# Small sheep and homestead orchard questions



## Marinarawr (Aug 11, 2011)

Hello! This is my first post on here so please pardon me if I'm in the wrong section... I currently raise rabbits (NZW and some crosses) and Coturnix Quail for meat, but I'm VERY interested in adding a small orchard (~1 acre) of something cold hardy like hardy kiwi and a small sheep breed to my budding homestead. First of all, I have to admit that I don't think I could handle raising sheep for meat. I don't know why I see rabbits as food and sheep as pets, and maybe I'd eventually change my mind, but right now it just seems out of the question. So the sheep would have to be mainly for grazing and fertilizing the property and maybe I could sell a handful of fleece once a year just for kicks. If all else fails I have friends that raise Alpaca that would probably experiment with blending the fibers. I'm in LOVE with the Babydoll Southdowns and have read that a lot of people use them for the purpose I have in mind. The one downside is that they're a tad expensive. I'm also interested in Romanovs but read somewhere that they need more care than most sheep, and I wonder if their wool is as nice as the Babydolls'. Also, I have no idea where I would get Romanov stock as it appears that the nearest breeder is in New York (I'm on the Maine coast). Although I'm interested in the Hardy Kiwi, my main goal is to have something relatively easy to grow that the sheep won't eat and isn't an apple. The kiwi's would be trellised but the foliage grows close to the ground. I wouldn't mind losing a bit of fruit and foliage to the sheep, but I would be worried that it might make them sick.

So to make sense of all that jumbled info: 
What small sheep breed would you recommend for my purposes (even if it's not one of the breeds I listed )? 
Would the sheep avoid the hardy kiwis or at least be non-toxic for them?
What fruit would you recommend otherwise?


Thanks in advance for the responses! With so many cattle farmers and no sheep farmers that I know of in the area, I'm just giddy to have found a place to bounce around my ideas .


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## TheSheepGirl (Aug 12, 2011)

Hello and welcome!

I live on a small orchard acre and have had a good experience with my sheep as grazers for the orchard.

I also looked into babydoll southdown when I was first deciding on a sheep breed. Do to prices and availability I purchased two miniature ewes from a local breeder. I later found some Shetlands. I really enjoy my Shetlands and they are good grazers. Shetland fleeces are very popular among hand spinners and they have the most wonderful temperaments. They are also a very popular and easy to find breed for the most part. 

The sheep would most likely not avoid the kiwi vines. Sheep are browsers and will nibble anything within reach of them. It is best to put small fences around the plants in your orchard to protect them from the sheep while they are establishing themselves. I know that my sheep can't seem to resist the cherry and apple leaves within their grasp, so I had to put up tree guards around the smaller trees. Most of my trees, though are quite large and well established, so the sheep don't bother them.

Kiwi sounds like a good plant for your orchard and if you feel it will work, then you should go for it. I do also enjoy my small plum trees and my pair tree. If your goal is to keep smaller trees or vines, then go for a dwarf variety of whatever fruit you choose. Tthey stay smaller, most less than 6 feet tall.


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## bonbean01 (Aug 13, 2011)

We wondered also about letting our sheep graze where we have apple and peach trees that are not full grown, yet large enough after three years of growing, but we took a chance and watched and they did eat the bottom leaves, but left them pretty much alone.  A benefit is that they ate the small outshoots (so we don't have to prune that part) and they ate the grass under and around the trees (which is good for the trees...and fertilized them) for the shade during the noon hours.  So, from our experience, sheep and a small orchard are working out fine.  No kiwi here...we're in the northeast corner of Mississippi, near the Tennesse and Alabama borders.


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## Marinarawr (Aug 15, 2011)

Thanks for the great replies! I'll have to look into availability of Shetlands in my area. They look so sweet! Gotlands, although a bit bigger, are real head-turners too. The more research I do on small sheep the more jealous I become of Europeans and their abundance of fabulous, small sheep breeds... 
I have a feeling that I'll be experimenting with a few types of fruit to see what I like and what likes my soil. What fruit is in your orchard SheepGirl?


