# Best dairy sheep breed?



## GoateeMcfee (Mar 24, 2021)

Hello! I just created my account today! (I found this site through BackyardChickens.com). I have chickens and ducks and such (I know, not herd animals). But I do have two Nigerian dwarf wethers. I got them for brush control as I battle a lot of blackberries on my property. Two goats have not made a huge impact😂. But they are very nice little animals that I am very glad to keep. However I have been very interested in getting sheep for milk. I ordered a book recently that just arrived and I will be reading soon, but I noticed there aren't very specific mentions to sheep breeds. I am totally new to sheep, I know almost nothing about them. But does anyone have any ideas for sheep breeds I should look into? I am mostly wanting the sheep milk to make cheese and other products, so high butterfat is essential. I would also love any tips or insight for someone looking into sheep raising, thank you!!


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## Beekissed (Mar 24, 2021)

East Friesian sheep are the most well known dairy sheep, though there are other types in the world that are likely as good. 






						Dairy Sheep Breeds — Milking Sheep
					






					www.milkingsheep.com


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## GoateeMcfee (Mar 24, 2021)

Beekissed said:


> East Friesian sheep are the most well known dairy sheep, though there are other types in the world that are likely as good.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Thank you! I will be sure to look into these.


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## Baymule (Mar 25, 2021)

For sheep information, read the sheep forums. Select a forum section and read the posts. There are questions that you don't even know to ask. As you read and study, ask questions and we will be glad to help. Then, once you get sheep, you will have LOTS more questions!


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## GoateeMcfee (Mar 25, 2021)

Baymule said:


> For sheep information, read the sheep forums. Select a forum section and read the posts. There are questions that you don't even know to ask. As you read and study, ask questions and we will be glad to help. Then, once you get sheep, you will have LOTS more questions!


Thank you!! I will go do that now!


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## mysunwolf (Mar 25, 2021)

East Friesians are the most common and easily accessible dairy sheep in this country! You can milk almost any breed, but EF have the right volume, length of lactation, and temperaments to make the whole thing easier. That being said, we have had to find crosses as the higher percentage Friesians don't do well in our very wet environment. Lacaune and Ile de France are rarer but excellent dairy breeds. Other breeds people have used for dairying include Finn, Romanov, Icelandic, and Katahdin. There are some good dairy characteristics in the Dorsets, Polypay, and Clun Forests as well.

There are dozens of sheep dairies out west, if you can find any near you it would be a good idea to visit them and check out their breeds. Then you can ask them questions about sheep management and nutrition as well.


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## misfitmorgan (Mar 25, 2021)

When you start looking to buy I would for sure look for a/some sheep that are used to being milked for starter stock. I can't recall who on here has/had dairy sheep but if you look around I'm sure you can find their threads. Lots of good info on those.


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## GoateeMcfee (Mar 25, 2021)

mysunwolf said:


> East Friesians are the most common and easily accessible dairy sheep in this country! You can milk almost any breed, but EF have the right volume, length of lactation, and temperaments to make the whole thing easier. That being said, we have had to find crosses as the higher percentage Friesians don't do well in our very wet environment. Lacaune and Ile de France are rarer but excellent dairy breeds. Other breeds people have used for dairying include Finn, Romanov, Icelandic, and Katahdin. There are some good dairy characteristics in the Dorsets, Polypay, and Clun Forests as well.
> 
> There are dozens of sheep dairies out west, if you can find any near you it would be a good idea to visit them and check out their breeds. Then you can ask them questions about sheep management and nutrition as well.


Thank you!


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## GoateeMcfee (Mar 25, 2021)

misfitmorgan said:


> When you start looking to buy I would for sure look for a/some sheep that are used to being milked for starter stock. I can't recall who on here has/had dairy sheep but if you look around I'm sure you can find their threads. Lots of good info on those.


Okay thank you!


