Sheep or mini horses

[onelasttime]

Hi there :wave:

Unsure if anyone can help, but we live on acreage and we are thinking about getting a couple of sheep or miniature horse. But the thing is we have no idea how to look after them. For eg. what do we feed them (besides our grass) and what about vet bills.

So if anyone on bubhub with any advice it would be great.

Thanks :thumbsup:

[hayleylea]

Do you want them to be your pets? As in the sheep? Are you going to raise them or just have them on your acerage? We have sheep on our acerage but they just roam around and eat our grass..and the occasional bale of hay if things are looking a bit poor and dry etc. To look after them you have to get them shorn once or twice a year...keep an eye on them in the hot weather incase they are getting fly blown etc. Vet bills. We have never had vets out to our sheep...DF is pretty handy with them and you just buy the stuff to drench/vaccinate them and do it yourself. We have had sheep with broken legs and everything and just strapped them and they have turned out to be fine.

I have heard that minature horses can have an attitude problem lol. I dont know from experience though so someone else might be able to help you there.

[SilverStarfish]

Hello Rachel,

I see you are in Brisbane too :) The parents of a friend of mine breed miniature horses, the've got a whole herd of them! I'm not sure if they have any for sale at the moment, but if you have any questions about looking after them etc I could pass them on for you.

cheers,

Wendy

[Funkychicken]

Horses, miniature or otherwise, will be the more expensive option. The ongoing costs will be higher. Farrier bills, feed bills etc...
Horses are also notorious for being terrible grazers. They take the tops of the grass but not the rest of it and this creates a LOT of weeds. All the best.

[onelasttime]

Thanks everyone for the quick reply.

I also heard that mini horses can be nippy. So we are leaning towards sheep. We want them as pets only and to help us keep down the grass.

Also, where do you buy the stuff to vaccinate them, and how much does it cost?

Also, do you need to lock them up at night to keep them away from wild dogs. I remember reading in the local paper someone sheep were killed by wild dogs.

[Funkychicken]

You can buy drench's etc... at your local stock feed supply. I'm not 100 % sure on whether they have Vacc's but otherwise your vet stocks these. If you talk to the local stock feed store they will point you in the right direction with brands, dosages etc...