The Best Homestead Sheep Breed

[BHOBCFarms]

Hey, I was thinking about milk sheep and I got to wondering about what would be the best homestead sheep breeds. Now I know everyone has different ideas about what that means, but that's why I started this thread - I want to know what some of you think, what breed you like, why you think its the best, etc.

I'll tell you why I like my Mini Cheviot as a homestead sheep, and I look forward to hearing what you think about your breed selection.

I like my Mini Cheviot because they are easy to keep in a smaller space, can be managed by the elderly and children with few problems, good mothers, often twinning, produce a decent fleece. They are good foragers and don't require massive amounts of feed to grow out. What I don't know about them so far is their milking potential, though they seem to have ample bags and no problems nursing multiples, and I live in a warm dry climate, I haven't been able to evaluate their performance in other climates and conditions. Another problem is the rarity of the breed, it can be difficult to find new rams for breeding and often require costly shipping from out of state.

 

[BHOBCFarms]

Nobody has any opinions about this?

 

[Ruus]

I love my Soays. they have the same size advantages as your Mini Cheviot, plus I don't have to dock tails or shear. I'm allergic to all things milk, so milk production isn't an issue for me as long as they can feed the babies. I've not eaten one yet, but they say the meat is very mild, not "muttony". They're very easy lambers and good mamas, plus they're just so stinking cute!!

 

[BHOBCFarms]

I love my Soays. they have the same size advantages as your Mini Cheviot, plus I don't have to dock tails or shear. I'm allergic to all things milk, so milk production isn't an issue for me as long as they can feed the babies. I've not eaten one yet, but they say the meat is very mild, not "muttony". They're very easy lambers and good mamas, plus they're just so stinking cute!!

You make a good point about not having to shear - If you are not interested in spinning, a hair sheep would be the way to go. I sheared today, and I am exhausted! It's really hard on the back and the knees. Also, not having to dock is nice.

 

[SheepGirl]

I like my crossbred sheep. I have four adults that are Babydoll x Montadale crosses and then I have their Texel-sired lambs. I don't mind shearing. It's always fun (then again I hire someone to come out and do it ) and it's convenient because it's the perfect time to do hooves and other health maintenance stuff. I also don't mind docking. You're going to tag lambs at birth anyway, what's an extra 20 seconds to put a band on a tail.

 

[BrownSheep]

I support cross breds also. I use Dorset, Suffolk, and Ramboulliet crosses. We get the height of the Rambouillet and Suffolk but the width of the Dorset. The all three are meat breeds, while Dorset adds heavier bags to the ewes. The rambouillet adds excellent wool quality.

Personally I am not a huge fan of shearing. Although I do do it. This year I hired professionals to come out and do it. Took them a minute a sheep and were gone with in the hour. The ost was also minamal. I also sheared some old ewes the we bought .Took me about an hour and an half to do the two of them. Keeping in mind I am a stop an look type of shearer and I used older blades.

Wool pools are also an easy way to sell the wool.

 

[PennyHen]

I have a Shetfindors, which are a mix of Shetland, Finn, and Dorset. They have good milk production but their teats are a bit small. I also have two ewes who are 1/2 Dorset and 1/4 E.Fresian, 1/4 Lacune. Both the E. Fresian and the Lacune are dairy sheep. I am keeping a ram lamb by my senior Shetfindor ram out of one of girls to put over my Shetfindor ewes to get a larger udder with bigger teats so that milking is easier. I also spin wool and the blends of these breeds is creating a wool that is only just a couple of notches under Merino fine.

Now there are some lines of pure Finns that can go toe to toe with traditional dairy breeds. The Finn standard is for them to twin as a yearling lamb and they should triple the next year. Finns have had as many as 7 lambs in one birth. They should be able to raise 4 without problem. Some can feed 6. Usually number 5, 6, or 7 get supplemental bottles if they aren't a straight bottle lamb. The lambs are smaller in the beginning but by September you will have raised at least triple the weight in lamb with Finns than almost any other breed except the Polypay which owes it's ancestry to the Finn. One prominent breeder kept 6 ewes and got 23-25 lambs from them per year.