suggest a breed for me?

[ohiogoatgirl]

so i am thinkin there are some shetlands and MAYBE some soays near-ish me. near being regular driving distance, near-ish being close enough i could scratch up the gas money hopefully, too far being over 2hour drive.
but really not sure. i know someone a few roads over from me who has sheep pasture right along the road but i dont know the people. might stop in there and talk sheep with them. i dont like their pasture conditions but it couldnt hurt to try and have a listen.

i am liking what i am reading about shetlands and soays. icelandics are an interest but i'm not really liking their wool. i got a few samples from a fellow fiber-nut online but havent tried to spin it yet. its just alot courser then i was thinking it was going to be. but i like the possible milking aspect with the icelandics but the high prices i've seen online are a setback.
babydolls are adorable but i havent read up about them yet.

WHY i want sheep:
i am a handspinner so i want fleeces that i will want to spin and sell.
milking is interesting me. i have milk goats and wouldnt mind milking a few ewes once a day. i think it would be interesting to see what the cheese turned out like. all sheep cheese or %-% sheep-goat milk cheese. or butter, which i havent really made yet but want to.
and meat is always an option. though i'm not particular to a large meat sheep. my first goal is nice fleeces. any culls can be eaten i dont care that much about size of them.

i am kinda leaning toward medium and small breeds i think because i dont want to have to try and wrestle a huge ram, for one. i also dont want large or jumpy sheep because i have goats and have had goats that were flying reindeer goats and would get over an 8ft fence and bulldozer goats who would put their nose to the ground and didnt care if they tore the fence or themselves to shreds getting under. and scratched/torn udders from fence jumping is just not pretty in the least.

my other particulars is i like variety. i dont want a bunch of identical poofs out in a feild called sheep. i like white sheep but i dont want all white. i like colors and patterns. i am over 99.99999% sure that i will end up with more then one breed anyway so that doesnt bother me mixing and crossing them.

ALSO i would really like to have really hardy sheep that can survive on all/mostly all pasture and hay. we make our own hay here and thats not an issue. my ultimate goal is to be as self sufficient as i can get so hardy animals is a must.

so any suggestions? thanks

 

[Roving Jacobs]

I'm not sure Soays are quite what you're looking for. They don't produce much wool and you have to pluck it out or pull it off of fences and things instead of shearing which is going to be a pain if you're hoping to get a nice fleece for handspinning. The ones I've met (very few!) have seemed sort of wild and hard to handle. Sure they're small but the little ones can be the worst about leaping and bucking and twisting. I had a 40 lb Jacob ewe lamb give me a black eye because she tried jumping over me while I was standing and ran straight into my face instead. They are certainly hardy and you wouldn't need to catch and handle them that often but it's something to consider.

Shetlands may be more what you are looking for. They do have a lovely fleece that comes in tons of colors. They're clever and personable although I've heard they can be pushy and will boss around even much larger goats and sheep. They are hardy and lamb easily which is always nice for new shepherds. It always cracks me up when I see how tiny shetlands are and I have Jacobs which aren't particularly giant themselves.

I have Jacobs, which I would certainly recommend to anyone starting with sheep. They're hardy and curious and friendly once they get to know you. They remind me of giant wooly cats The horns bring a lot of interest and you can either spin the black/lilac and white together or separately to get different colors of yarn. Mine are very soft, so much so that people are often surprised when they feel my yarns and fleeces because they expect the wool to be more course. It really depends on what lines your sheep come from and what they have been bred for. I have a number of handspinners that just love the fleeces I produce. They are also supposed to be the 3rd most delicious sheep breed

I take it you are in Ohio, what area? I know some people with Shetlands, some with Icelandics, and of course I have Jacobs that I would be happy to let you visit if you want to get a feel for them.

 

[ohiogoatgirl]

jacobs are also a breed i thought of but havent read up all on them yet.
i am hoping to have a setup of several small-ish pastures so i wasnt thinking that the shedding would be much of an issue but i can see how the thingsyou said would affect things. very good points.

i am in southeast ohio. harrison county. always great to know if anyone near me has animals
i'm about an hour from pittsburgh. i'm guessing you are up near the lakes. that seems to be where everyone is...

 

[Roving Jacobs]

I'm in the southern part of Ashtabula Co so actually not super far, I'm guessing a couple of hours? Everything is at least an hour away from me so a 2 hour drive is nothing We're having a farm open house on October 13th if you want to stop by and talk sheep.

I'm trying to think of who I know with sheep around there but I'm mostly coming up with people further east than me or people I wouldn't want to refer you to for various reasons, I'll keep thinking though. Since you're interested primarily in fiber look for spinners and weavers guilds in your area or check out the Ohio Natural Fiber Network and see if anyone can recommend some place they go for wool that might also sell stock.

