Which Breed of Sheep???

[Royd Wood]

I still prefer wooled breeds to hair sheep, simply because I don't mind shearing. It's once a year, and if you only have a few sheep it's not that bad. Romneys are a good breed for grassed based systems. They're hardy and very efficient. Their wool is good for spinning, felting, etc. I also love Southdowns (not Babydoll Southdowns) because they're super easy keepers. They've got great carcass qualities and are a wonderful meat breed. They're also a little smaller than other meat breeds (like Suffolks and Hamps) and much easier keepers. They're docile, and they've got good quality wool.

Agree - Romneys are a very good breed for grass based systems and in our case strictly no grain with great results.
Rustys photos always send me into dreamworld - what a fantastic backdrop you have there mate

 

[RustyDHart]

Thanks.....The pasture is looking a bit dry right now.... i just seperated the rams....i'll put them back in around the first of November. This is "Irish acres Highland Peace"....I caught her walking over the small bridge in the pasture when she stopped to look around.....

 

[kstaven]

I still prefer wooled breeds to hair sheep, simply because I don't mind shearing. It's once a year, and if you only have a few sheep it's not that bad. Romneys are a good breed for grassed based systems. They're hardy and very efficient. Their wool is good for spinning, felting, etc. I also love Southdowns (not Babydoll Southdowns) because they're super easy keepers. They've got great carcass qualities and are a wonderful meat breed. They're also a little smaller than other meat breeds (like Suffolks and Hamps) and much easier keepers. They're docile, and they've got good quality wool.

Wish I could find southdowns around here.

 

[Beekissed]

I've also been researching the hair sheep and I've decided to go with the Katahdin.

I would really like to get some Royal Whites but I'm not willing to pay the ridiculous price right now, so I'll wait till the prices go down.

Katahdins (or Katahdin crosses) seem to have everything you would want in a hair sheep and they don't necessarily come in ONE color.

I like a multicolored flock as well and you really can't get that with the Dorpers unless you cross. I loved the black and white mixes and my pure Kat had reddish brown speckles on her face and legs. Love the colors!

Here are two of the gals and a borrowed Kat ram coming out of winter into the new spring grass:

This is a St. Croix/Kat cross ewe:

The black and whites are the SC/Kat crosses and the mostly white is my pure Kat:

My Black Betty was crossed over by a SC buck this spring and had twins that were mostly white with black markings and a hint of brown in some of the spots. The Kat ewe, Little Mo, had twins that were white with brown speckles out of a SC buck.

 

[manybirds]

We have our fancy snazzy register quality etc etc yadda yadda hampshire now so now i'm going through the auction. We went to the auction barn once to pick up a stanchion and there was a sheep that went through that was little and matted and only had three feat. I felt so bad for her. I would like to take one like that put it in our barn sheer it worm it take care of everything and (after I made sure it hadn't picked anything up from the auction barn) let it out into our green little pasture with hay grain and other sheep. I think we probably could have gotten her for free but we wern't anticipating having sheep at the time so she went for meat after her long hard life.

 

[EllieMay]

I've also been researching the hair sheep and I've decided to go with the Katahdin.
I would really like to get some Royal Whites but I'm not willing to pay the ridiculous price right now, so I'll wait till the prices go down.
Katahdins (or Katahdin crosses) seem to have everything you would want in a hair sheep and they don't necessarily come in ONE color.

I like a multicolored flock as well and you really can't get that with the Dorpers unless you cross. I loved the black and white mixes and my pure Kat had reddish brown speckles on her face and legs. Love the colors!
Here are two of the gals and a borrowed Kat ram coming out of winter into the new spring grass:
http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/uploads/82_misc_scenery_sheep_calf_butchering_076.jpg
This is a St. Croix/Kat cross ewe:
http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/uploads/82_sale_pics_of_sheep_003.jpg
The black and whites are the SC/Kat crosses and the mostly white is my pure Kat:
http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/uploads/82_misc_scenery_sheep_calf_butchering_101.jpg
My Black Betty was crossed over by a SC buck this spring and had twins that were mostly white with black markings and a hint of brown in some of the spots. The Kat ewe, Little Mo, had twins that were white with brown speckles out of a SC buck.

VERY NICE eye candy!

Love the colors!!!!

