| Author |
Barnyard Buddies:  are sheep difficult or demanding to raise?  |
|
|
gregs_lil_farmgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
219 Posts
birdi
hartford
me
USA
219 Posts |
 Posted - Feb 16 2007 : 12:00:00 PM
|
Is there a particular breed? Are they dual purpose...fiber and meat? I've searched but it keeps timing out here. Sorry for duplicate questions ladies :)
Birdi
-Simple pleasures make my heart smile- |
|
|
Aunt Jenny
True Blue Farmgirl
11381 Posts
Jenny
middle of
Utah
USA
11381 Posts |
Posted - Feb 16 2007 : 1:40:52 PM
|
I love my sheep. I have never had more than 10 in my little flock..and right now have two ewes..mother and daughter. I didn't even get them bred this fall...so no new lambs from them. (notice I didn't say no new LAMBS..heehee) Mine are Icelandic and they are a wonderful dual purpose breed. Their fleece is a double coat...an outer silkier, coarser layer and an inner soft wonderful undercoat. You can spin them carded together , or separate for three different yarn types. The meat is wonderful as lamb goes ( I am just not a big lamb fan...meat wise. I have tasted it and it tastes milder than other lamb I have tried) I have mine for the wool. Also, they are small and easy to manage, lamb easily and are great mothers. I have had my Juliet for about 6 1/2 years now..She will be 7 in April. I got her in Sept of that year. She has faithfully had twins each year..up until she had a single ewe lamb. They come in all sorts of colors...Juliet is moorit (and polled) her daughter Trixie is jet black and also polled. Some have horns..I have had horned Icelandics as well and loved them too.
I think besides my chickens ..and maybe even more...sheep are the easiest critters I have to care for. Not demanding at all. You do need good fences (they will go under as well as over) a tree sided shelter and good water. Some things are toxic to them that arn't to cows or goats (copper for instance..an ingredient in some supplements like Calf Manna.) Shearing is a whole other thing...I do mine by hand..which is why I keep my flock small. I do hoof trimming and shots and shearing twice a year and do it all at the same time. I have never had any other vet needs with my sheep.
Here is a picture of my girls:
 Juliet
and
 Trixie with one of her lambs from last year...now at Libbie's farm!
Jenny in Utah
Inside me there is a skinny woman crying to get out...but I can usually shut her up with cookies
http://www.auntjennysworld.blogspot.com/ visit my little online shop at www.auntjenny.etsy.com |
Edited by - Aunt Jenny on Feb 16 2007 1:45:04 PM |
 |
|
|
brightmeadow
True Blue Farmgirl
2045 Posts
Brenda
Lucas
Ohio
USA
2045 Posts |
Posted - Feb 16 2007 : 2:43:44 PM
|
Oh, Jenny your ewe is so beautiful!
I used to get a magazine that was published near here called "The Shepherd" it had a lot of good articles about raising both meet and fiber sheep. I never made the leap to actually owning sheep, but learned a lot from the magazine (and they always included a knitting pattern, too...)
I just googled for the address, here it is (I don't believe they have a web site)
The Shepherd Magazine
Guy Flora
5696 Johnston Rd
New Washington, OH 44854-9736
E-mail: shepmag@bright.net
Phone: 419-492-2364
Fax: 419-492-2128
You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands - You shall be happy and it shall be well with you. -Psalm 128.2
Visit my blog at http://brightmeadowfarms.blogspot.com ,web site store at http://www.watkinsonline.com/fish or my homepage at http://home.earthlink.net/~brightmeadow |
|
|
|
Tracey
True Blue Farmgirl
766 Posts
Tracey
State of Confusion
USA
766 Posts |
Posted - Feb 16 2007 : 3:32:25 PM
|
It really depends on the breed in terms of easy to manage or not. Some are relatively simple, others higher maintenance.
I've currently got East Friesians, which are a dair breed. There are very few purebreds around due to import restrictions, but the four I have range from 70-85%. They are without a doubt the friendliest sheep I've ever had, and everyone I know will agree.
I sold my icelandics to get the EFs. Icelandics are nice, too, but more a niche market if you're looking for sales. Although...there does seem to be a growing interest. You'll need to do your homework if you plan on getting top dollar for them. Small time breeders will get $2-400, bigger breeders double that. Just remember, bigger doesn't always mean better quality...but often it does  Just depends on what you're looking for.
A nice thing with icelandics is that they've got a flavorful meat and, despite appearing smaller in size, you still get a good yield of meat because they've got a smaller bone.
Do you spin? I find icelandic rather limited in that department, but they felt beautifully! But for spinning, I find there are a lot of breeds that are far superior. Blue Faced Leicester is one of my favorites; comprable to merino in softness.
"Carrot" is one of my EF rams; handspinners were going gaga over his fleece last year. Of course, the blackberry branch wasn't in it at the time!
Beatrice was a bottle baby from last year; she's an icelandic.
