We are a small outfit southwest of Houston, in a little town called Damon. Ken works for a construction company in Houston. Zhanna is a stay-at-home-mom. We have a 16 year old son, Kenny and a 3 year old Boxer, Henry.
We chose hair sheep after much consideration of other critters. First we thought about cattle. We decided against cattle because of their size and expense to buy and maintain. All the equipment required to handle them, the cost of a truck and trailer, vet bills, etc. all contributed to us not wanting to do cattle. Then we thought of goats. After doing some research, we discovered that goats don't care much for grass and will only eat grass as a last resort. Finally, we looked at sheep. These sheep in particular are easy to maintain. They are very hardy and require very little from people. The main expense has been the fences. You have to have good fences to keep the sheep in and other critters out!
We bought our first six ewes in September 2008. We bought another six ewes a month later. Then we bought our ram. We are members of the
Barbados Blackbelly Sheep Association.
Our first lambs were born December 23, 2008, much to our surprise! We were not aware that the ewes were pregnant when we bought them. We were pressed for space in that we did not have enough fences up to make another pasture for our growing flock, so we have been quite busy making pastures!
We are learning as we go. With God's blessings, we will be successful!
God bless you and yours!
Ken & Zhanna
KZ Ranch
