I am having a terrible time trying to decide on a breed of sheep to keep. The predominate breed in this area are Suffolks, but I want something more multi-purpose -- a breed that can produce not only meat lambs, but also usable wool and breeding stock. I am concerned about the humidity in this area, about parasite resistance, about foot rot, about marketability. Your suggestions and experiences would be appreciated.

-- Sam in southeastern VA (samh4321626@cs.com), September 02, 2001

Answers

Well to be perectly honest-everyone you talk to is going to have a pretty strong opinion on this. We have sheep-and were unsure of how to start as well. We did reasearch-and then stumbled upon some sheep tht were available-older ewes who were gnetle and good moms-and so we decided to take the plunge. Those first two were Brecknock Hill cheviots (a small breed) and from the same flock we also go our first shetland.

Well we were still unsure-abut a specific breed-we wanted to check out some others that we had decided to look into. We then stumbled on a chance to get some other sheep-some cross bred, a couple purebreds-all from a spinners flock. The price was within our budget for this new project of ours-and all were expecting-so we went ahead and bought them.

so now we have a few purebreds-Romneys and the first ones and a few crossbreeds. THe ram used for the second batch of ewes was a Lincoln -so our new /ewelambs are half Lincoln.

We have butchered three ram lambs-and are using two of them (because we have the small sheep and the bigger ones-we need to use a small breed ram-he is a Cheviot.Shtland cross and then a larger one with the bigger ewes)-then we will sell the rams. After next years lambing we will begint to cull and decide which direction we will go with the sheep. I am learning to spin-and of course we have a a fall shearing coming up (we have a few longwool breeds that require twice a year shearing, plus the others were on a fall shearing schedule), and learnign about the wool( all aspects-though not dyeing it yet). We also are learnign about the meat aspect of things.

And we have our particular style of raising sheep-we don't do grain for maxium gains fast for the lambs-we are not raising them for commercial use. The ;lambs we butchered are in the freezer-and so far the meat is great. We want to provide our own meat, and wool, and will sell extra lambs of course-but build a home business with the wool, even a small business. we have learned that there is a difference betwen the different breeds or types of lamb. the amount of lanolin the breed produces has ana affet on how stong it can taste. Ours is mild-tht we like.

So we are still at the learning stages of all of this-but we have been very pleased with buying our crossbred, and more experienced moms. We have had no health problems-we had an interesting first lambing-with our very first lambs, stuck with legs back-one of those just happens things, not caused by anything-and then we had one lam who was huge-his momma was too fat (learned that as we started working with hte sheep-our bigger ewes were pampered-and over conditioned-translated to a huge ram lamb getting stuck! And we lost one lamb who was born too early-and one die to a windstorm. Docking tails was not a picnic-but we had to learn! And we did. We learned how to give injections (course we had to do that with our goats too, but the wool made it a bit different) and learning the personalities and habits of our sheep has been fun! Training our farmcollie to work with them has also been fun.

I guess I would adivse you to consider looking into the crossbreeds- and look for sheep who are gentle and to get a good handle on the differences in wool-color and texture etc, look into handspinners flocks. Don't be in a rush to find the perfect breed of sheep-but learn abut sheep, and the different thigs you have to do as a shepherd. Learn also about the thigns in your area that will affect your choices in breeds. (For example-if you are in a hilly area and want good breeds for foraging-check out the onew that ate smaller in general (shorter legged) form Wales and England-the Brecknock Hill Cheviots and Black Welsh sheep come from those area, they have fine textured wool-not super long-only about 3-4 inches per year-but it is dense, so yu get a good amount per sheep. We have one who is mostly karakul-much differnet kind of wool-great for felting (though we haven't tried it yet-she is just now needng shearing) and for rugs. We have a couple of long wools-lone who is 3/4 Lincoln 1/4 Cotswold, and then one hwo is half Cotswold and half lincoln-their wool is so luxurious and soft-and fine! And one is a blue (meaning black (though fades to brownish at the ends) with silver along her back- that is a benefit of you are a spinner. We also have a couple ofhter with color-one who ie brown/red and another black, and then two silver romneys. There is a lot of variety available, obviously.

