Okay, so what I am getting from this information is that:secuono said:My breeder for the Babydoll sheep is selling them all off!!!
I need to know which to buy now. Please help me choose!
The Ram area is not fully secure yet. I can make the field secure[little bits here and there they might crawl through] secure over the weekend. The barn area for them is also nearly done, just need to add fencing to keep them from the hay storage.
Should I get Lamb ewes and hope I can find and afford a Ram next year?
Or should I get two Ewes and a Ram and have them out together now? I'd love 3 ewes and a ram, how does color work? If I get a black ram and white ewes??
"We have nine for sale: a white ram and a black ram (born 2010), two white ewe lambs (born 2011), three black ewes, and two white ewes (ewes range in age)"
Thanks!!!!
1) There are 2 yearling rams
2) There are 2 ewe lambs
3) There are 5 mature ewes
I would get one or both of the yearling rams. Because you are new to sheep(?) I would get at least two mature ewes (and not the ewe lambs). By getting two rams and two ewes, you can breed them and their offspring together.
For example, you have Ram A and Ram B. You also have Ewe C and Ewe D. You can breed A to C the first year and B to D the first year. The next year, you can breed B to C and A to D. So far you will have AxC, BxC, AxD, and BxD lambs. You can cross the AxC and BxD lambs for non-inbred sheep and you can cross all the half siblings together for 12.5% inbred lambs (which you can send to market). After two or three years of using the first two rams, you can sell them and buy one or two more rams to introduce new genes into your flock.
(Sorry if that was a bit confusing--I hope it made some sense! )
ETA: Look at this link for an idea for breeding your sheep if you do only end up with one ram.