Sources: Where to get supplies, equipment, dogs, etc.
General supplies
Jeffers
PO Box 100
Dothan, AL 36301
1-800-533-3377
Good selection of husbandry supplies for all sorts of livestock. A particularly good source for inexpensive syringes and needles. These are "veterinary" grade, not certified for human use. But they are sterile and sharp and so cheap that it makes sense to use a new needle and syringe for each injection.
Premier
2031 300th St.
Washington, IA 52353
Emphasis on products for sheep and goat raisers. Their catalog lists a number of items that we haven't seen anywhere else. The company also specializes in electric fencing products, and produces an information-packed catalog worth having. Their product line is of good quality, sometimes better than what we find at the local feed store, sometimes a little pricey, but then sometimes cheaper, so it's worth checking out.
Pipestone Veterinary Supply
1300 So. Hwy. 75
PO Box 188
Pipestone, MN 56164
507-825-5687
A supplier of veterinary supplies for sheep that is part of a large veterinary practice in Minnesota specializing in sheep. Their catalog is a gold mine of medical information and commentary, including a discussion of "extra-label" drug use.
Dalton ID Systems
Dalton House
Newtown Road
Henley-on-Thames
Oxon RG9 1HG
England
+44 1491 419 000
www.thetags4u.com
e-mail Pat Harwood
This small British company makes the little bitty lamb tags — called “Mini-Tags” — that we find so useful in keeping our lambs straight. These are the best Soay-sized lamb tags we know of. At the moment they are not available from any North American supplier, nor can you order them via the Dalton website. But good news! Until the website method becomes available, you can order Mini-Tags by emailing a real person at Dalton — Pat Harwood — at the link above.
The tags weigh less than the little cardboard box they come in, so shipping is less than you'd expect. First-time users will need to get one of the special applicators also (see photo); it's a very different device from the scrapie tag applicator.
Sheepman Supply Co.
8102 Liberty Road
PO Box A
Frederick, MD 21702
800-331-9122
Good all-around source for standard sheep supplies, and for other livestock, too. Catalog is 72 pages long, not fancy, but really comprehensive. A good source for Soay breeders in the east.
Sheep handling equipment
Shaul's Manufacturing
Sutter, CA 95982
(530) 695-8185
Bill and Susan Shaul make a nice line of downsized sheep and goat equipment that is ideal for working Soay sheep. Their website, like their products, is first-rate, very user-friendly, and includes both prices and lots of helpful photographs. You also can get a set of printed materials that is useful to carry around your farm, and a printed price list, if you contact them by email. Shaul stuff is top-notch and you cannot possibly have too much of it. The dark green steel panels, gates and feeders visible in many of the pictures on this site are from the Shauls.
Livestock Guardian Dogs
Jen Bailey
Skylonda Ranch
567 Skelley Road
Yoncalla, OR 97499
(541) 849-3636
Our two senior dogs, TJ and Chuy, are full brothers and a mix of Great Pyrennes, Anatolian, and Maremma. We bought TJ from Jen as an adult and Chuy as a pup. Both are superb LGDs.
Chyril Walker
Shepherds Rest Anatolians
Newberg, OR
(503) 538-8580
Our two "junior" dogs, Isaac and Jacob, are purebred Anatolian Shepherds, half- brothers, and sons of a Turkish Anatolian named Gandolf. We bought both of them from Chyril as young puppies. Isaac is over two years old and has assumed full-time duty with the sheep. Jacob, weighing in at a meager 110 pounds, is not quite full-grown and is still training before he will be released from supervision. Though ferocious with intruders on their fiefdom, they are docile and affectionate with us and our human visitors. We are very pleased with their progression from oversized bumpkins to sober and dependable flock guardians.