We are in SW Mo-humidity is a concern-we have not had any problems- parasites havenot been a problem for us either. But that is mostly a management issue. One thing I heard-and since you are nearer-Joel Salatin is doing some work on sheep-using the same priniciples as he does with beef I am sure. I understand he is a key speaker at a convention of some sort this fall-and he will be presenting something on sheep. if you like his ideas on management-we do-I would expect he will come out with some things that the sheep wprld will say is ludicrous. and prove them wrong. :)

Oh and one other thing-after you get familiar with sheep in general is is much easier to decide on what direction to go for preubred breedin stock. Most folks say that ther eis little money in breeding stock-and we don't have experience in this. But one mistake that one guy in our area tells us most people make is spendig too mcuh on their ewes and not enough on their ram. He advises to spend as much as you can possibly afford on your ram (remembereing that he will affect all your offspring, while your ewes only have half as much imput per lamb) He thinks it is good to consider using older ewes (3- 4 years to begin with, who are good mothers, for the first lambing- then take on the ewelambs (if they are big enough for breeding) with their firsttimer issues the second year. I can find his website-they are actually making a bit of money at their sheep stuff-though the work on their scale (they have 100+ animals) is differnt than with a small farm flock.

Hope htis gives you some food for thought...feel free to email if you have questions.

Sarah

-- Sarah (heartsongacres@juno.com), September 03, 2001.

I'm just getting started too. Today, I bought three, 6 month old, Ramboullet females. I got them from a long-time sheep rancher who is getting out of sheep ranching. We I was a kid, nearly all ranchers in central Texas had both sheep and cattle. But ending wool payments changed things. Now, there are counties in this area where no rancher has sheep.

I have said all that to make the point, that a sheep rancher, if you can find one in you area, is the best source of finding which breeds are best. This people have tried to pay bills with sheep. They have enough uncertainty in life that they try to go with the surest thing. Additionally, the sheep take a lot of their time as it is, they need a breed that is hardy as possible. The rancher told me was diseases and parasites he dealt with and how he treated each.

Sheep can handle humidity (i.e., England). She can handle heat (i.e., West Texas). What sheep don't seem to handle is heat AND humidity.

Ramboullets are a large, fine-wool breed raised mainly for meat. I got the three largest, and hopefully, best lambs he had. I paid $85.00 a piece, which is somewhat high. When the lambs were loaded, the rancher gave each an Ivomec injection for worms.

Good luck!

-- paul (primrose@centex.net), September 03, 2001.

Oooh Rambouilette (sp?) are very highly rated in Raising Sheep The Modern Way. I was trying to settle on a breed myself this past winter and spring and then thought"For first flock i will use crossbred sheep to practice on". I am rather glad I did. I am gaining a bit of experience before I decide to invest in a pure bred flock (if ever). One thing I am finding is that everyone has a favorite breed and can make convincing arguments for their choice. I believe Cheviots and Leischesters (again sp?) and Romneys are noted for footrot resistance. Romneys especially since they originate in a marshy part of the world (The Romney Marshes). Myself, I am partial to Cotswolds (old breed and soo cute and known for being docile) and Southdowns (same reasons but their fleece leaves much to be desired). Maybe a Southdown /Cotswold X? (Southdown Ram to Cotswold ewes?) Southdowns have a great meat and Cotswolds are mild but slower to finish. I am not fond of Suffolks although I have one..thats how I have discovered I don't like them!LOL Premier meat breed but skittery and boys oh boys can't they pack down the chow! There...thats my Beginner Shepherd 2 cents worth. Sorry to ramble but I could talk sheep all day. I am still learning and love to share ideas etc.

-- Alison in N.S. (aproteau@istar.ca), September 03, 2001.