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## GoateeMcfee (Mar 25, 2021)

What do y'all think about Lacaune or Awassi? I hear they have the highest butterfat percentage. But I could only find one source for the percentages so I don't know how true they are. I read Lacaune: 7.5% and Awassi 13%. I also read that east friesian have a very low butterfat but I also couldn't verify that because I heard from one source they have a 8% and 3% from another. Hard to find good information on sheep breeds I guess 😂


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## mysunwolf (Mar 25, 2021)

GoateeMcfee said:


> What do y'all think about Lacaune or Awassi? I hear they have the highest butterfat percentage. But I could only find one source for the percentages so I don't know how true they are. I read Lacaune: 7.5% and Awassi 13%. I also read that east friesian have a very low butterfat but I also couldn't verify that because I heard from one source they have a 8% and 3% from another. Hard to find good information on sheep breeds I guess 😂



It varies a LOT based on the lines of the stock. Higher yield for a longer period of time often means lower butterfat, hence why the highest producing East Friesians have lower BF (think Holstein/Friesian cattle, since they were developed in the same area).

Awassi is supposed to raise butterfat and hardiness of the EF. A lot of producers out west swear by them. I can't stand the way they can't tolerate wet conditions, nor those fat tails! And don't feel they add much.

Lacaune also raises butterfat without reducing yield, so that's why they're so popular in France. A shame we don't have many here. 

I agree with @misfitmorgan, you should purchase sheep that are used to being milked. And you should purchase from lines that are going to be similar to what YOU personally want in your product.


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## GoateeMcfee (Mar 25, 2021)

mysunwolf said:


> It varies a LOT based on the lines of the stock. Higher yield for a longer period of time often means lower butterfat, hence why the highest producing East Friesians have lower BF (think Holstein/Friesian cattle, since they were developed in the same area).
> 
> Awassi is supposed to raise butterfat and hardiness of the EF. A lot of producers out west swear by them. I can't stand the way they can't tolerate wet conditions, nor those fat tails! And don't feel they add much.
> 
> ...


Okay thank you! Yeah if Awassi can't handle wet conditions then they won't work out over here 😂. Western Washington isn't exactly known to be dry😂😂😂


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## misfitmorgan (Mar 29, 2021)

GoateeMcfee said:


> What do y'all think about Lacaune or Awassi? I hear they have the highest butterfat percentage. But I could only find one source for the percentages so I don't know how true they are. I read Lacaune: 7.5% and Awassi 13%. I also read that east friesian have a very low butterfat but I also couldn't verify that because I heard from one source they have a 8% and 3% from another. Hard to find good information on sheep breeds I guess 😂



Holstein Cows have 3.7% butterfat and jersey cows have 4.9% butterfat, 10 pounds of milk makes 1 pound of cheese even at that low of a rate so you likely dont need that high of a butterfat to get what you want out of them. If you are going with the average of 2 quarts a day per sheep and know you need at least 2 sheep thats a gallon of milk a day. 

East Freisian sheep are reported to have 4.5%-10% butterfat depending on...a lot of things but even at the lowest possible rate you are still getting enough milk for over a pound of cheese a day. Sheep milk is 6pounds of milk per pound of cheese, 1 gallon is 8.6 lbs.

On the lowest end 2 sheep make 2.4gallons/week  which is 3.5lbs/week of cheese give or take, on the highest end 2 sheep give 4 gallons a week which is 5.8 pounds of cheese a week. When you have dairy animals you pretty quickly get over taken by a need for milk storage/use unless you have a very large family or really like diary products. Realistically it is not possible for most people to use all the milk they get every week.


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## Baymule (Mar 29, 2021)

You can freeze the milk in ziplock bags, flat, for when the sheep aren't producing.


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## misfitmorgan (Mar 29, 2021)

Baymule said:


> You can freeze the milk in ziplock bags, flat, for when the sheep aren't producing.


Very true!!

My freezers are always packed full of meat so no room for milk for us


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## Baymule (Mar 29, 2021)

We have two freezers, also packed. I have another bag of chicken leg quarters to can for the dogs, think I'll get out the "old" bags of various vegetables and toss in the jars. Also have beef heart and a hog head, skinned and sawed in two. Dogs love that stuff on their kibble.


