The Practical Shepherd

Abram Bowerman has kept sheep since he was six years old. Back then he scraped together enough money to buy his first animal, only to learn the hard way that a single sheep on its own can fall ill and die. His brother stepped in with an investment, which let him buy more animals and start building a flock, mostly on land that belonged to someone else. By 25 he was working full time as a stockman, a path he says opened up through his dealings with cattle owners. The Practical Shepherd turns that experience into low-cost, hands-on advice for anyone raising livestock, with sheep at the heart of Still Waters Farm. Bowerman covers what to look for when buying healthy sheep, how to head off disease and parasites, and why clean water and shade matter. He also explains which animals to cull and which to keep as replacement ewes, when to move stock between paddocks, and what mixing species can add to a farm. A section on choosing and training dependable guardian dogs rounds out the practical material. Bowerman brings more than 20 years of experience to the subject. He and his family now run 400 sheep alongside goats, cows, horses and poultry, on pasture they both lease and own. Along the way he shares the mistakes and obstacles he met and worked through, so that readers can avoid some of the same setbacks and build a profitable, sustainable flock of their own.