# New on the Forum and getting some sheep



## Kathryn4629 (Jul 16, 2011)

Well I am very happy to have found the forum first of all. I was sent here with my sheep questions from backyardchickens.com (been a member for awhile) I can't wait to learn from everyone here! I am from North Idaho and live on 80 wonderful acres in the woods. I currently have 2 quarter horses, 3 hereford cows and a whole bunch of chickens. And am thinking about getting some sheep. 


Ok so I have decided after weeks of research that sheep would be a good fit for me. I have 10 acres of very lush grass. All of it is wire mesh fenced and is flat. Water and shelter readily available. This acreage is separate from what I am using for my other livestock. 

Am currently debating between a few different breeds. I am going to go with pure bred registered stock. I would like to be able to sell directly to others and of course sell market lambs (yum!) I know I am in no way going to get rich doing this, but would like to come close to breaking even. I have spent time working with sheep in the past, mostly helping move herds up to summer pasture for the summer in Montana. 

The breeds I am debating on are:
Dorset
Polypay
Finnsheep
California Red

The qualities I am looking for are
Multiple Births
good foragers
good growth rate on grass
Resistance to parasites 
Flocking instincts 

I would love to hear from some sheep people! Do you have any experience with these breeds, good, bad? Other advice/ breed recommendations very welcome!!! Thank you!!


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## Bedste (Jul 16, 2011)

Welcome to BYH-----  I am new here too, but I have a goat... I do not know anything about sheep. , Just wanted to say hi!


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## elevan (Jul 16, 2011)




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## Sparks Fly (Jul 16, 2011)

Hello I do not have sheep but I was going to get some and did some research on what breed I would like and what I found is that I like the hair sheep the best. They are very parasite resistant and do not carry many of the diseases that the other breeds of sheep do. Now if you are wanting sheep for wool go with a different breed but if you are in it for meat I would go for a hair sheep.


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## Kathryn4629 (Jul 16, 2011)

Sparks Fly said:
			
		

> Hello I do not have sheep but I was going to get some and did some research on what breed I would like and what I found is that I like the hair sheep the best. They are very parasite resistant and do not carry many of the diseases that the other breeds of sheep do. Now if you are wanting sheep for wool go with a different breed but if you are in it for meat I would go for a hair sheep.


I have thought about the hair breeds, but I think I would like the opportunity to work with the wool. Also I wonder how they would do with our harsh winters compared to the wool breeds?


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## boothcreek (Jul 17, 2011)

Hair Sheep do just fine in harsh winters, I have American Black Bellies and they don't even bother to use the shelter at -35 so they can't be doing too bad.
Hair sheep grow a very thick wooly undercoat in the winter, just like north american native mountain sheep who for the most part live in colder areas then any person would. They just Shed it all out in the spring


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## genuck (Jul 17, 2011)

I personally have shetlands and one border cheviot. Lots of nice wool to work with in a variety of colors.

  If I were to get one off your list it would be the finnsheep. Short tails, no docking. High reproduction rate, hardy, nice wool and lean meat. I think they also come in colors other than white, which is a plus for me  Plus they are supposed to be great to cross with other breeds for improved offspring.


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## bucknercrestfarm (Jul 17, 2011)

If i were getting a wool breed i would get california reds they were number one on my list "if" i was getting in to wool oh and jacob sheep. i have barbado sheep a hair breed were i live in the northwest of washington we have more forage then grass so my barbado sheep clear faster then goats! good luck with the shopping oh and get a gardian if you dont already we have a great pyrenees for each breed of animal so i highly recomend them! we had a black bear going after freshly castrated pigglets my two boys ran the bear down bad.


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## Kathryn4629 (Jul 17, 2011)

boothcreek said:
			
		

> Hair Sheep do just fine in harsh winters, I have American Black Bellies and they don't even bother to use the shelter at -35 so they can't be doing too bad.
> Hair sheep grow a very thick wooly undercoat in the winter, just like north american native mountain sheep who for the most part live in colder areas then any person would. They just Shed it all out in the spring


Thanks for the info!! But dang, now I have to add a few of the hair breeds back onto my list.


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## theawesomefowl (Jul 17, 2011)

from New York!
If you aren't interested in wool, you might want to look up hair sheep. They have all the good attributes you want, but no wool.


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## Kathryn4629 (Jul 17, 2011)

bucknercrestfarm said:
			
		

> If i were getting a wool breed i would get california reds they were number one on my list "if" i was getting in to wool oh and jacob sheep. i have barbado sheep a hair breed were i live in the northwest of washington we have more forage then grass so my barbado sheep clear faster then goats! good luck with the shopping oh and get a gardian if you dont already we have a great pyrenees for each breed of animal so i highly recomend them! we had a black bear going after freshly castrated pigglets my two boys ran the bear down bad.