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## GoateeMcfee (Mar 30, 2021)

misfitmorgan said:


> Holstein Cows have 3.7% butterfat and jersey cows have 4.9% butterfat, 10 pounds of milk makes 1 pound of cheese even at that low of a rate so you likely dont need that high of a butterfat to get what you want out of them. If you are going with the average of 2 quarts a day per sheep and know you need at least 2 sheep thats a gallon of milk a day.
> 
> East Freisian sheep are reported to have 4.5%-10% butterfat depending on...a lot of things but even at the lowest possible rate you are still getting enough milk for over a pound of cheese a day. Sheep milk is 6pounds of milk per pound of cheese, 1 gallon is 8.6 lbs.
> 
> On the lowest end 2 sheep make 2.4gallons/week  which is 3.5lbs/week of cheese give or take, on the highest end 2 sheep give 4 gallons a week which is 5.8 pounds of cheese a week. When you have dairy animals you pretty quickly get over taken by a need for milk storage/use unless you have a very large family or really like diary products. Realistically it is not possible for most people to use all the milk they get every week.


Oh wow! Thank you so much! This definitely helps.


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## NEWCOMER (Mar 31, 2021)

Tunis. A great breed, excellent milk and....has alot of European breeds mixed into their history.


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## GoateeMcfee (Mar 31, 2021)

NEWCOMER said:


> Tunis. A great breed, excellent milk and....has alot of European breeds mixed into their history.


Thank you! I will certainly read into these.


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## NEWCOMER (Apr 1, 2021)

GoateeMcfee said:


> Thank you! I will certainly read into these.


They also have low butterfat.  And i wouldn't recommend buying a sheep u cant imagine getting ur fingers around.


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## Mini Horses (Apr 1, 2021)

@misfitmorgan   great info.   I like that people looking to get into dairy ask these questions.  It helps to keep them "out of trouble".   Right up there with taste of milk and milking teats, attitude, etc.    

Also -- pigs, chickens, cats, dogs...all love the milk!   Not just humans.  There's items like butter, sour cream, buttermilk, kefir, that's beyond cheese.  I have found myself with waaaaay too much milk at times.    😁   But manage thru it.   Have goats....lots of big girls that are overachievers.


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## Kusanar (Apr 1, 2021)

Mini Horses said:


> @misfitmorgan   great info.   I like that people looking to get into dairy ask these questions.  It helps to keep them "out of trouble".   Right up there with taste of milk and milking teats, attitude, etc.
> 
> Also -- pigs, chickens, cats, dogs...all love the milk!   Not just humans.  There's items like butter, sour cream, buttermilk, kefir, that's beyond cheese.  I have found myself with waaaaay too much milk at times.    😁   But manage thru it.   Have goats....lots of big girls that are overachievers.


I enjoy milk baths... so no such thing as too much milk, lol


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## Niele da Kine (Apr 4, 2021)

If there's someone near you who is milking sheep, then if it were me, I'd consider getting that breed of sheep.  In order to get milk, the ewes have to be bred and if there's someone nearby with a ram that's different than yours but the same breed, being able to borrow or swap rams would be a good thing?

There's also a pedigree program called 'Kintracks' which lets you track all sorts of data about your herd.  Good records are a huge help for good management.  It's not a very expensive program, somewhere around $20 Australian which is less than that in U.S. dollars.  You can download it and test it our for up to several hundred animals before having to get the key to unlock the whole program.  Buy it once, no monthly subscription fees.


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## GoateeMcfee (Apr 5, 2021)

Thank you all for the help!! And to any and all of you who care, this is the current situation (which I am dying in anticipation for!!)


There is a local homesteader Facebook thing (I don't know what its called) and someone posted that they are selling their 2 year old dairy cow! I rarely ever use Facebook but just happened to open my computer the moment it was posted for sale. For whatever reason, jersey cows are in CRAZY high demand in my area and before last week the closest and fastest cow I could get was an 6-7 hour drive away in another state, and a 1-2 year wait list. BUT I GOT LUCKY!! So this cow is due for her first calf on the 12th, then they will keep her with the calf for a small while to make sure it gets all the colostrum and first milk and then I will get the cow! I LOVE sheep cheese and dairy products but they were a distant 2nd under a family cow. Thanks again for all of your help and insight!


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## misfitmorgan (Apr 18, 2021)

Glad you found something that works for your needs! Hope you enjoy your new cow!


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## GoateeMcfee (Apr 24, 2021)

misfitmorgan said:


> Glad you found something that works for your needs! Hope you enjoy your new cow!


Thank you!


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## Baymule (Apr 24, 2021)

That is terrific! You will have to start a thread for her, make it her own journal! Pictures! We love pictures!


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