clearly see that their information is all over the place & sorely lacking in completion, & the reader is given a truly complete picture of each breed & have all of the information they need to make an informed decision when it comes to which breed of sheep to acquire. (Helpful information in the chart would be whether or not the breed is horned, the general size of ewes & rams, how well they do on a range, what type of climate they do well in or if they're adaptable to most climates, how often the ewes give birth, rates of twinning & triplets, whether the breed is best for meat and/or dairy and/or wool, the quality of their wool, if they're good herders, if the ewes have a good mothering instinct, how their births go, etc)

The book also goes into detail about serious things like hoof trimming & foot rot. This is an example of a place where a step-by-step drawing would be much more helpful than several long, wordy paragraphs.

Lots of information about diseases & prevention, herding dogs, birthing, milking, etc. But much of the information is incomplete, making it a fine source for some things, but certainly not for most of what you're going to need. Fortunately I found several other wonderful books so I don't have to rely on this one alone.

[Hayley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am in the process of researching raising sheep and have browsed through books looking for a one stop - all the information - and here it is! The break down with each topic is all a rookie could ask for and yet the extent of the information surpasses into the next level for someone who wants to expand and continue to learn more. Covering everything from guardian dogs to fencing to feeds and breeds I will hang on to this copy for years to come. A thorough guide for anyone considering sheep as their nect venture. This is a clear cut guide with easy to follow instructions for preparing for your first flock; whether it's just a few or for a larger operation. I love that it lists breeds and regions and all the information a sheperd would need to know right here.

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Outstanding book for the beginner and beyond. A direct descendant of Paula Simmons's 1976 book Raising Sheep the Modern Way. Updated and Revised Edition. Especially strong in choosing among breeds. Has a chapter on showing. Less technical than Ron Parker's The Sheep Book, to which I give a slight edge overall. At least one of these two is a must for the beginning American shepherd. Have them both if you can.

[Cherry · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent introduction to all major aspects of hobby sheep farming in a thorough and accessible format. This is a great place to start learning, as well as a basic reference book, and it offers more resources to turn to for an even more in-depth look at various aspects.

It covers sheep breeds, fencing requirements, feed and pasture concerns, common pests and diseases in sheep and more. Because of the breadth of the coverage, it is not extremely deep in any given topic but it gives you enough information to get started and tells you where to turn if you want to go further.

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading this book I feel like I have a good grasp on how to take care of sheep (I just bought 4 lambs a week ago). I wish there was more info on an organic approach - there was pretty much nothing about how to raise sheep without antibiotics and wormers. It was also unclear whether it's *really* ok to feed sheep corn or whether people just do it anyway to make them fat. If you are about to get some sheep for the first time I would say this book is an awesome place to start for info.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even though we (probably) aren't getting sheep anytime soon, I'm hanging onto this book because it is chock full of in depth information. I'm never sure what to expect from non-fiction, but this particular volume is top notch, clearly benefiting from multiple rewrites by several authors to create a well-rounded beginner and intermediate guide to sheep care.

[Andre · Rating 4 out of 5]

Storey's Guide to Raising Sheep is a fantastic entry book into the world of sheep farming. The authors pulled together a handbook filled with practical advice and its written from a position that makes it accessable to a layman. I'm not sure if I will ever become a sheep farmer, but if I do I believe this book will be an oft-referenced guide on my bookshelf.

[Danielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the design of this book - everything seemed quite practical in terms of form and content. I don't have any experience with raising sheep - I guess I picked this up simply out of curiosity. I'd recommend it to anyone with an interest in raising sheep on a large or small scale.

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Storey's Guide to Raising Sheep is a good book for beginners. For someone like myself, a life long farmer but new to sheep, I found it a little lacking. Don't think I didn't learn anything. I did learn a good deal. I was just hoping for more.

[Me2 · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good introduction into sheep raising, with enough detail to get you started.

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a discussion of various domestic sheep breeds and the skills necessary to raise them. There are sections on health issues and the showing of sheep in show settings.

[Gabrielle W. · Rating 3 out of 5]

A basic guide on raising sheep.

[Blarneygod · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was very informative and interesting to read.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was quite informative. So informative, in fact, that it's nearly scared me off sheep.

[Patricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spectacular reference for all things sheep. I'm sure I'll be using it for years and years to come.

[Fernleaf · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thorough guide to keeping sheep on any scale, but especially helpful for the small homesteader. Discusses raising sheep for wool and meat.

[Duncan Mcphedran · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading this, I feel infinitely more prepared for raising lamb next year. Very informative, covers health, breeding, record keeping, and products, among other things.