A friend of mine raises dorsets, which are marketed as dual purpose, but personally I'm not fond of them. I had a couple, but they were pretty obnoxious sheep. Romneys are pretty easy to manage...easiest keeping sheep I've ever owned, without a doubt! Nice fleece, but a bit coarse compared to the BFL or merino.
BTW...if you're not worried about selling large quantities of meat, and are really more into spinning, I wouldn't worry too much about if the animal is a meat breed. You can eat any of them
Visit Quiet Storm, our adopted Mustang! http://wildaboutquietstorm.com
http://carpentercreek.blogspot.com http://mustangdiaries.blogspot.com http://marbletownangels.blogspot.com
|
|
|
|
lambgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
93 Posts
Heidi
Ellensburg
wa
USA
93 Posts |
Posted - Feb 16 2007 : 5:10:28 PM
|
Birdie
We have suffolks and columbia cross sheep. If you want a fiber sheep I love to spin the columbia wool. The suffolk are the black faced lambs they are mainly a meat lamb because their wool is courser. One of my ewes, her name is Cindy she is so sweet she opens the gate for me when it's feeding time. Have you tried the library for reference material. Also it depends on what area you live in some breeds do better in different climates.
Heidi
|
|
|
|
Aunt Jenny
True Blue Farmgirl
11381 Posts
Jenny
middle of
Utah
USA
11381 Posts |
Posted - Feb 16 2007 : 5:16:38 PM
|
We will be getting a suffolk lamb for daughter to raise for the fair this year. It will sure be different. Last time we had a suffolk was years ago when second son (who is 26..almost 27 now!) was 15 and raised one for FFA for the fair!!
Jenny in Utah
Inside me there is a skinny woman crying to get out...but I can usually shut her up with cookies
http://www.auntjennysworld.blogspot.com/ visit my little online shop at www.auntjenny.etsy.com |
|
|
|
Libbie
Farmgirl Connection Cultivator
3579 Posts
Anne E.
Elsinore
Utah
USA
3579 Posts |
Posted - Feb 16 2007 : 10:34:18 PM
|
I DO have the two little Icelandic lambies from Aunt Jenny - the one in her photo is Bonnie! They were just sheared yesterday, and they are darling - and their fleeces are good, although I've never worked with fleece before, so that's a new one for me. The rest of our sheep are Columbia/Rambolais crosses and Suffolks. I just love the Suffolks - they are big and smart and, well, a lot like a deer in sheep's clothing, to me. I think, however, that I probably couldn't eat my Icelandics, they are WAY too cute, but I can definitely eat the other lambs. Just off the cuff, I think a Columbia would be a good dual-purpose breed, but there really are so many interesting ones, it would be wise to look around a lot...
XOXO, Libbie
"Nothing is worth more than this day." - Goethe |
|
|
|
gregs_lil_farmgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
219 Posts
birdi
hartford
me
USA
219 Posts |
Posted - Feb 19 2007 : 10:51:49 AM
|
Thank you so much, ladies. I have read so much, and it is just so good to hear real life not text books. I was really concerned that the lambing process would be difficult. You know... are bottle fed lambs the norm? or do their mothers take care of them? That kind of thing. It was encouraging to hear that you girls have good luck with them. Is it difficult to learn to spin? I really want to do that. Expense and time of spinning?
Again thank you so much for your help and good luck to the lambs.
-Simple pleasures make my heart smile- |
|
|
|
Aunt Jenny
True Blue Farmgirl
11381 Posts
Jenny
middle of
Utah
USA
11381 Posts |
Posted - Feb 19 2007 : 12:09:59 PM
|
I havn't had to bottle feed ANY lambs. So far all my ewes (small flock, though, remember) have been great moms. I have had more botttle babies with my goats.
Jenny in Utah
Inside me there is a skinny woman crying to get out...but I can usually shut her up with cookies
http://www.auntjennysworld.blogspot.com/ visit my little online shop at www.auntjenny.etsy.com |
|
|
|
Tracey
True Blue Farmgirl
766 Posts
Tracey
State of Confusion
USA
766 Posts |
Posted - Feb 19 2007 : 2:39:38 PM
|
Birdi, bummers (bottle lambs) aren't the norm. Ours was brought inside because I'd been sick, the ewe hadn't been shorn and she kept losing sight of the ewe lamb. We left the ram lamb with her as he appeared more aggressive when it came to nursing. I didn't have the energy that day to hold the ewe so Tameka could nurse (and DD was happy enough to have a bottle baby...for a day or two, then it was tiring!)
Spinning is like cooking or art...some folks find it simple as can be, others just never take to it. You can make your own drop spindle, or buy one, and it's not terribly expensive. Of course, a wheel get's you further, faster, and there are tons of varieties. I'd suggest finding a shop near you where you can look at everything and even try out different wheels to see which one you like best.
Visit Quiet Storm, our adopted Mustang! http://wildaboutquietstorm.com
http://carpentercreek.blogspot.com http://mustangdiaries.blogspot.com http://marbletownangels.blogspot.com
|
|
|
| |
Barnyard Buddies: are sheep difficult or demanding to raise? |
|
are sheep difficult or demanding to raise?