 

[purplequeenvt]

If you are looking for smallish size, nice fleeces, and plenty of colors and patterns then I think Shetlands might be the way to go. I have a handful of Shetlands and I absolutely love them!

 

[ohiogoatgirl]

I'm in the southern part of Ashtabula Co so actually not super far, I'm guessing a couple of hours? Everything is at least an hour away from me so a 2 hour drive is nothing We're having a farm open house on October 13th if you want to stop by and talk sheep.

I'm trying to think of who I know with sheep around there but I'm mostly coming up with people further east than me or people I wouldn't want to refer you to for various reasons, I'll keep thinking though. Since you're interested primarily in fiber look for spinners and weavers guilds in your area or check out the Ohio Natural Fiber Network and see if anyone can recommend some place they go for wool that might also sell stock.

i cant do oct 13 because i'm in a festival doing drop spindle. :/
but maybe i can find a day that would be good. would probably be after that date though. lots of things going on all the time lol.

 

[BrownSheep]

I enjoy dorsets. They have been used for milking and they have nice quality fleeces.

 

[ohiogoatgirl]

so i have been reading about sheep pretty much continually over the past week or so...
example i had a long vivid dream all about sheep last night

so here are my findings on breeds i like and why

suffolk:
rams 250-350lbs
ewes 180-250lbs
5-8lb fleece
2-3.5 inch staple length
open face and legs
great meat lambs

coopworth:
strong mothering insticts
seldom leave lambs
do well on pasture
clean face
6-8inch staple
"abundance of milk"

jacob:
ewes 80-120lbs
rams 120-180lbs
colorful, 2 or 4 horned
4-6 inch staple
3-6lb fleece
clean legs
little lanolin in wool
triplets not rare

tunis:
rams 175-225lbs
ewes 125-200lbs
disease resistant
hardy
excels on pasture
warm and cold climate tolerant
4-6 inch staple
6-9 lb fleece
can be bred for fall and spring lambs
high twin rate
excellent mothers
heavy milkers
clean face and legs

shetland:
rams 90-125lbs
ewes 75-100lbs
hardy
do well on pasture
easy lambing
good mothers
"ample milk"
twins and triplets common
11 colors and 30 markings
2-6lb fleeces
2-4.5inch staple
*some shed in spring

soay:
55-65lbs
excellent mothers
hardy
color variety
disease resistant
easy lambers
do good on pasture
*will shed in spring

st. croix:
ewes ~120lbs
rams ~165lbs
excellent foragers
heat and cold tolerant
high fertility
can be bred for fall and spring lambs
parasite resistance
usual twins, frequent triplets
*will shed in spring


so i was thinkin maybe if i came across some soay or st. croix i could have them in one herd. smaller size, shed in spring, course fiber.
i could gather/roo them in spring and that fiber could be used for wall hangings, carpets, etc.

and in another herd have whatever of the other breeds i can get.
these are the finer wool breeds that will need sheared. and their fleeces will go to yarn and other finer fiber items.

then in another herd have wethers and rams. though wethers of the soay or st. croix i would probably just sell or eat.

and i realize i had said that i want smaller sheep. but after doing more research into the breeds i think these are the ones that fit my needs. and i've gone toe to toe with full grown buck goats before and am pretty well at holding my own when needed but i also know when to get out of the way. though i'm hoping that i can get lambs and raise them myself so that they will be friendly and hopefully i wont have to deal with a grumpy ram.

of course what i actually get will depend on what i can find when i actually am ready for the animals.

any thoughts are welcome and correct me if any of my findings are incorrect. i completely admit to being a total newbie to sheep.

 

[Roving Jacobs]

You can visit me any time, just let me know! We're pretty busy in the next couple of months too. It seems like every weekend there's some sort of festival going on that either I'm selling at or bringing demo animals to until November when everything shuts down.

If you haven't read it already pick up a copy of the Fleece and Fiber Source Book. It's a great resources when looking at sheep for fiber, seeing what type of fiber each breed produces and seeing what to do with all the different types.

 

[ohiogoatgirl]

thanks i will have to find

and... go figure i found another breed i like...

finn:
rams 150-200lbs
ewes 120-190lbs
good milking abilities
good wool
*high multiples! trips and quads very common!*
fast lamb growth
great mothers
friendly, polled
easy lambing
parasite and disease resistant
long lived
early maturity
"clean breech belly and face, short tail"
"easy on fence"
fleece 4-8lbs
staple length 3-6inch