Milk and Fiber breed for a family aiming for self-suffiency?

[Nuevomexicano]

My wife and I would like to get sheep for dairy (primary) and fleece, while processing the surplus lambs for meat. Goats have been recommended to us, and we have had goats, but my wife and I prefer really rich (high butterfat%) milk for drinking and making cheese, which excludes most goat breeds aside from the Nigerian dwarf, which — while lovely — is a tiny animal that gives no more than a quart of milk daily, we would like to have about a gallon and a half of fresh milk daily, and not have to milk more than 3-5 animals to get it. We also like sheep because we enjoy making clothes and spinning fiber, and with goats that either means getting an Angora goat just for mohair, or having to comb out cashmere, dehair it by hand and then purchase wool to blend it with, we don't need super silky smooth merino wool, but we would like a fiber that can be worn on bare skin comfortably as opposed to being no more than felt quality. When it comes to meat, both of us really prefer the taste of lamb to goat, and plan to eat the "spring lambs" as a supplement to the quail and rabbits that we have and the pheasants and chickens that we are getting.

It's my wife, our 2 year old and I, and we are expecting another child in 5 months. We would like to have our sheep by then.

What breed do you recommend?

 

[mystang89]

I'm raising awassi sheep which are bred primarily for milk and they are wool sheep, not hair. That said, I haven't been able to successfully breed them yet so I can't attest to anything besides the fact they are sheep.

 

[Nuevomexicano]

I'm raising awassi sheep which are bred primarily for milk and they are wool sheep, not hair. That said, I haven't been able to successfully breed them yet so I can't attest to anything besides the fact they are sheep.

Thanks for your reply. I've looked at Awassi and Assaf (75% Awassi/25% East Friesian breed from Palestine) but they don't seem to be widely availiable in the United States, how did you go about finding them and how much did you pay if you don't mind my asking?

When you say that you haven't been able to successfully breed, do you mean that you haven't found a ram for them, that the ewes will not allow themselves to be bred, or that they were covered by a ram but didn't conceive?

 

[Baymule]

Welcome from Texas, glad to have you here on the forum. Congratulations on the coming birth of your baby. Children are the best! We have hair sheep, so no wool and we don't milk them, so I am probably not much help to you. But I wanted to welcome you to the forum.

 

[Southern by choice]

Finn sheep
~dairy
~med to fine wool
~multiples

 

[Nuevomexicano]

Finn sheep
~dairy
~med to fine wool
~multiples

Thank you, I had read that they are extremely prolific breeders, which led me to believe that they must produce a good amount of milk (how else could they feed 4 lambs?) but I couldn't find much information about milking them.

 

[Nuevomexicano]

Welcome from Texas, glad to have you here on the forum. Congratulations on the coming birth of your baby. Children are the best! We have hair sheep, so no wool and we don't milk them, so I am probably not much help to you. But I wanted to welcome you to the forum.

Hello, I grew up in Harlingen, TX in the valley if you're familiar, moved to Santa Fe about 7 years ago. Thank you, we are so excited!

 

[Southern by choice]

I really don't know much about milking sheep. I really don't know their length of lactation etc.
They do have very large litters and IMO it is a downside. Whenever they have 4,5,6 lambs you have to supplement.
Higher risk of complications as well...

I do not think they have very high productivity.

 

[Southern by choice]

I was looking up something for you and as soon as I saw the name I went Ah... that's right... look at Friesian.
http://www.ansi.okstate.edu/breeds/sheep/friesianmilk/

 

[Baymule]

Hello, I grew up in Harlingen, TX in the valley if you're familiar, moved to Santa Fe about 7 years ago. Thank you, we are so excited!

I was born in San Benito, my parents were raised in the Valley. My Mom was a graduate of Weslaco High School. They moved to Longview when I was 2, so all I know about the Valley was when we went to visit family. Haven't been there in many, many years. My husband and I retired and moved to the Tyler Texas area (from Livingston after 30+ years) and we love it here!