I know people who have a good sized flock of Ramboulliet in sw missouri where it is hot and humid...and they raise them mostly for wool.

Yes the ceviots and leiceister and romneys are resistant to footrot- look for black hooves-they are harder I guess.

The Cotswold I had was wonderful...she was older-and had been overconditioned for years-and sadly she died-not of illness-but when the county came and sprayed for weedin our culvert-they didn't notify us-they will now-she ate some fenceline pasture that was covered. Not a pretty sight. But it happens. she was smy favorite-and at least I have two of her daugheters-though they have lincoln in them- so they will be smaller. My point on the Cots-as a rule they get big- and if by the southdowns you mean the small ones *babydoll* type- i don't think I would use that cross. but that is my preference. :)

See everyone has a preference! :) I saytake the plunge-but have realistic expectations-forget abut the wool payments for now-if you want to sell it to handspinners you will do better. and don't expect to make anything on any animal until you have been doing it a while.

Sarah

-- sarah (heartsongacres@juno.com), September 03, 2001.

We are also in a humid type area, with flat ground that can get muddy. When we started our flock, we got some ewes from a friend of a friend type deal - they were mostly Dorset or 1/2 dorsets. Dorsets are a good all-around sheep, but they don't have good feet. We have had some problems with them, with foot rot. We have one all-black ewe that we don't know what her breeding is, she is 1/2 sister to 2 of the others, and she has never had a foot problem. She is our best, most healthy ewe. Wish I had more like her. When it came time to get a ram, after research I decided on a Cheviot. They have excellent black strong hooves, good temperment, managable size, very healthy. Our ram has been all this, and more. We are very happy with him, and with the lambs he produced with our ewes. The lambs all got nice black hooves, no matter if they were white or black. A breeder told us that it was good to use a cheviot ram on first-time breeding ewes, as the lambs are smaller and easier for them to give birth to. This was absolutely true. The lambs practically fell out of the mommas, then got right up and nursed. We only had one experienced mother ewe, but had absolutely no problems with any of them. The dorsets are excellent mothers. Now that the lambs are 6 mos old, they may be a little smaller still than some other breeds, but I bet they weight the same - the ram lambs especially are little "porkers", on very little feed, mostly pasture. They all have really nice temperments. And additionally, my favorite black ewe produced a little black "clone" ewe lamb, just like her. Her male lamb was white. Maybe I'll eventually get my herd of "blackies", after all ! Good luck with whatever you decide on.

-- Becky in NJ (muellers84@yahoo.com), September 03, 2001.

Depends on what you want the sheep for, especially what you want to do with the wool. Wool types vary. I'd suggest a Romney. They're a medium size breed with a pretty decent fleece for handspinners. Get "Raising Sheep the Modern Way" - Paula Simmons is a handspinner with long years of experience with sheep. She does a really good section on the advantages/disadvantages of each breed. Even so, wool quality varies a lot from one breeder to the next (within a breed I mean) so try to identify which breeders have been breeding for wool quality AND carcass quality. Polypays can be risky for this reason, they were supposed to be a dual purpose breed but many breeders have been concentrating on carcass quality exclusively so the wool quality goes through the floor in some flocks.

Whatever you do, I would NOT bother to seek out a large scale commercial sheep herder. Their reality is not our reality. If you're raising wool for handspinning you're not even going to be raising the same sort of sheep most of them do. I had one tell me that it was a waste to put up field fence instead of barb wire (to protect the fleeces of my future sheep) because "wool is worthless". Not to handspinners, it isn't, if its the right sort of fleece for handspinning (and the manure/straw/weed laden coarse crap he cuts off his sheep is not in that category). I know a fellow who raises sheep for the hand spinners market and routinely gets $7 a lb for clean fleeces, sometimes as high as $13 a lb. Sure beats the 5c or 10c a pound that the rancher will tell you your wool is worth ...

-- Sojourner (notime4@summer.spam), September 05, 2001.