Keeping sheep in New Zealand

Why keep sheep

Sheep keep grass down, and give meat, wool, and lambs to sell. They are cautious animals that run from surprises, but they are easily trained to come for food and can recognise dozens of other sheep by face.

They are also very social: being separated from the flock is very stressful for a sheep. SPCA suggests a group of about 4–5 as ideal on a lifestyle block. Overstocking is the most common welfare problem on lifestyle blocks, so start small. A block that carries plenty of sheep in spring may carry only a tenth as many in winter.

Feed, water, shelter, and fences

Base feed on each sheep’s size, age, body condition and whether it is pregnant or feeding lambs. Ask your vet or livestock adviser how to assess condition and when to add hay or other suitable feed. Introduce supplements gradually. Keep fresh water available at all times; hot weather and dry feed increase demand.

Sheep need shelter from cold, a way to escape heat, and protection at lambing. Newly shorn sheep need extra shelter for several weeks if cold, wet weather is likely.

Fences must be sturdy enough to hold lambs, and checked regularly. Electric fencing is widely used, but it works poorly on sheep in full wool and doesn’t suit horned sheep. A small set of yards, about a metre high, makes shearing, drenching, and foot care much easier.

Names for sheep

Sheep are often described by their teeth: a lamb’s first two permanent front teeth arrive at about 14–16 months, and more follow each year.

Ewe

An adult female.

Ram or tup

An uncastrated male kept for breeding. Tupping means mating.

Wether

A castrated male.

Lamb

A young sheep before weaning. For meat, a lamb is under 12 months or has no permanent front teeth in wear.

Ewe lamb and ram lamb

Female and male lambs.

Hogget

A young sheep from weaning, at about 4 months, until its first permanent teeth come through at about 14–16 months.

Two-tooth

A sheep with its two central permanent front teeth, usually between about 1 and 2 years old.

Four-tooth and six-tooth

Older sheep with four or six permanent front teeth, roughly 2–3 and 3–4 years old.

Full mouth

All eight permanent front teeth, at about 4 years or older.

Broken mouth

An older sheep with missing or broken front teeth, which makes grazing harder.

CFA ewe

Cast for age: an older ewe, usually over 5, culled from a breeding flock.

Mutton

Meat from an older sheep with more than two permanent front teeth.

Pet lamb

A lamb reared on a bottle, often an orphan. Also called a cade or poddy lamb.

Store

A sheep in fair condition but not fat, sold for someone else to finish.

Flock and mob

A flock is any group of sheep; a mob is a group managed together.

Tailing or docking

Shortening lambs’ tails, usually done with castration and ear tagging at lamb marking.

Crutching, dags, and dagging

Crutching is shearing the wool around the tail and back legs. Dags are clumps of dung-covered wool; dagging is cutting them off.

Cast sheep

A sheep stuck on its back, often when heavy in lamb or in a heavy fleece. Roll it back onto its feet.

Regular jobs

Shedding breeds such as Wiltshire drop their fleece from spring and need no shearing or crutching. Not every Dorper sheds fully, so ask to see a breeder’s flock before you buy.

Health problems to watch for

SPCA’s warning signs include a sheep standing apart from the flock, staggering or shivering, fast breathing or coughing, runny eyes or nose, rubbing against fences, diarrhoea, grazing on its knees, and overgrown or smelly feet.

• Flystrike: maggots in dirty or damp wool. The sheep may rub or nibble at the spot, then become lethargic, go off its feed, and go down. Treat it promptly.
• Worms, one of the most common problems vets see on lifestyle blocks.
• Facial eczema: droopy ears, a swollen face, and peeling skin, from January to May.
• Shaking or staggering needs prompt veterinary advice. Ryegrass staggers is one possible cause; keep sheep calm and ask your vet about suitable pasture and care.
• Footrot and scald after long spells of wet weather: severe lameness and a hot, swollen foot.
• Clostridial diseases such as pulpy kidney and tetanus, which often cause sudden death. The 5-in-1 vaccine protects against them.
• Lice need a suitable treatment plan. Bloat can be fatal: a bulging belly, panting or staggering needs an immediate vet call.

What a sheep costs to keep

These figures are approximate planning examples. Confirm feed quantities, treatment needs and current prices, including GST, delivery and whole-pack purchases, with suppliers and your vet before budgeting.

Small flocks pay far more per head than commercial farms, where shearing averages $2–$3 a sheep; with only one sheep, the call-out fee alone makes shearing about $155. You also buy products by the pack: a litre of drench is $150–$175, a pack of zinc capsules about $172, and a bottle of fly treatment $130 or more. Some vaccines keep only 30 days once opened, so single-dose packs, or a shearer who vaccinates and drenches, can work out cheaper for a few sheep. Fly treatment, crutching, vet visits, and the sheep themselves are extra. Home kill of a lamb, killed, cut, and packed, costs about $90–$140.

New Zealand rules

• The Code of Welfare: Sheep and Beef Cattle requires shelter, enough water, and food and water soon after shearing. Owners must take all reasonable steps to prevent flystrike and treat struck sheep promptly. It recommends shearing as often as needed, usually at least once a year. Check the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) for the current version.
• Before tail docking, check MPI’s current rules on age, permitted methods, tail length, operator competence and pain relief. Ask your vet to help plan the procedure.
• Before castration, check the current age, method and pain-relief requirements with your vet and MPI. Do not treat a brief guide as permission to carry out a procedure.
• Sheep movements need an Animal Status Declaration (ASD). Keep incoming forms while the animals are in your care and for a year afterwards; keep outgoing copies for a year.
• NAIT tagging applies to cattle and deer. If you also keep cattle or deer, report how many sheep you had on 30 June by 31 July each year. Check OSPRI for current requirements.
• Homekill meat cannot be sold, bartered or traded. Before booking, check MPI’s current rules for animal owners and listed homekill providers, including who can use the service, any care period and who may receive the meat.