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## TheSheepGirl (Aug 18, 2011)

> What fruit is in your orchard SheepGirl?


In my orchard there are mostly apples. I have 2 very large graventine trees which produce a lot of fruit which is great for pies, 1 Coos River Beauty tree that produces large, green baking apples, 1 dwarf gold delicious tree that is about 8 feet tall and produces small apples by the bushel. All of these trees are very old, perhaps 40 or more years old since the house wasn't put there til the 80's and the trees were already there. The sheep really love the windfall apples, but too many can make them sick.

For plums we have 3 trees, 1 purple plum for canning and baking that is just your run of the mill plum, 1 Italian prune tree that produces well only in the very warm springs when it doesn't freeze too early, and one yellow plum tree which produces a few sweet and juicy yellow plums each year. I like the plums, but they don't seem to fair as well as the apples, but i have heard that they do well in warmer climates.

There is also a pear tree, but it hasn't produced quite as well the past 2 years due to a lack of pollinators. This year, though we will have several pears since the weather has been warm. The pear tree is very large, but I am unsure of the variety.


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## secuono (Oct 8, 2011)

We have just added Babydoll Southdowns, they are originally a meat breed. They made the larger wool breed called Southdowns later on. 
I am trying to keep my mindset that ram lambs will be meat, since I have no use for them just quite yet. And will be easier to cull, ewes will be kept or sold. 
They are very small, gentle and sweet! The ram we have is stand offish, but he did finally come up to sniff me after 3 days. 
He keeps his distance and I try to remember that he can ram me, but he is so shy and wary, it's hard to believe he will dare do so. 
I'd say this breed could work for you, depending on where you get them, they could be cheap or more on the rich blood side. I am thinking of one day getting a new ram from an expensive breeder in PA, but who knows. $200-800 you can expect.


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## Beekissed (Oct 9, 2011)

I had Kat/St. Croix sheep in my orchard for a couple of years and never a problem....then I borrowed a ram.  Before I realized what was happening, he had stripped long and deep sheets of bark from several of my older, mature trees.  I would hate to think what he would have done to younger trees.  

Those trees look like they are currently dying.  

If you get sheep, build proper fencing solutions around your tree trunks...something they cannot climb on and press down or inward.


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## 77Herford (Oct 9, 2011)

I have a wide range of fruit trees and ironically enough I'm the same planting zone as you 5a.  I have Apricots, Pears, Apples, Mulberries, Cherries, Peach, and Plums.  Yes, a wide variety but my wife is an avid canner and likes to bake in the fall and winter.  We have pigs which do well on alot of the extra or rotten fruit but you must remove the pits from fruits that have them.  If we ever fence our Orchard I think just the pigs will go in it.  I have a couple old Apple trees in pasture that the cows enjoy.
Arbor Day site can give you some ideas also I like a site called, http://www.treesofantiquity.com/?gclid=CKCAnuK6kqsCFYIBQAodYUNjzQ.
Its more old fashion fruits species, which I like.


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## doxiemoxie (Oct 9, 2011)

I have olive orchard with both sheep (dorpor crosses) and goats in it.  They keep the lower leaves trimmed but sometimes do bark damage.  If I had kiwi I would worry about them damaging the main vine.  I have read about farming kiwi but don't know if its harmful to sheep or goats.  

As for breeds, if you're looking for purebred take your time to find good stock and be willing to drive a ways if need be.  It's a worthwhile investment.   Lastly, I'll pass on what I'm hearing: don't expect to make any money off of wool sales.   and when you do get them, post pics!


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## zzGypsy (Oct 12, 2011)

we have had sheep de-bark olive trees, ficus and california pepper trees.  some times of the year they don't, some times they do.  it may be something seasonal, but sheep can kill trees quickly if they decide they're tasty.


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