Andrew Moseley

Great advice again, thanks. I live in south Florida so, for the sake of the sheep will definitely be getting hair sheep.  Also the St Augustine grass grows fast for about 10 months a year and is irrigated. I do have another 6000 sqFt that is being used for free range chickens, so if needed I can add that to the rotational grazing to reach the ability to support 2.

Really the homesteading goal is to put 3 in the freezer each year as economically as possible. Bonus 1 is getting to teach my kids about livestock and letting them experience a natural birth.  Bonus 2 is not having to mow or fertilize that space.  

Ideally lambs would be born sometime around March, be weaned by July. So that during the winter months where grass grows slower I am only supporting 2 pregnant ewe's and no other lambs or livestock.

Thanks everyone for the advice. I will definitely start small, and if the first 3 or 4 months don't go well there will not be any babies.

However I am still intrigued by whether or not this type of yearly replacement is viable.  If it is not I don't think the economics work any other way - and thus I would rather focus my efforts elsewhere.  Buying new sheep/lambs every year just doesn't make economic sense unless you are producing offspring to offset the cost. I have enough pets already.

What are your thoughts on selling/slaughtering the dam's just after weaning and the lamb rams just after impregnation, are there any drawbacks to that?
Also I've never tasted yearling mutton, is it considerably stronger flavor than lamb?

I have a 16k sq ft healthy yard that I would like to raise sheep on for meat.  I was thinking about the most effective method to raise ewe's and lambs on the small space I have. I don't have experience so I thought I could explain it here and have someone tell me I am crazy or foolish or if maybe it may work.

Generation 1, buy 3 weaned lambs with 1 being a ram lamb.  Once the ewe's are pregnant (9 months or so) we can slaughter/sell the ram lamb because he's done his job and I want to save the grass for the pregnant ewe's.
Generation 2, after Gen 1 ewes have lambed (let's say yield of 3 lambs for the 2 ewes) let the lambs grow 4 months with Mom's or until weaned and then slaughter/sell Gen 1 Ewe's.
To get to Generation 3, buy another ram lamb (for genetic diversity) and sell/slaughter the ram lambs born in generation 2. Let the ewe lambs get pregnant (max 2) and then sell/slaughter the ram/lamb after pregant.

This appeals to me because my net input is minimized to the purchase of the initial 3 lambs and then after an purchase can be offset by a sale. It also appeals to me such that I can at peak demand for grass I will have 2 Ewe's and 4x4 month lambs on the grass. If I plan well maybe that can even be in spring/summer when grass grows the fastest.

So give it to me straight, is this type of breading schedule smart, possible or crazy?