( 5 reviews )
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Posted: Aug 9 2005
This book has loads of wonderful information! I am going to become a leader with a 4-H sheep club and it has lots of wonderful, valuable information!
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( 11 of 11 found this review helpful ) Posted: Jun 8 2003
A subtitle on the front cover claims this is a complete owner's manual. Well.....I guess the operative word is manual, not book or text.Having said that, I must admit the booiklet would be a great gift idea for one's son or daughter, niece or nephew, or grandchild who might be considering sheep in a Future Farmer's of America (FFA) project or who might just be curious. Then, the prospective youth might whet his or her appetite sufficiently to choose a more complete book.I did find the illustrations and photos to be helpful, but if the cost for such artwork resulted in shrinking the font size down to a barely legible size, then probably some of the pictures should be removed. Even many youth will have trouble reading such small type!The booklet covers a lot of ground with brevity. Thus, it is a quick read, However, although the potential for sheep raising for milk production is heavily promoted in the advertisement, our kind author does a great disservice regarding milking sheep on page 52:"The teats of sheep are much smaller than those of cows and goats. This makes milking them harder because you can use only a couple of fingers rather than the entire hand (see colr photo on page 55). There is no point in describing in detail how to milk a sheep because it is a skill that must be acquired through practice."Illustrations and photos and a bit of imagination could have seized a golden opportunity here. If it is that difficult to explain that is precisely what the author should have tried.Although I did find the book not to be informative enough for me, I do think it would be a great e-book for a free download. Perhaps a short video clip could be included to show how sheep are milked. As such, the PDF could serve as a loss-leader in attracting readers to purchasing more complete books on sheep and livestock production.Again, this book is best thought of as a FFA gift for teens interested in raising sheep on a small scale. Otherwise, surf the net for free information that can be gleaned in a couple of hours!
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( 1 of 4 found this review helpful ) Posted: Jun 30 2002
Would highly recommend this book to anyone who has no experience in the sheep industry. For the beginner who has yet to purchase sheep, it covers everything from how to make your first purchase, care and housing, feeding, illnesses, breeding, products of sheep and more. A small, inexpensive, yet informative book that will give the reader an idea of what sheep require in order to remain healthy.
