Leeds County 4-H Thousand Islands Sheep Club

It has been many years since there was a 4-H Sheep Club in either Frontenac or Leeds County.  For 2025 we are starting up the Thousand Islands Sheep Club so youth members in the area from Brockville – Kingston – Rideau Lakes have the opportunity to learn about sheep farming, including taking responsibility for all the care of their own project animal, and show the results of their hard work at regional agricultural fairs.

We particularly hope to have youth members join who DO NOT live on farms connect with this club.  The Sweet Sheep Company, on Highway 2 between Kingston and Gananoque, can provide lambs and their housing, feed, and veterinary care for youth members who want to register with 4-H Ontario but otherwise could not keep their own project animal.  A lease agreement will be made to detail the responsibilities of the youth member, the animal owner, and the division of the proceeds of sale of the animal when it is fully grown.

The plan is to start the year with a meeting on shearing day (March 29th, weather permitting) at The Sweet Sheep Company to learn about a key welfare task for dual-purpose sheep: annual harvesting of the wool.  Youth members will watch and learn about sheep handling and shearing and see what raw fleece is.

From there, we will learn about basic veterinary care, including vaccinations to protect the sheep flock from infectious diseases.  As the grazing season begins, youth members will learn about the plant and soil health considerations underlying animal nutrition and welfare.  They will also learn about management of the sheep health risks posed by parasites and predators on pasture.

As lambing season unfolds, youth members will purchase or lease (individually or shared with another member) their project animal and take responsibility for the growth and development of that lamb.  Youth members will have the opportunity to see lambs born on pasture and learn about the key feeding and veterinary tasks that need to happen during the first 24 hours after birth, including the decision about bottle-feeding a lamb if the ewe cannot or will not feed it.

As the lambs grow and become weaned, youth members will learn how to handle their animal, assess its health and development, and ensure its nutritional needs are being met.

The plan for the  Thousand Islands Sheep Club is to start the show year with an information display at the Lombardy Agricultural Society Fair, held annually during the August long weekend.  Pending support from the Pittsburgh Community Benefit Fund, the Thousand Islands 4-H Sheep Club would then host its “achievement day” during the Kingston Sheepdog Trials, held annually during the second weekend of August.  We would then coordinate with the Frontenac 4-H Association and the Kingston Agricultural Society to show our lambs at the Kingston Fall Fair.  If enough youth members are interested, we would then go to 4-H Eastern Region Championship Show at the Metcalfe Fair to see how our exhibitors and animals compare to other sheep clubs in Eastern Ontario, including a competition for our display built around our animal penning, and culminating in a charity auction.  In future years, we may then have our more experienced youth members travel with their animals to the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in Toronto during the second weekend of November.

Our year will end in November, with a final meeting to review everything we’ve learned and then learn some more about managing the flock before breeding season, winter feeding, and how to select which animals will stay over the winter as breeding animals or replacements to join the breeding flock the following season.

The ultimate goal is to have youth members end the season proud of their development of valuable life skills in leadership, business, and self-confidence.