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If you are considering Dairy sheep for your homestead, this video is for you! Lydia At Harmony Heritage has raised dairy sheep in Washington State for 22 years – since the age of 9 years old.
In this interview we discuss:
- The best dairy sheep breeds and cross breeds for hardiness.
- How to mitigate (and even eliminate) mastitis in your dairy sheep flocks
- Where to find quality dairy sheep to buy (and how much you might pay)
And MORE.
HOW TO RAISE DAIRY SHEEP
the Shepherdess: I am so thrilled today to be talking with Lydia of Harmony Heritage Farm. Lydia, give us a little bit of an overview of Harmony Heritage Farm—where you’re at, what you’re farming, and when it all started.
Lydia: We are living on about 48 acres of totally raw land right now that we purchased in 2018. It used to belong to my husband’s family back in the fifties.
They had quite a few acres up here in Mossy Rock in the hills. I think in the late 1800s is when they first kind of settled here. There’s a lot of history there. It was really a huge opportunity for us to be able to purchase that.
So we have that for ourselves, and we’re just slowly but surely working on it. It was really super rough property because it was logged in the fifties, and all the stumps were still there, kind of rotting, and lots of blackberries—just rough ground. [00:01:00] So a lot of work has gone into that. We are in Washington state.
the Shepherdess: And what is the climate like for you? Do you have snow? Is it temperate?
Lydia: We’re almost more coastal, so we get a lot of rain.
Normally. This has been a really super dry year, so we’re kind of a little nervous as far as grass and how much hay we’re going to have and all that.
the Shepherdess: So when did you decide to go for sheep?
Lydia: I was thinking about that. It’s just been kind of a natural love that was instilled in me, I think, at a very early age. My mom decorated my nursery with Psalm 23 things, so I had sheep in the room everywhere.
Finally, we moved out here to Washington when I was seven or eight, and my parents said, “It’s time. We need to get some sheep.” So my mom ended up [00:02:00] calling around to like 10 or 15 sheep farmers in the area.
We had this directory of sheep producers, and she said, “Okay, well, whoever calls us back first, we’ll find a sheep for you.” As it went, we only had one person respond—and it was a dairy sheep farm that’s about 30 minutes from us.
So I didn’t even really intend to get dairy sheep at that point. I was just like, “Any sheep will do, I don’t care.” I think I bought a sheep and my sister bought a sheep.
the Shepherdess: Wow. And so you’ve been growing it since then, or was it kind of an off-again, on-again relationship?
Lydia: I have not had one year since I was nine that I haven’t had a sheep.
I think I’ve moved like five or six times, and God has always provided some way for me to keep sheep in my life. One time I even had some friends just keep my sheep for me.
‘Cause I was like, I’m not sure [00:03:00] if we’re going to be able to buy property, but I don’t want to lose my genetics because I’ve worked so hard for what I have, and I didn’t want to lose that line of sheep. So they offered to keep them for me for a season and just gave them back to me after that.
I’m just so grateful. I really think it’s something God has allowed me.
the Shepherdess: Amen.
What breed of sheep are you running?
Lydia: So I have primarily East Friesian crosses. I’m sure you’ve heard about East Friesians. They’re the top dairy breed in the U.S., and they are actually always a mix. We don’t have any purebreds here in the States. They’re normally like East Friesian— I think it’s pronounced Lacaune.
It’s a French breed. Those were the first two dairy breeds that were brought to the United States.
the Shepherdess: How do you spell the last one?
Lydia: I have it on here as L-A-C-A-U-N-E. That’s a breed I really love—that Lacaune, they call it. East Friesians—I have a love-hate relationship with East Friesians because they are kind of your Holstein. They were bred for production, so they tend to be really difficult to keep.
They’re not as hardy, but they produce a ton of milk. So that’s kind of their main claim to fame.
the Shepherdess: Being…
Lydia: Huge producers. But some of the things I was seeing early on with the East Friesians is they’re bred for very short-term, heavy production. So you can expect two to maybe four or five good years of milking and then they get Mastitis. So I early on started breeding in some of the hardier, better-built sheep like Border Leicester. And Lacaune is another Canadian dairy [00:05:00] breed that I am just a huge fan of.
I’m trying to think—my initial, very first sheep that I got was a Lacaune. I just love them because they’re very, very hardy. They have those long—I’m sure you probably know, in your breeding program—you want long bodies, long deep bodies so they can carry lambs well and not have prolapse issues.
And it just gives you a little more meat. So yeah, Lacaune are really valuable for that reason. I incorporated Finns maybe six or seven years ago. I love them for their wool quality and quantity, as well as their lamb production. They tend to have huge litters, which is something that appealed to me.
It’s fun to have lots of babies. The other thing is it does aid in milk production too.
So I’ve heard that the number of lambs [00:06:00] your ewe is carrying affects her milk production—she automatically knows she’s going to need more milk to support them. So I started crossing in some purebred Finns. I had a flock of dairy sheep and then a flock of purebred Finns.
