What is the point in hair sheep - Now what wool/meat breed is best.

PendergrassRanch

Loving the herd life
Joined
Jul 6, 2012
Messages
777
Reaction score
62
Points
108
Location
Northern California
Editing this since we are on a different topic!

I feed my dogs raw and I need a breed that produces high meat content as well as a good solid wool coat for me to use.
 

D1

Chillin' with the herd
Joined
Dec 1, 2012
Messages
80
Reaction score
8
Points
36
Location
Jones
meat! would be the only reason I can think of. I would love to have sheep just for the meat aspect without having to worry about the shearing aspect as I wouldnt/dont have a market for wool in my area.
 

PendergrassRanch

Loving the herd life
Joined
Jul 6, 2012
Messages
777
Reaction score
62
Points
108
Location
Northern California
D1 said:
meat! would be the only reason I can think of. I would love to have sheep just for the meat aspect without having to worry about the shearing aspect as I wouldnt/dont have a market for wool in my area.
Okay, thats what I thought.

I don't mind shearing. I keep hearing that sheep are stupid. As long as they stay where they are suppose to be, I don't care about their brains.
 

marlowmanor

New Member
Joined
Aug 8, 2011
Messages
3,455
Reaction score
0
Points
0
I think the "sheep are dumb" statement falls in the same category of "goats eat everything" including tin cans, paper, and all that crap.

Lot of the sheep people on here have proven their sheep are pretty smart. And anyone with goats will tell you they can be picky.
 

marlowmanor

New Member
Joined
Aug 8, 2011
Messages
3,455
Reaction score
0
Points
0
bonbean01 said:
X2 Marlow :)
I have learned a few things from reading all the posts on BYH not just certain categories. :D Never had sheep myself personally but after seeing all the sheep on BYH and reading about them I may be more inclined to consider getting one when we have more land. Or at least letting the boys use sheep for 4H if they ever get into it.
 

greybeard

Herd Master
Joined
Oct 23, 2011
Messages
5,940
Reaction score
10,805
Points
553
Location
East Texas
PendergrassRanch said:
Please excuse my ignorance. I'm not sure how to pose this question with out sounding like an idiot.

I guess I will explain my case.

I feed my dogs raw, I want to have a herd of something to breed and produce dog food, but I also want to have a product for myself and that is sheepskin to make rugs and slippers and such. I have goats now but goat hides just don't cut it for what I want so I'm leaning towards getting sheep this year.

I have come across many sheep for sale locally but they are all hair sheep. If you can't have wool, what is the point in having sheep? Wouldn't you just go with goats if you don't want wool?

Just trying to learn here :)
That's kind of like asking "If you aren't going to milk one, what's the point of having a cow?" If you like to eat lamb for dinner, you won't be raising a goat and call the meal the same thing as lamb. They are nothing alike once they are on the end of your fork.
Lamb sells for a lot higher price around here than any goat meat, and lamb is far more acceptable on a restaurant plate than goat to most non-farm people in the US. (I prefer cabrito myself tho)

People (at least in the southwest) that want meat production from sheep use hair sheep for all the obvious reasons.
1. Easier to maintain than wool sheep breeds while producing just as good if not better meat than wool varieties.
2. You don't need to dock.
3. No shearing needed--the hair sheds for winter.
4. According to several studies, they are more parasite resistant than wool sheep.
5. Goats are notorious for getting out of their pastures--often an un-earned reputation, but there it is. Sheep are considered more docile and easier to handle, but I've seen some pretty mean sheep too--both hair and wool breeds when I lived out in West Texas. YRMV.
6. People that raise sheep for weed and grass control choose non wool breeds or species--again because they don't have to shear or dock, while getting all the attributes of any other sheep type.
7. Usually easier to handle because they see less human caused stress than wool bearing sheep.
8. Variety of colorations are an attraction to many hobbyist and 4H kids.
 

boykin2010

Overrun with beasties
Joined
Nov 8, 2010
Messages
566
Reaction score
3
Points
86
Location
South Ga
Sheep are not dumb by any means. At least, not my Katahdins. They are extremely smart and know a lot more than we give them credit for.

I like the hair sheep because they are extremely parasite resistant, easy to raise, great mothers, and I do not have to shear them. Wool is basically worthless in my area, so it would have not been worth my time to buy wooled breeds.

All of my Katahdins have excellent temperaments and taste great too. We butcher 2-3 lambs every year for ourself.

There is a HUGE market for hair sheep lambs in just about all parts of the country. Most Katahdin breeders sell out a year in advance and registered stock are increasing and increasing in price.

I have also found that sheep respect fencing a lot more than other animals. My sheep have never gotten out and all I have is 5 strand electric polywire. Never had a problem.
 

boykin2010

Overrun with beasties
Joined
Nov 8, 2010
Messages
566
Reaction score
3
Points
86
Location
South Ga
PendergrassRanch said:
Please excuse my ignorance. I'm not sure how to pose this question with out sounding like an idiot.

I guess I will explain my case.

I feed my dogs raw, I want to have a herd of something to breed and produce dog food, but I also want to have a product for myself and that is sheepskin to make rugs and slippers and such. I have goats now but goat hides just don't cut it for what I want so I'm leaning towards getting sheep this year.

I have come across many sheep for sale locally but they are all hair sheep. If you can't have wool, what is the point in having sheep? Wouldn't you just go with goats if you don't want wool?

Just trying to learn here :)
Oh, and I also know a lady who raw feeds her dogs. She uses the mutton (meat of sheep that are older in age) to feed her dogs. They love it, and she enjoys feeding it to them. It is very healthy for the dogs.
 

finns&fjords

Chillin' with the herd
Joined
Oct 4, 2011
Messages
59
Reaction score
0
Points
34
Location
Oregon
I've come to realize that it's not that sheep are stupid-cuz they're not. Sheep are a prey animal and behave exactly like any other animal that's basically on the bottom of the food chain. To a sheep, every incident is seen as a life or death situation and their only response is FLEE ;) Regardless of this silly (to us) behavior, I still love my sheep!
And, if shearing isn't an issue, wouldn't a common meat breed like Suffolk or commercial cross, produce more pounds of meat than the hair breeds? I do agree that both hair and wool types have their own advantages.
 
Top