Get sheep in Manor Lords to get clothing and money rolling!

In medieval times, sheep were important. In surviving accounts of British manors, herds of thousand sheep or more weren't unheard of. 

Their main purpose: wool, milk and meat.

In Manor Lords, sheep will provide you with wool. Wool will be turned into yarn, which will be sold on the market for villagers to make clothing. 

Prepare your settlement

To start your own sheep herd, you will need three buildings:

1. Pasture for the sheep
2. Sheep farm for the farmers
3. Livestock trading post to get your first sheep

Let's go through them one by one. 

Pastures

Letting your sheep wander around aimlessly might sound like a fun idea, but the sheep herders won't be very happy. Your sheep will run away, which is not the aim of raising a herd in the first place. 

To stop this from happening, build Pastures. They're not much more than some picket fences around a plot of land you select, but they'll be the core part of your sheep herding empire. 

Things to note:

• Pastures do not need a family assigned. The sheep farms and livestock tracking post do.
• If you have developed Heavy Plow > Fertilization, you can Fence up your farm fields. This turns fallow fields into pastures, removing the need to have separate pastures.

Sheep farm

Your sheep need to be herded. In order to have one or more of your families herd, build a farmhouse.

You can then assign a family to the farmhouse. That family will get your sheep, love and take care of them and, ultimately, provide you with wool. 

Livestock trading post

As said, a pasture is nothing more than some picket fences. Building one doesn't magically whip up some sheep to graze on the grass. 

In order to start your sheep herd, you will have to buy some sheep first. This is where the Livestock trader comes in. At the time of writing (Early Access) buying one sheep costs 30 regional wealth. 

Buying the sheep

With the buildings set up and assigned a family to the Farm house, you can start buying sheep. 

You will need at least 2 to start a heard, but you'll be better off starting with 4 to get sufficient wool. Of course, if you have a tannery, 2 sheep might be enough.

Once you've ordered your sheep from the Livestock trader, your sheep farmers will collect them and lead them back to the Pasture.

Suppliers and trade opportunities

From that moment onwards, your settlement will have a steady supply of wool.

The wool will be used by a Weaver's Workshop to fabricate yarn. The yarn will be sold in market stalls to crafty wives who'll knit some nice clothing for their family. It will count towards the basic clothing requirement for families to upgrade to level 2. 

As sheep live, breed and multiply (if you've spent a development point on Sheepbreeding) , keep an eye on your pasture size. As soon as you are nearing maximum capacity, you have a decision to make. 

If you need more wool, either to supply your families or to trade away, extend your pasture or build a second one. The sheep can then continue living their lives without feeling the need to escape their confinement. 

If your wool supply is steady enough, you can trade away the excess of sheep. This will free up space in the pasture and will rake in a nice sum of money.