And I decided I really don’t like purebred Finns because—at least in the States—they do tend to be a little smaller and a little bit inbred. There’s not a ton out there. So they were really hard to keep—hard to keep weight on them, wormy all the time.
But crossed with the hardier breeds and the dairy sheep? They’re amazing. So in my breeding program, I like to keep the percentage at 50% or less Finn.
the Shepherdess: So if you could say three goals that you breed for, what are the three things that you breed for in a ewe—if it’s only three?
Lydia: So for the dairy sheep, my first goal was just personality and temperament, which is pretty easy with dairy sheep.
They’re bred for that, so they tend to be more calm and easy to work with for the most part. But there is nothing worse than fighting with a sheep that doesn’t want to be milked. So that’s number one: temperament and personality.
Number two is udder conformation. For me—because I hand-milk all of my sheep—it’s really important to have a good teat structure and udder conformation. And in dairy sheep, they’re not as good as dairy goats yet.
In the States, that’s something we’re really working toward—having udders that are really easy to milk and that won’t create problems like mastitis. That’s been my main goal: to have sheep that have an udder that doesn’t hang below the hocks, because we have really brushy ground up here and they tend to get [00:08:00] mastitis really easily if they’re very heavy and hanging.
And that’s really common with dairy sheep—to have poor udder conformation. So I go more for the conformation than production. I’m not as concerned about how much they’re giving me in a year as I am about…
the Shepherdess: Right, because that will lend to longevity. She’ll be with you longer. So in the long run, she’ll probably produce as much as that one that gives like six gallons, you know, a week.
Lydia: Absolutely. I really, really strongly believe that. And it’s heartbreaking to lose them—especially for the smaller people like us, homestead-type operations, where you’re milking them every day and you’re attached to them and you love them.
And if they’re dying every two years—that’s not fun. And dealing with mastitis is the worst thing to ever have to deal with.
the Shepherdess: What are some [00:09:00] things that you would guide people to—some ways to treat mastitis? I had a couple cases in my flock this past year.
How would you treat it, and what has been most effective for you?
Lydia: Yeah. Early on, someone recommended the cow mastitis treatment—the intramammary ones. There’s “Today” and “Tomorrow.”
And I will usually treat them with “Today.” If it’s really bad… If it’s not that bad—normally these days I hardly ever get it, thankfully—I don’t have to deal with it much anymore.
But I do get a lot of—what do you call it? It’s when they first lamb and the udder is pretty firm and hard and hot. A lot of times you can use essential oils and compresses and just a lot of massaging.
And if you can leave the lambs on them or allow a lamb to nurse continually, that really helps too.
the Shepherdess: That’s really good.
All right, so what is a general milk yield? What would you consider, at your farm, a good-producing [00:10:00] sheep?
Lydia: So we breed at like eight or nine months of age, so they will lamb their first year. And that first year you really don’t get much—you can’t expect much out of them, ’cause they’re still babies. They’re kind of growing themselves.
And then to also have a lamb that they’re carrying—usually one or two lambs—that’s just a lot for them. So normally I tell people between one and two cups per milking their first year. So you may get two cups a day, or you might get four, depending on the ewe.
And then the next year you can expect that to double. I would say their golden years are kind of two to six years old, maybe eight years old. And my really good producers give me a gallon a day plus. My decent milkers are around three [00:11:00] quarters of a gallon a day.
The first month after lambing, all of that milk goes to the lambs. I separate it for 24 hours, and then I just feed all that milk back to the lambs.
Then after a month, when they’re weaned, we’re able to keep that for ourselves. I continue to milk until about July. I start to taper them off a little bit—first I start off with once-a-day milking, then I taper off to every other day.
By the end of August, I have them pretty well dried up for breeding and all the pre-lambing things that need to happen—worming and selenium.
the Shepherdess: What are the feed rations in order to get that kind of a yield?
Lydia: That’s a really, really good question because production depends so much on what they’re eating—and not as much on genetics. We have a ton of green grass here, especially in the spring and usually into summer. We’re very blessed that way. So I don’t supplement them with any grain after lambing, except maybe a handful.
Before lambing, I try really hard not to grain them at all. I know it’s really hard on their stomachs, and they do much better if you stick with alfalfa and grass hay. I’ve had years where I tried graining more—using this alfalfa haylage called Chaffhaye. I don’t know if you have it down there, but it’s great for dairy sheep because they need the water content and the high calcium from the alfalfa.
But dry alfalfa hay gets wasted a lot, so I love the Chaffhaye. Still, one year I tried graining them harder due to poor pasture, and I had a lot of bloat. It was awful. I had a little Mexican friend come butcher some sheep for me and he asked, “Why are you giving them grain? They don’t need grain—they have pasture.” And I was like, Oh, okay.
the Shepherdess: So you’re getting that kind of yield on pasture only?
