- Thread starter
- #71
Help me determine is my sheep have started “showing” in their pregnancies
- Thread starter MMGardens
- Start date
Baymule
Herd Master
Look for a long straight back, full hind quarters. I find that keepers just have that “it” look to them. They have that good conformation, good hair coat and calm demeanor from birth.
You can breed a ram back to his mother. Genetic defects generally don’t show up for a few generations. If the breeding produces ewes, you can keep them to add to the flock. Cull them like you would the rest of the lambs.
My rule of thumb is keep the best. Sell the rest at auction. Never sell anything face to face off the farm that I wouldn’t keep for myself.
You can breed a ram back to his mother. Genetic defects generally don’t show up for a few generations. If the breeding produces ewes, you can keep them to add to the flock. Cull them like you would the rest of the lambs.
My rule of thumb is keep the best. Sell the rest at auction. Never sell anything face to face off the farm that I wouldn’t keep for myself.
- Thread starter
- #73
MMGardens
Overrun with beasties
Thank you!
I know you can line breed in other animals but wasn’t sure about sheep. That will be helpful because I really wanted some keeper ewes from this mama. She’s got a really good udder for milking and is a fat on air kinda gal and is one of our favs.
Next year I’m going to add in some gulf coast native sheep. Do you have any wooly breeds? I’m wondering how quickly it would ruin the wool to cross in my hair breeds and then back cross or if I just breed them separate and keep the GCN pure
SageHill
Herd Master
If you want wool, you don't want to cross your hair with wool. At least that's what I've heard from friends who are into spinning. Hair will be mixed in with the wool and the crimp will not be as tight. Just what I've heard from friends (face to face friends).
Baymule
Herd Master
Hair crossed with wool is basically useless wool and ugly hair.
Why do you want Gulf Coast sheep and what do you intend to do with the wool.
I don’t have any wool breeds. If I did, I’d have to learn how to shear them. Then what to do with the wool? I’d have to learn how to process it, learn how to spin it into yarn, that would mean buying a spinning wheel and all the accessories, learn how to use it, learn how to knit so I could make ugly badly made gifts to torture my friends and family with.
Nope. Hair sheep suit me just fine.
Why do you want Gulf Coast sheep and what do you intend to do with the wool.
I don’t have any wool breeds. If I did, I’d have to learn how to shear them. Then what to do with the wool? I’d have to learn how to process it, learn how to spin it into yarn, that would mean buying a spinning wheel and all the accessories, learn how to use it, learn how to knit so I could make ugly badly made gifts to torture my friends and family with.
Nope. Hair sheep suit me just fine.
- Thread starter
- #76
MMGardens
Overrun with beasties
Yes I have heard the same, so either I will breed the hair sheep to hair sheep and woolies to woolies, or I was hoping a 2nd gen back cross may bring back the better wool, but either way it’s okay
SageHill
Herd Master
Sounds like you've got it figured out. The only thing I'd add (and it's just from reading and not hands on) California Reds are a cross between hair and wool and supposedly the wool is good. Just what I read online, and we all know just how accurate that can be.
- Thread starter
- #78
MMGardens
Overrun with beasties
Mostly because I live on the south ms gulf coast where that breed has been thriving for 100’s of years without the need for heavy parasite management and are better evolved to like and do well on our native grasses and shrubs here and not struggle with our climate.
I had to get the sheep I have because one of my two bottle babies had to be put down suddenly and my last one left was very upset by herself, so I ran out and got a few girls as her flock, but had I gotten to take my time and choose based on what I want from sheep I would’ve gotten the gulf coast natives to begin with.
I crochet frequently with wool, so I’d be very interested in learning how to make my own, and also I like to use lanolin so if I got that as a byproduct that would be great too. I’m pretty innovative and can’t stand to waste things so I’d find a good use wether I learned to spin or not, and I’ll have a small flock so I don’t mind learning to shear either
I know GCN is a threatened breed so I’d like to keep them pure just to preserve the breed, but also usually crossing in some other breeds can usually strengthen a breeds immunity and heartiness down the line, so I just didn’t know if it would be ill advised to even cross breed just once
- Thread starter
- #79
MMGardens
Overrun with beasties
I just did some reading on back crossing and apparently it can take many gens down to stop having hair contamination in the wool
So, i think I may start fencing my acreage down the road from me and planting pastures on it this year and end up running two separate small flocks, or at least housing two rams (one hair one wool) and a wether over there (if that’s okay) and bring over one at a time and put him in an area with the ewes I want bred by him
I haven’t seen GCN ewes up close to have checked out their udders, so I cant say yet if I’d want to milk them. I found the tiny teat ewes I have are much harder to milk than my katahdins with big udders and teats, but GCN are said to be used for milk so maybe
So, i think I may start fencing my acreage down the road from me and planting pastures on it this year and end up running two separate small flocks, or at least housing two rams (one hair one wool) and a wether over there (if that’s okay) and bring over one at a time and put him in an area with the ewes I want bred by him
I haven’t seen GCN ewes up close to have checked out their udders, so I cant say yet if I’d want to milk them. I found the tiny teat ewes I have are much harder to milk than my katahdins with big udders and teats, but GCN are said to be used for milk so maybe
Baymule
Herd Master
I think it admirable to having the goal to help save a threatened heritage breed. 
