Milking Sheep

Q: How many sheep do you milk?
A: 95 sheep in the 2006 season

Q: How many times a day do you milk?
A: Twice a day for 6 months and once a day for a further month.

Q: When do you separate your lambs?
A: After 2 days because that's all they need to get the colostrum from their mother.

Q: How big is your property?
A: 40 Acres

Q: How many teats does a sheep have?
A: 2

Q: How many litres do you get from each sheep?
A: 1 -2 Litres per day averaged over seven months

Q: How many litres make 1 Kg of cheese?
A: 6 litres per Kg for hard cheese and 2-3 litres per Kg for soft cheese

Q: How fine is the Wool?
A: 28 Micron (used for jumpers and carpet)

Q: Do you have to shear the sheep?
A: Yes, once a year.

Q: When do you start and stop milking the sheep?
A: September through to March

Q: What sort of sheep are they?
A: East Friesland, From the Netherlands

Q: What was the thought behind milking sheep?
A: We have always wanted to grow a vineyard and then we needed an animal to eat down the grass between the rows. After heavy research we found that sheep would be the best and milking them would be an additional income stream for our enterprise.