Good point about the guardian. After some research I think I have settled on getting a donkey for now. I love the idea of LGD's but the cost of dog food and vet care kind of made me look at some alternatives. Also the pasture that I plan to use is fairly close to the house and has a small lockable barn. We do have major predators around here on a daily basis. Mostly black bear and coyotes, but now I have been seeing wolves come through on a weekly basis. Not cool. We also have grizzly, but they only seem to stay in the lower pastures in the spring time (mating time). I guess it will be a learning experience.


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## Beekissed (Jul 17, 2011)

All the characteristics you listed can be found in Katahdins and they are a coming breed in the states.  Sheep farmers are finding out that they have the meaty carcass of the wool breeds and are more successful at breeding off the wool of their woolly ewes than the Dorpers.  

Hardy to the max, even temperament, good mothering, easy birthing, milky as any woolly breed, excellent twinning-who wants more than twins?  Only creates a problem with lambs that need bottling.  The best part?  No shearing.  No problems related with wool or shearing at all.  No docking of tails...another great way to prevent chances of infection.  

Breeding flexibility, as hair sheep can typically heat all year round.  Taller than~ and just as meaty as~ Dorpers, meatier than St. Croix, larger and meatier than Barbados.  They sell well at market now and do not require, nor do they thrive on, supplemental feeding of grains.  Cheaper, healthier, in demand...what more could you want?  They do well on pasture or on browse, have the versatility of a goat with the meat and build of a sheep.  

There...that's my soap box speech on Kats!  

If you are looking for an expensive, but still lucrative, hobby, you could even try Royal Whites.


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## Kathryn4629 (Jul 17, 2011)

Beekissed said:
			
		

> All the characteristics you listed can be found in Katahdins and they are a coming breed in the states.  Sheep farmers are finding out that they have the meaty carcass of the wool breeds and are more successful at breeding off the wool of their woolly ewes than the Dorpers.
> 
> Hardy to the max, even temperament, good mothering, easy birthing, milky as any woolly breed, excellent twinning-who wants more than twins?  Only creates a problem with lambs that need bottling.  The best part?  No shearing.  No problems related with wool or shearing at all.  No docking of tails...another great way to prevent chances of infection.
> 
> ...


Great soap box speech!! 
I just did a lot of searching and I think the Katahdins are turning out to be a great match for my needs/wants. Gosh I wist that the breeders had more websites for their farms!! I think that I have come across a someone in Oregon that seems to know what they are doing. I love how well they do without lots of supplements on feed. Back to my never ending research. If you know of any good breeders in the northwest let me know!


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## SheepGirl (Jul 17, 2011)

Since you are just starting out with sheep, I would recommend you raising some crossbred ewes for two to three years before you get purebred registered stock. That way in case you kill one (or more, though hopefully none) due to inexperience, you are not out $250+. But you can always get a cross of the breeds you do want.

Since you have 10 acres, you can probably graze 50 ewes and lambs...however that is a rough estimate; it may be more, it may be less. But for starters, let's just say 35 to be on the safe side.

Here are some things I want to note about Dorsets: if you want Dorsets to eventually have lamburgers, I would get production Dorsets. They are very different than the ones you see in the show ring. You would have to find a specialized breeder that breeds production Dorsets.

And things I want to note about Finnsheep--they're noted for prolificacy, but you will have to cross them with a meaty breed because Finnsheep have poor carcass conformation. You can cross a Finn ram onto Suffolk ewes which will result in 50% Finn genetics which will increase the lambing percentage of the crosses by 50%.

Traits:
Multiple births: there are three breeds noted for extremely high prolificacy--Finnsheep, Romanov, and Booroola Merinos (300%+ lambing rate). However, they tend to be slow growers, so you can cross about 75-90% of your ewe flock with terminal sires and the remaining ewe flock you can cross with a pure ram to produce replacements and breeding stock.

Good foragers: sheep are foragers by nature. However, some breeds are better than others, including hair breeds and range breeds. Usually the showring breeds and large sheep (as well as blackfaced breeds) tend to need more supplemental grain just to keep them above a 2 body condition score.

Good growth on grass: lambs, with just pasture, grow about 0.25 lbs/day. However, if you supplement with grain while on pasture, their rate of gain is within 1% of those lambs on a feedlot diet (who eat much more than the supplemented lambs).

Resistance to parasites: this is as varied as between breed as it is amongst individuals of the same breed. Usually the breeds noted for parasite resistance are hair breeds and "tropical" breeds.

Flocking instincts: the sheep with the strongest flocking instinct are finewools, though any sheep will flock as long as you have a flock of about four or five (any less and they'll just scatter any direction).



If you are serious about making money with sheep, I would suggest getting the following books and reading the following Web sites:
- Sheep Production Handbook (by the American Sheep Industry)
- Storey's Guide to Raising Sheep
- Sheep 201 (http://sheep101.info/201)

Good luck with your sheep venture!!


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## boykin2010 (Jul 18, 2011)

I started out with barbados katahdin crosses because i liked the 2 breeds. I didnt want to start out with some really expensive. I think you will like whatever you get! I am keeping about 13 sheep on a little over 3 acres. Just so you have something to compare too. Right now there is surplus grass but in the winter and fall i had to feed hay


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