FAQ

It seems like we get people weekly that drive down to the farm because they are curious, used to live around here, or were just out for a drive and wanted to stop by. We also get questions constantly about what we are doing and how it all works. We don’t mind any of it! If you know Harry, you know he loves to talk and tell stories. But I figured I would answer a few frequently asked questions because so many people are curious!

How many sheep do you have? Around 400 breeding ewes. The amount of lambs changes all the time. Check out our lamb counter!

Wait, what is a ewe? Ewes are female sheep, the female adult sheep are usually called this. Lambs are the babies. Rams are the males. You can have a ewe lamb or a ram lamb. Weathers are castrated males.

Do you shear them? Nope! We have Katahdin sheep which are a hair breed. They shed like a dog and don’t typically need shearing.

Are they all white? Not ours! We have all colors of sheep from white, brown, black, speckled, and spotted. We like the different colored ewes because you can tell them apart.

What do you raise them for? Meat! Lamb is a healthy and lean meat.

What does lamb taste like? This is a tough one. To us, it just tastes like lamb! But I will say, there is a taste difference between wool breeds and hair breeds. Wool breeds tend to taste more game-y.

Where do you sell the meat? Whole Foods. Our buyer supplies to stores in Northern Kentucky, Southern Indiana and Ohio, Western Pennsylvania, and Southeastern Illinois. We will also sell to individuals who would like a whole lamb and we sometimes have select cuts available.

Do you have trouble with coyotes? Sometimes but that is what our guard dogs are for. We have livestock guardian dogs that stay out with their sheep and protect them from predators. The dogs are built for living outside and love their job. And don’t worry, they are well taken care of and loved by us too.

Are sheep easy to take care of? No! Sheep require more attention and care than cattle. While they are easier to handle because of their size, they need more tending to and can give up easily if they are sick or having trouble. Sheep can be mischievous; if there is a hole in the fence, they will find it. Your typical barbed wire fence used for cattle will not keep sheep in.

How many lambs do they have a year? The breed we have, Katahdin, average 2 lambs per pregnancy. Their gestation period is about 5 months. We accelerate our lambing and shoot for two lambings per ewe each year. Making the average 4 lambs per ewe per year.

How do you move them? We use border collies. They are trained to gather the sheep and bring them to the shepherd. Our collies are also trained to drive the sheep to get them from one pasture to another. Check out one of our recent blog posts to learn more about the working dogs!

These are some of our most common questions, but if you have any more, I would be happy to answer them!