So, you’ve found yourself buying sheep from across the country. What’s involved in that process? From the time you agree to purchase sheep to the time your new sheep arrive at your farm, there’s a lot to know. The rules vary by state, but you can read about the basics below.
Paperwork
Every livestock shipment requires paperwork. A bill of sale is mandatory, but depending on where the sheep are coming from, you may need a few additional things.
Shipping Within Your Own State
In general, as long as both the origin and destination premises are within the same state, few restrictions on transportation exist. If there is a current disease outbreak, you may need a veterinary permit, and some counties occasionally go under quarantine for one reason or another. By and large, though, there should be little additional paperwork.
Shipping Between States
Shipping between states requires a few additional steps. First: no matter what the origin and destination states are, you’ll require a veterinary health certificate from the place of origin. These certificates must include the numbers, sexes, breeds, and ages of all sheep in the shipment, and the official Federal Scrapie ear tag info as well. Both the seller and the buyer must identify a premises where the sheep will (or did) reside. The method of shipment must be specified, and if it’s by commercial hauler or anyone who does not own the sheep, that person’s name must also be on the certificate. That’s the minimum requirement.
It only gets more complicated from there. Some of the additional requirements you may be subject to include:
- Depending on the destination state, additional testing may be required
- Some states need an import permit prior to the sheep leaving their place of origin
- Some states also require Scrapie genotyping at Codon 171
- Nearly all states require rams older than one year of age to have a brucellosis test taken within one to two months of shipment
- Some states will only accept health certificates written within the last ten days, while some give two weeks or up to a month of time
- Some states require or forbid certain vaccinations
- Some states require dips or pour-ons for external parasites, while some forbid them
- Some states require statements of specific diseases on the health certificate
These regulations can change, so you can’t depend on them being the same from state ot state (or even for the same place from year to year). The only way to ensure success is for the originating veterinarian to contact the state veterinarian at the destination once the sale is planned. That’s the best way to know what’s required with the smallest margin of error. This needs to happen as soon as you’re certain of the deal due to date restrictions on testing. We’ve had cases where animals had to have two negative tests done 30 days apart before they were allowed to be shipped. Starting the process 60-90 days before shipment is ideal.
Some tests require 5-10 days to complete, and that can also affect shipping dates. Even if regulations change during your preparation time, you’re required to adhere to those new regulations. We’ve had this happen several times, and it usually resulted in scrambling and additional costs to complete the new tests in time to ship.
Typically, here at our farm, the minimum cost is around $200 per shipment if there is no additional testing required. That covers the vet fee to come out and individually inspect each sheep and verify federal tag numbers. The vet then writes the health certificate and files it with state and federal officials. If an import permit number is needed, that’s usually included. What that cost does not include is any testing, vaccination, or parasiticide treatments that you need.
Shipping to Canada
This is probably the most complex shipping process, and it’ll take at least three months from the time you select your sheep. The general procedure is for the Canadian flock to apply for an import permit with all of the identification details of the new sheep. This permit then comes to us, and we apply for an export permit from the USDA. This requires a vet visit to verify that all sheep are tagged with Federal Scrapie tags, that they’re tattooed per Canadian requirements, and that all health certificate information is accounted for. Everything then goes to the USDA headquarters for final approval, and this can take several weeks. Once that’s done, we need to do some additional paperwork and a final health check. International certificates are only good for 14 days, so the timing is critical. We usually get final approval with very little time to spare. Since the certificate also specifies which day the sheep will ship, it takes a ton of coordination to get everything approved and set.
Because we’re an export-qualified flock in the US Scrapie program, the receiving Canadian flock does not have as much to do once the sheep arrive.
Transportation
The next step to deal with is transportation. The easiest way to arrange this is for the buyer to come to the farm and pick up the sheep directly. The trailer needs to have plenty of ventilation, plus weather coverage. When we ship, we make it so every sheep can lie down, with plenty of hay and bedding for the trip. The buyer needs to provide buckets for water. We do not recommend taking sheep off the trailer until they reach their final destination, even if the trip takes several days. As long as there’s plenty of room and plenty of clean hay and water, they’ll travel well. Do not use wood shavings as bedding – always use hay. They can eat shavings, get impacted, and die in transport or shortly after. Do not use hay they’re not used to eating, either, as that can cause digestive upset and additional stress.
Separate the sheep by sex and size in the transport trailer. Don’t try to ship weanling lambs with adults unless they’ve been that way since their origin. Always separate rams from ewes during shipment, and always ship sheep with at least one buddy. Never try to ship a single sheep. You can ship a single ram in a trailer with ewes as long as he’s separated by wire in view of the others. It helps if they can touch noses, too. We often suggest shipping ewes in the main part of a horse trailer with two rams in the tack room compartment.
Pickup trucks with shells or specific sheep-hauling inserts can be used as well. We’ve even had sheep shipped in dog crates in vans when the trip was short.
Commercial transporters can be a good choice, but they must understand some of the characteristics of Black Welsh. Our sheep do not flock, and they can’t be unloaded until they reach their final location. Otherwise, they’ll never get loaded again. Our sheep have never seen a herding dog, so using one will just cause panic, potentially resulting in injured sheep. We have successfully shipped sheep with horse transport companies as long as the dividers reach the floor. Most commercial haulers charge based on a combination of loaded mileage from origin to destination, a per-head fee, and cost of space taken. The horse hauling companies we’ve used typically charge a fixed price per mile per horse stall, and that can be a good choice, as we’ve been able to fit 4-5 ewes or 2-3 rams in a single stall.
If you’re getting sheep from us, keep in mind that our farm is up on top of a mesa. We’re at the end of a dirt, one-lane road with bends that many large rigs can’t navigate. We can haul sheep down in our small trailer, then load them elsewhere on the final truck or trailer rig, but that requires more time and additional costs to arrange.
When the Sheep Arrive
Now that you have your new sheep at your farm, what else do you need to do? First, have a small, contained area with welded or woven wire fencing for them to go to. Do not use electric fences or nets at first. Your sheep have been on the road for a while, and they’re already stressed. They’ll be dealing with a lot of strange people, food, and smells. They need time to acclimate. We suggest keeping them separate from the rest of your flock for at least 30 days. You may wish to deworm them if that hasn’t been done within a few weeks of their travel. It’s also not a bad idea to have your own vet come out and check them, just to make sure everyone’s okay.
Generally, our sheep travel well, but they can sometimes get sick during the trip. Often, it’s just the stress of the trip on top of exposure to new pathogens at their new home. Give them time and food, and they’ll be fine.
Try to slowly change them over from the hay they came with to whatever’s in your area. Our sheep have never had grain, so start grain slowly if it will be part of your feeding regimen.
We’re also committed to ensuring the sale and shipping of only healthy and productive sheep. We want to make sure your new charges get to your farm safe and ready to perform for you!
And that’s how you ship sheep! We’ve shipped across the USA and both in and out of Canada, so I like to think we’re pretty experienced with the process. If you’re interested in purchasing one of our sheep, or if you have any further questions about the shipping process, please feel free to reach out.