Sheep Sales & Health Policy

We raise registered Gotland sheep in Winlock, Washington, and we want every sheep that leaves here to land in a good home with an owner who knows exactly what they are getting. This page lays out how we handle health testing, paperwork, payment, and our promise to the animals. If anything here raises a question, please ask before you buy.

We test our flock through the Washington Animal Disease Diagnostic Lab (WADDL) for the diseases that matter most in breeding stock – CL (caseous lymphadenitis), OPP, and Johne's. Those results are publicly available in the "Bioscreen Test Results" album on the River Birch Farms Facebook page, and we are glad to hand you copies.

We culture every lump we find and send it in. No CL has ever turned up in our results.

We also codon-test for scrapie resistance where an animal's genotype is unknown.

Any sheep that joins our farm is biosecurity tested when it arrives, and we recommend you do the same with anything new, or buy from a flock with clean biosecurity results for CL, OPP, and Johne's. Beyond the testing needed for transport, we are happy to run additional disease tests at your request and expense – just let us know at least 2 weeks before pickup so we can schedule the draw.

Like most domestic US flocks, our flock has tested positive for Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae (M. ovi), a common respiratory bacterium that many sheep carry and that WADDL considers normal sheep flora. We tested for it, then learned it is so common that most sheep test positive, so we don't test for it routinely. It is not CL, OPP, or Johne's, and it is managed rather than eradicated. Our new-owner guide covers how to live with it well.

Registered stock comes with signed registration certificates or paperwork, provided once payment is received in full. For bred ewes, we include a signed service form so you can register the lambs. Registry rules are that all stock must be registered before they turn 2 years old. Every sale comes with a signed bill of sale.

A 50% deposit is typical to reserve stock. Full payment is due at pickup or delivery unless we have agreed to written terms. We accept cash, check, PayPal, Venmo, Cash App, and digital currency.

Who covers what: the health certificate (CVI) and transport are typically the buyer's to arrange and pay for. Delivery, when we can offer it, is quoted per trip. Base testing for CL, OPP, and Johne's is on us as part of standing behind our flock. Any testing beyond that is at the buyer's request and expense.

Full payment and pickup are due by the date we agree on. If you need a little more time, we're glad to board your sheep at $5 per head per day, which covers feed, care, and the added handling of holding stock that was ready to go. A one-time $50 hold-over fee applies once the agreed pickup date passes without arrangements. Stock not picked up or paid in full within 15 days of the agreed date is considered forfeited, and the deposit is kept to cover the care and holding.

If you later decide to sell a sheep you bought from us, we ask for right of first refusal – the first chance to buy it back – so we can help the sheep born or living here to land well.

We stand behind the sheep we sell. Should you become unable to keep one and we are in a position to take it back, we will, and we will work to place each animal in the best situation we can.

Stock is sold as is. We are honest about what we know at the time of sale and note any condition on the bill of sale. We do not offer refunds, but we will not leave an animal without a soft place to land.

New sheep do best with a quiet quarantine of four weeks, kept away from any others you own, so both flocks can settle and you can watch for anything a move may have stirred up. Our new-owner guide walks through preparing for your sheep to arrive, shelter, water, feed, that first month, and what to watch for.