# Thinking of getting sheep



## michickenwrangler (Mar 20, 2011)

I'm thinking of getting sheep.

I just want a few, not more than 6, probably 3-4. I plan on raising them mainly for meat, although I would like sheepskins as a by product. Is there such a thing a miniature sheep? Or what are some small meat breeds?

Not really interested in dairy, not enough to mess around with milking. If I get a few ewes, how hard is it to find a breeding ram?

The sheep would have probably a little less than an acre for grazing and I do have another area I could fence off to rotate them back and forth.

Recommendations? Stories? Anecdotes?

I've had experience with goats and cattle but very little with sheep, except that they are tasty when I get them with onions and veggies at Mongolian Barbecue.


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## jessica117 (Mar 20, 2011)

There are miniature sheep... but I think most of them are more pets/fiber breeds.  Shetlands are not quite mini but they are a small breed of sheep.  They are also supposed to be excellent eating.  My shetlands were for fiber so i've never actually eaten a shetland   They also come in many colors if you are wanting the wool left on the pelts.


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## patandchickens (Mar 20, 2011)

There are really not any "small meat breeds" -- meat breed in sheep pretty much means BIG, i.e. more meat produced per set o' four hooves.

Of course you can *eat* any kind of sheep, big or small  -- the guy I got my shetlands from speaks very highly of their quality of meat, although as he says the chops are rather tiny. 

You pay the same per-head fee at the processing plant no matter what the weight of the animal is, so larger sheep are more economical in that sense too.

Small breeds would include (but not limited to) shetlands and cheviots. The usual commercial meat breeds would be things like suffolks and hampshires and dorper crosses. There are more flighty small breeds than flighty large breeds.

IME it is REALLY hard to find someone who will let you use their ram for your ewes (maybe it is easier elsewhere but I think most places are at least kinda like this). Of course you can always buy a ram, use him for a few months and then butcher or sell him, but that gives you a higher chance of bringing in more diseases and parasites. I ended up just buying a 'keeper' ram, even tho I only have 3 ewes  (plus a wether to keep the ram company, he came 'free' with the shetland ewe) - he is decorative and gentlemanly-for-a-ram and I am fine with keeping him from year to year. But it *is* a significant additional expense and aggravation.

If you just want them for decoration and meat, have you considered buying feeder lambs -- or even, if you are up for the challenge and potential disappointment, seeing if there is anyone trying to get rid of bottle lambs for cheap -- and raise them up til late fall and then send them off to freezer camp. That way you do not have to worry about the whole ram/lambing angle. 

Good luck, have fun,

Pat


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## Ozark Daisy (Mar 20, 2011)

I love my Shetlands!
haven't eaten any yet, hoping to butcher some soon.
I have heard that the meat is mostly on the back legs, but not sure.

The Shetlands are quite flighty but in some way thats good.

We also have a few Gulf Coast ewes. They are a bigger wool sheep, that have a nice body.
They are on the critical list of ALBC. That means they would be hard to find.


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## RustyDHart (Mar 20, 2011)

Scottish Blackface are nice....


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## theawesomefowl (Mar 21, 2011)

If you just want meat, you should try raising some feeder lambs before you jump in with ewes and ram(s). I am planning on getting 2 Katahdin/Dorper cross 2-month-old lambs to go with my bottle goat I am getting next month. Katahdins and Dorpers both are hair sheep, so the pelts wouldn't be as nice, but they are good large meat sheep without shearing, since they shed their hair/fur.


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## michickenwrangler (Mar 22, 2011)

Our processor charges by the pound. Ideally, I'd like two ewes for wool and two market lambs, maybe a ram to keep for breeding. So I think I'd probably want a dual-purpose wool/meat breed (still no interest in dairy).

Being in Michigan, I would need it to be cold hardy. AGain, a small breed would work best given our limited size.

Oh, and while I used to have goats, I have since come to realize that I was allergic to them. Who would have thought? Otherwise I would consider angoras.


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## theawesomefowl (Mar 22, 2011)

You should get a copy of Storey's Illustrated Guide to Sheep-Cattle-Pigs-Goat breeds. It might help you choose, or maybe http://sheep101.info/sheepbreedsa-z.html


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## patandchickens (Mar 22, 2011)

What do you want the wool for? Different breeds (sometimes different individuals within a breed too, for things like shetlands) have different wool characteristics. Some are great for felting, some suck for felting, some are very soft fine delicate-garment wool, some have more robust coarse strong wool, etc etc.  You will want to factor that into your decision.

That said, I have to say I like my shetlands, especially I like that the ram (this particular one anyhow) is both gentlemanly (for a ram) and *small* i.e. when he whams into you in a gentlemanly way it does not hurt as much as if he were twice the size <g>  BUT, if I were doing it over again, I would make sure to investigate the *particular personalities* of the *exact individual sheep* I was contracting to buy, because the shetland ewe I got is a total queen-bee b*tch and just a royal pain to deal with. If I had known what her personality was, I think I would have either made the guy sell me a different one or looked elsewhere, LOL!