Lydia: Yeah. It’s really pretty awesome.
the Shepherdess: Let’s talk about supplemental minerals. Dairy animals tend to be a little more sensitive. What should people prepare for?
Lydia: Where I live, selenium is a big issue. Even the mineral mixes don’t have enough. In my earlier years, I had problems with white muscle disease and lambs failing to thrive. So now I always give a Bo-Se shot right before breeding, and then I give them the paste a couple of weeks before lambing as a little boost. I also vaccinate the lambs with Bo-Se at weaning.
the Shepherdess: Do you ever struggle with hypocalcemia?
Lydia: Yes! I have a tip for that—Tums. Just over-the-counter Tums. It’s calcium, and the sheep love it. They’ll gobble it out of your hand. I offer it to my high-producing ewes and most of the time they’ll eat four or five tabs a day. I think it really helps. That, plus giving them alfalfa in the last months before lambing, works great.
the Shepherdess: When my sheep are lactating, parasites become a big struggle. Is that the same with dairy sheep?
Lydia: It can be. But I’ve been able to avoid chemical dewormers except right before breeding. I use Valbazen around the first week of August. We rotate pastures every three days, so that helps a lot. I’ve tried natural methods like garlic and Shaklee Basic H, but I’m not sure how effective they were. We do have some liver fluke issues here, so I rely on Valbazen. But during milking, I usually don’t have to deworm at all.
the Shepherdess: Do you lamb on pasture or in a facility?
Lydia: We usually lamb in January and February, sometimes March for the younger ewes. We keep the sheep in a greenhouse over winter and lamb them out there. Once we start rotating pastures in March, lambing happens on pasture. But dairy lambs often need more attention, especially when there are three or four in a litter. I prefer to have them in lambing pens. I keep them there for 48 hours to make sure they get all their colostrum and a little selenium shot.
the Shepherdess: Your sheep are incredibly prolific. Didn’t you have a 300% lambing rate one year?
Lydia: Yeah, I had 10 ewes lamb and ended up with 33 lambs. They’re amazing.
the Shepherdess: For someone new, what are the biggest challenges with dairy sheep?
Lydia: Start with good stock from a reliable source. There’s a huge range in milk production and hardiness among dairy sheep. I was lucky to live near a dairy that always picked the best sheep for me—best for hand milking, best udders. Commercial dairies often focus only on volume, which might not suit a small homestead. Also, support is important. Books are great, but being able to talk to people helps a lot.
We have a Facebook group called Homestead Dairy Sheep—there are about 5,000 people now. My friends Joy (in California) and Josh (a dairy farmer in Nevada) helped start it. People can post questions, and we’ve got members with 20–40 years of experience who share great advice—even on cheese making.
the Shepherdess: What’s a reasonable price range for a good dairy ewe?
Lydia: I sell my ewe lambs for $500. Those are first-year lambs ready to breed in the fall. My best in-milk ewes go for $1,000. In general, expect to pay $800–$1,200 for a proven ewe with a great udder. Lambs should range from $300 to $500. If you see dairy sheep for $200–$300, be cautious—that’s low.
the Shepherdess: Do you use the milk for personal consumption or products?
Lydia: Both! We drink it and make a lot of cheese—mostly a simple, spreadable chèvre that we eat all summer. We also make ice cream and, occasionally, butter. Butter is tricky because the cream takes a while to rise, but it’s phenomenal.
the Shepherdess: Do you prefer sheep milk over goat milk?
Lydia: Absolutely. I’m not a fan of goat milk at all. But with sheep, what they eat really affects the flavor. I stopped giving alfalfa pellets while milking because it gave the milk a sour, almost fishy taste. Once I quit those, the milk was sweet and amazing. The brand may have mattered. I’m still looking for a good barley/oats/pea mix.
the Shepherdess: You’ve put a lot into your genetics. How can people get in touch with you if they’re looking to start their own dairy flock?
Lydia: Email is best:
📧 [email protected]
Or text me at:
📱 360-880-6181
You can also connect with me on Instagram and Facebook at Harmony Heritage Farm. I do ship sheep across the country. The last ones went to Oklahoma—it cost about $500 per head for shipping. I work with reputable shippers who use clean, safe, compartmentalized trailers. I wait until the lambs are a bit older so they travel strong and healthy. I’ve shipped to Arizona, California, Nevada, and now Oklahoma.
the Shepherdess: That’s a great price. Do you have any availability right now?
Lydia: I do! I have about 10 ewe lambs and 9 or 10 ram lambs still available as of this recording.
the Shepherdess: Do you have a website where people can learn more?
Lydia: Yes! Visit harmonyheritagefarm.com.
There’s an application form on the “Dairy Sheep for Sale” page where you can share about your needs, what you’re looking for, and your family setup. I also post pictures of most of the available sheep, and you can reference them by tag number when contacting me.
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