Thinking of getting sheep

[theawesomefowl]

How about some sort of meat crossbreed with reasonable wool? I don't know enough about 'em to suggest one, but maybe someone else will. Crossbreeds are usually cheaper too. I am getting Katahdin/Dorper cross ewe lambs to befriend my goat I'm getting in about a month.

or how about regular Southdowns or Southdown crosses? They are cute, and big and meaty.

 

[michickenwrangler]

That would be fine, a meat/wool dual purpose breed. Again, max of 4, keep 2 as pets, eat 2, buy two more lambs to raise up as meat sheep.

 

[Royd Wood]

Just thought I would throw the Romney breed into the line of thinking michickenwrangler. I started with 4 and now upto 12. They are not flighty if handled early thrive on grass and hay ONLY. Get to a good size and the grass fed meat is delicious. The wool is in demand as its fine quality.
This guys name is Lambert and he's about 8 or 9 months old in the photo.
Anyway good luck with whatever you choose.

 

[theawesomefowl]

Romneys are cute!

 

[RockyToggRanch]

Lambert is a cutie. I'm looking at Finnsheep since I can't find navajo churros locally.

 

[goodhors]

If the processor charges by the pound, a small lamb may cost less, but you also get less returned for the freezer. And the smaller the lamb is, the lower the percentage you get back of the total lamb weight.

We also have to pay a slaughter price per head, added onto the meat processing pound price. So taking small animals in to be done, just drives the cost of meat right up.

Not sure about the weight or age of lamb breeds mentioned. We want to get our lambs done before they reach one year, or gain their mature sheep teeth. For us, that seems to be when the flavor of meat changes into mutton, which we dislike eating.

Our lambs are market breeds, often crosses, so they will attain a larger size if you wait on them. When we bred our own, we wanted lambs coming in May, grass fed them way into fall. They usually went 150# on the hoof, with NO EXPENSE to produce. Ewes were pretty cheap to run on grass as well, only had a couple. Cost to have lambs processed, but we ended up with quite a lot of meat for the freezer, almost 100 pounds per lamb. Starting with a 70# lamb, small breeds, you won't get much edible meat , maybe 35#. You would get a better meat return raising a turkey to big size!

 

[LilyD]

We have shetlands and I have to second the vote for them. They are not too big, about the size of a medium size dog. They eat pretty much any scrub brush that you have around and their wool is sooo soft not itchy and scratch like other breeds I have seen. I can't yet vouch for the tastiness since we have not had any lambs yet but I really love them. They have a great personality and are just amazing sheep.

 

[theawesomefowl]

I do like Shetlands, but they are kind of small to eat, and I'm not sure I want to deal with wool, as it is work to keep it clean enough to get good prices from handspinners, and you don't make much money other ways. I'd like to raise a wool sheep for meat next year, and have the hide tanned as i'd love a sheepskin!

I also like Finnsheep, and Romneys are cute and meaty. Someone close to us has Romneys but I'm holding out for the more expensive Katahdins. (inspired by Beekissed)
It all depends of what you want the sheep for, and if you like the way they look.

 

[RockyToggRanch]

It looks like I'm going with finns. yay For fiber and meat. I found a breeder pretty locally that is expecting 45-50 lambs in the next month! I super excited!

 

[LilyD]

So excited for you good luck getting your flock started