Where did you get yours? I'm looking for sheep to buy!

 

[SheepGirl]

My neighbor had purebred Montadales. They were really pretty, great mothers, gave birth to twins, and had huge udders. They were pastured but had grain supplementation during winter and late gestation/lactation. He crossed them with a Babydoll Southdown ram because he wanted to get his ewe size smaller (since he was getting older and he didn't want to deal with 170 lb ewe bashing into him while he was feeding), but he didn't want to sell off the flock and start over. The 1/2 Montadale 1/2 Babydoll ewes looked like Montadales, but they had more wool on their heads and legs. They were as prolific as the Monts but they did have smaller udders (but they were still able to raise their lambs).

He continued to cross with different Babydoll rams, but, needless to say, their productivity decreased as the Babydoll % went up. I think it's because Babydoll breeders don't really care about production, rather than just breeding just to produce more breeding stock regardless of quality. (That's just my little biased opinion ) However, if you were to cross a Mont with a Southdown, I'd choose the American Southdown (the larger downs you commonly see), because they are more bred for production traits.

I do want Katahdin sheep--primarily because they have lots of babies and the colors look like a lot of fun I also want Suffolk sheep (like the kind over in Europe--short & meaty).

ETA: I would buy myself a small flock of Babydoll ewes and aggressively breed & cull them to look like the original Southdowns from the 1800s (pretty much what Babydolls are--the American Southdowns were bred to be larger to produce larger cuts of meat) and be as meaty and productive as any other breed as well as have a comparable growth rate. But that would take a longgg time.

 

[Beekissed]

I've also been researching the hair sheep and I've decided to go with the Katahdin.
I would really like to get some Royal Whites but I'm not willing to pay the ridiculous price right now, so I'll wait till the prices go down.
Katahdins (or Katahdin crosses) seem to have everything you would want in a hair sheep and they don't necessarily come in ONE color.

I like a multicolored flock as well and you really can't get that with the Dorpers unless you cross. I loved the black and white mixes and my pure Kat had reddish brown speckles on her face and legs. Love the colors!
Here are two of the gals and a borrowed Kat ram coming out of winter into the new spring grass:
http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/uploads/82_misc_scenery_sheep_calf_butchering_076.jpg
This is a St. Croix/Kat cross ewe:
http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/uploads/82_sale_pics_of_sheep_003.jpg
The black and whites are the SC/Kat crosses and the mostly white is my pure Kat:
http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/uploads/82_misc_scenery_sheep_calf_butchering_101.jpg
My Black Betty was crossed over by a SC buck this spring and had twins that were mostly white with black markings and a hint of brown in some of the spots. The Kat ewe, Little Mo, had twins that were white with brown speckles out of a SC buck.

VERY NICE eye candy!

Love the colors!!!!

Where did you get yours? I'm looking for sheep to buy!

I bought mine from a farmer right here in Pendleton Co., Wv. You aren't that far away from here....I'll try to find his number for you and you maybe could get with him. He has some VERY pretty colors in his herd. Has a few with Barbados and Painted Desert Sheep blood and the colors keep steady down the line. Could be you would even pick some from my gals...they live back there on their original farm now.

 

[aggieterpkatie]

The farm where I worked in college had Montadales. They were ok, but never my favorite. I'm not exactly sure why. We did buy some nice ones from a family who raised them up near you, SheepGirl. Their last name started with a B.

 

[aggieterpkatie]

I still prefer wooled breeds to hair sheep, simply because I don't mind shearing. It's once a year, and if you only have a few sheep it's not that bad. Romneys are a good breed for grassed based systems. They're hardy and very efficient. Their wool is good for spinning, felting, etc. I also love Southdowns (not Babydoll Southdowns) because they're super easy keepers. They've got great carcass qualities and are a wonderful meat breed. They're also a little smaller than other meat breeds (like Suffolks and Hamps) and much easier keepers. They're docile, and they've got good quality wool.

Wish I could find southdowns around here.

They're quickly coming my favorite breed. Although every breed I own tends to be my favorite. Hamps will always have a special place in my heart since I raised them for 4-H for so long. I love Romneys because of their fleeces and their huge desire to graze all the time. But now I especially love Southdowns for their ability to have great meaty bodies on less feed, and their personalities are always so good.