Also if you want a ram then think about how you will be keeping him -- personally I would NEVER want him with the ewes year-round, partly because I want to control when they lamb  but chiefly because I like to be able to go in and feed/check/pet/socialize with the ewes without having to constantly watch my back. And this is with a *good* ram, that I'm saying this -- they are not all as well behaved as Jose is. So if you are going to keep the ram separate for most of the year, you may want a wether or something like that to keep him company. (Thus, I have five sheep but only three are females)

Sheep are fun, but honestly for me this sheep thing has been quite a snowball and what started out as a very simple "I want two ewes to milk for cheese" has turned into five sheep and a fair bit in the way of new facilities 

Pat


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## chandasue (Mar 22, 2011)

Babydoll Southdowns are meatier but they are so small and adorable I don't know if it's worth it.


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## theawesomefowl (Mar 23, 2011)

How about some sort of meat crossbreed with reasonable wool? I don't know enough about 'em to suggest one, but maybe someone else will. Crossbreeds are usually cheaper too. I am getting Katahdin/Dorper cross ewe lambs to befriend my goat I'm getting in about a month.

or how about regular Southdowns or Southdown crosses? They are cute, and big and meaty.


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## michickenwrangler (Mar 23, 2011)

That would be fine, a meat/wool dual purpose breed. Again, max of 4, keep 2 as pets, eat 2, buy two more lambs to raise up as meat sheep.


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## Royd Wood (Mar 23, 2011)

Just thought I would throw the Romney breed into the line of thinking michickenwrangler. I started with 4 and now upto 12. They are not flighty if handled early thrive on grass and hay ONLY. Get to a good size and the grass fed meat is delicious. The wool is in demand as its fine quality.
This guys name is Lambert and he's about 8 or 9 months old in the photo.
Anyway good luck with whatever you choose.


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## theawesomefowl (Mar 23, 2011)

Romneys are cute!


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## RockyToggRanch (Apr 24, 2011)

Lambert is a cutie. I'm looking at Finnsheep since I can't find navajo churros locally.


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## goodhors (Apr 24, 2011)

If the processor charges by the pound, a small lamb may cost less, but you also get less returned for the freezer.  And the smaller the lamb is, the lower the percentage you get back of the total lamb weight.

We also have to pay a slaughter price per head, added onto the meat processing pound price.  So taking small animals in to be done, just drives the cost of meat right up.

Not sure about the weight or age of lamb breeds mentioned.  We want to get our lambs done before they reach one year, or gain their mature sheep teeth.  For us, that seems to be when the flavor of meat changes into mutton, which we dislike eating.

Our lambs are market breeds, often crosses, so they will attain a larger size if you wait on them.  When we bred our own, we wanted lambs coming in May, grass fed them way into fall.  They usually went 150# on the hoof, with NO EXPENSE to produce.  Ewes were pretty cheap to run on grass as well, only had a couple.  Cost to have lambs processed, but we ended up with quite a lot of meat for the freezer, almost 100 pounds per lamb.  Starting with a 70# lamb, small breeds, you won't get much edible meat , maybe 35#.  You would get a better meat return raising a turkey to big size!


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## LilyD (Apr 25, 2011)

We have shetlands and I have to second the vote for them. They are not too big, about the size of a medium size dog. They eat pretty much any scrub brush that you have around and their wool is sooo soft not itchy and scratch like other breeds I have seen. I can't yet vouch for the tastiness since we have not had any lambs yet but I really love them. They have a great personality and are just amazing sheep.


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## theawesomefowl (Apr 26, 2011)

I do like Shetlands, but they are kind of small to eat, and I'm not sure I want to deal with wool, as it is work to keep it clean enough to get good prices from handspinners, and you don't make much money other ways. I'd like to raise a wool sheep for meat next year, and have the hide tanned as i'd love a sheepskin!

I also like Finnsheep, and Romneys are cute and meaty. Someone close to us has Romneys but I'm holding out for the more expensive Katahdins. (inspired by Beekissed)
It all depends of what you want  the sheep for, and if you like the way they look.


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## RockyToggRanch (Apr 26, 2011)

It looks like I'm going with finns. yay For fiber and meat. I found a breeder pretty locally that is expecting 45-50 lambs in the next month! I super excited!


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## LilyD (Apr 26, 2011)

So excited for you good luck getting your flock started


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## Beekissed (Apr 27, 2011)

I wouldn't put 6 sheep on less than an acre or you will find yourself out of grass by midsummer unless you have great rainfall and awesome pasture.  

I tried 4 sheep on 1 acre and we had a drought year....even with rotation I had no grass by August, and I had great grass to start out.

Katahdins are hair sheep that have great skins for tanning and are a mid-sized meat sheep.  Their wool is just right for sheepskins if you butcher when their wool is deep and lush....anywhere from November to March should be a good time.  After that they start to blow their coats and shed their wool.  They have better wool quality than St. Croix or Dorper sheep....creamy and soft.


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## theawesomefowl (Apr 28, 2011)

We have 4 acres of lawn and mostly weedy brush, multiflora rose and bushes. I'm getting a goat and two sheep, to start with, and if I can convince our neighborhood horse owners to let me rent part of their pasture, I'd like to work my way up to 8 or 9 sheep and the goat.


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