hair sheep compared to goats?

[AMT15]

Wow, I'm sold. We're looking to move soon and if we get some good pasture I'll definitively be getting sheep first. Thanks for all the good info. And anything else you think I should know would be much appreciated.

 

[RemudaOne]

Research your breeds. Figure out well in advance which one suits your needs and desires. If you don't want to bother with shearing, there are hair sheep that shed. Some breeds are flighty and some are calm. You should have no problem finding a breed that you'll fall in love with.

 

[AMT15]

So any suggestions? certainly want a hair sheep or other naturally shedding breed. I'm not really interested in meat or anything like that, just want to raise some and would pretty much just be selling their babies. do you guys know if there would be a pretty good market for that?

Thanks,

 

[AMT15]

is it true that the kahtadin and others that are shedding hair sheep breeds are not very parasite resistant?

 

[AMT15]

I like the barbados blackbelly......

 

[bonbean01]

We have Dorper/Kat crosses and totally love them! We do the garlic barrier and apple cider vinegar drenching monthly and so far not had any problems with parasites and have not needed chemical wormers. We have a small herd, 9 total and that is a very easy herd for us to manage and enjoy We spend a lot of time with them, not because they need that, but because we enjoy them. We made a mistake at the start of this with our first ram lamb...that was stupidity on our part...made a pet out of him and he got dangerous when he got older...got rid of him and started with a new ram lamb and did it right this time. He is a gentle fellow and him we don't cuddle him. He has sired really excellent healthy lambs.

Let us know what you decide and hope you enjoy this whole process!

 

[boykin2010]

is it true that the kahtadin and others that are shedding hair sheep breeds are not very parasite resistant?

That is absolutely NOT true! Katahdins are one of the most parasite resistant breeds out there! I have some and have never wormed them!

Barbados Blackbelly are good sheep. I own a couple of those also. I have heard they are the best when it comes to parasite resistance but I haven't seen much difference between them and my katahdins. Make sure you buy from a reputable breeder who checks all the sheeps for worms and keeps good records. Thankfully, I have one of the top Katahdin breeders right down the road from me.

The bad thing with Barbados is they are flighty. Mine are not friendly at all and they are hard to catch when I want to sell them. My Katahdins however, walk right up and let me pet them and everything. Another reason I like Katahdins better than Barbados is that they throw all kinds of different colors. You really never know what you are going to get. You can breed a brown Kat to a white Kat and end up with a black and white spotted Kat lamb! Or breed 2 black sheep together and end up with a red and white spotted lamb. Barbados usually throw the same black and brown color pattern unless you end up with painted dessert sheep.

If you end up getting Katahdins I always suggest after you get experience with sheep you get breeder stock. It is much easier to sell breeding stock in my area than "commercial sheep." Plus there is actually money to be made.

Here is a picture of the ram I will be using this year. He is only about 6 months old in this photo. His parents were both solid brown and look at his coloring!

 

[boykin2010]

We have Dorper/Kat crosses and totally love them! We do the garlic barrier and apple cider vinegar drenching monthly and so far not had any problems with parasites and have not needed chemical wormers. We have a small herd, 9 total and that is a very easy herd for us to manage and enjoy We spend a lot of time with them, not because they need that, but because we enjoy them. We made a mistake at the start of this with our first ram lamb...that was stupidity on our part...made a pet out of him and he got dangerous when he got older...got rid of him and started with a new ram lamb and did it right this time. He is a gentle fellow and him we don't cuddle him. He has sired really excellent healthy lambs.

Let us know what you decide and hope you enjoy this whole process!

I agree. No problems with mine either. I have friends with wooled breeds who have to worm them constantly. It is just one less thing for me to worry about. The Katahdins are such easy keepers.

I also had a bad experience with my first ram. I bottle fed him and he became obnoxious... Never would suggest that to anyone again. The best thing to do is rent a ram or go buy a full grown ram that hasn't been raised around people it's whole life.

 

[AMT15]

decisions, decisions...... What are the purposes of the cross breeds? Just for meat? Or would I still be able to get rid of them selling them as breeding stock? Also, I believe that I read somewhere that you can breed some breeds as early as 5 months, but what breed is this because all the ones I have read about seem to be about 7 mo.? And any opinions on the st. croix and dorper? I also read that the barbados blackbelly most often have twins, is this rare among the other hair sheep breeds?

Thanks again and sorry for all the questions,

 

[AMT15]

Doing more reading, and no, many breeds have twins and some times more. I also realize that it's going to be hard to pick a breed, lol. Are there other popular crosbreeds? I believe that at the moment my fav. seem to be the st. croix, katahdins and barbados blackbelly. Anyway, look forward to more of your helpful advice.

Thanks,