The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: mowhaugh on August 02, 2014, 10:17:15 am
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I am thinking of getting a small number of ewes (maybe 4?) for my smallest son who is 2 and completely obsessed with sheep. I am wanting something that is small, for obvious reasons, and will quieten down very easily so he can handle them himself, closely supervised.
Not worried at all about commercial viability etc. just want to keep his interest up - everything we have here is just too big and lively! Tasty lambs a bonus.
I know there will be lots of different opinions, would love to hear them all!
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Castlemilk Moorits from Glasgow Children's Farm - ready-tamed ;)
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Shetlands - really cuddly, friendly and easy to manage. You can have each one in a different colour too - then of course he can learn to :spin: ;D Plenty of young handlers classes at shows too, and experience amongst members of advising them.
They're not as small as Ouessants, but I'm not sure of their natures or availability.
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I agree with Fleecewife - Shetlands sound like a really good choice ! :wave:
I am thinking of getting my first flock of Shetlands and I am a tad bit older than 2, but still a big kid at heart!! So I wanted my first sheep to be easy to handle, come to the bucket, easy lambers and they are very hardy (if they can survive Shetland's weather!) they can put up with our Scottish Borders weather! Oh yes, their meat is supposed to be lean with a fine texture even tough you have a smaller carcass.
Luckily, the Secretary of the Shetland Sheep Society, Denise Playfair, only lives up the road from us at Stichill in Kelso . I met her at the Border Union Show and she really loves her Shetlands and she won lots of rosettes!! She really sold the breed to me as I was also considering Ryelands and Jacobs - discounted those now for my first flock. She welcomes folk to phone her and she said that I could arrange to go up to her small holding as she has lambs and ewes for sale. I'm sure she won't mind me saying that as she is a really helpful lady!
You have a lucky little boy - wish I had started my smallholding years ago!!
Interesting to hear other recommendations :sheep:
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Thanks, everyone, keep the ideas coming! I am only 15 minutes from Kelso, so that could be very handy.
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I see that you have Kerry Hills - they are lovely looking sheep and you did very well at the Borders Union Show. Are they not a good option for your son? What are they like for a first timer like me? We're at Linton , so close to you... :wave:
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Southdowns have very docile natures. They were traditionally grazed on the South Downs during the day then brought down the hills to be folded in the fields overnight, so their dung fertilised the soil. Their calm temperament is testament to the fact their shepherd was with them all day. Their other advantage for small children is that they really do look like Teddy Bears!
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Shetlands ideal for your location, easy to handle and bucket-train, great to eat even if he gets fed up in a couple of years, and you can cross-breed the ewes to one of your commercial tups.
If he wanted to show (and at age 2 he probably is a tad too young) yes pedigree is important, BUT if you also wanted to have some lambs to sell I would go for non-showing sheep as the first ones you have - the price tag the showing folk put on their ewes is just not justified if it doesn't work out.
Only - don't breed them to a commercial sized tup for their first lambing and choose a boy that isn't too broad-shouldered for their subsequent lambings. Cross-bred lambs usually sell well at the special light-markets beg of December at St Boswells, weights around 30 to 35kgs live-weight.
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Charmoise.
Only joking!
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well Ouessants of course ;-) I'm not sure that they would be that easy to come by where you are but for size they can't be beaten. Can be halter trained for ease of handling for even the smallest of children but like most breeds pick carefully some can be quite skittish others are ideal.
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I see that you have Kerry Hills - they are lovely looking sheep and you did very well at the Borders Union Show. Are they not a good option for your son? What are they like for a first timer like me? We're at Linton , so close to you... :wave:
I love my Kerrys, but they are big, sharp sheep. Even when well handled, they are still a bit unpredictable, and I won't take the children into the shed where the Kerrys are at lambing time as they are ultra possessive of their lambs. Looking for something smaller and quieter until he is bigger. I am not sure I would particularly recommend them as sheep for a new keeper, but of course it depends how much experience you have too. You are welcome to come for a visit if you don't mind total chaos!
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Ryelands aren't exactly small but they are very docile and gentle. Last year one of my ram lambs was bought by KatyD on here for her small son to start with. He wasn't quite as young as 2 though.
I see that recently she has been looking to sell her Balwens to concentrate on the Coloured Ryelands so my lamb must have given a good account of himself :) :sheep:
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Have to agree I love my Coloured Ryelands, very friendly and come running as soon as they see you.
They follow me around like a dog and even this years lambs come to you for a head scratch
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Coloured Ryelands without a doubt, mine come up to my little one (5 years old) in the field including the lambs and thats without the ewes having any feed since lambing.
And at the end of the day you still have a "meaty" carcass.
My son has been doing young handlers this year at local shows and has managed to get place 3rd out of 15 competitors all aged 11yrs and under whilst holding his ryeland :)
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Coloured Ryelands without a doubt, mine come up to my little one (5 years old) in the field including the lambs and thats without the ewes having any feed since lambing.
And at the end of the day you still have a "meaty" carcass.
My son has been doing young handlers this year at local shows and has managed to get place 3rd out of 15 competitors all aged 11yrs and under whilst holding his ryeland :)
Well done to your son Katy :trophy:
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Get Zwartbles, I know that they are not small but they turn into real pets and mine come over for a cuddle every time that I'm in the field and usually respond individually to their own names. Sometimes when I sit down just watch them graze they come and sprawl out beside me. That are all round just relaxed, calm, docile and naturally friendly sheep. If you want I could post some pictures. Hope this helps.
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Get Zwartbles, I know that they are not small but they turn into real pets and mine come over for a cuddle every time that I'm in the field and usually respond individually to their own names. Sometimes when I sit down just watch them graze they come and sprawl out beside me. That are all round just relaxed, calm, docile and naturally friendly sheep. If you want I could post some pictures. Hope this helps.
Thanks, I have had Zwartbles in the past and really liked them, but they just did not thrive on our fairly extreme hill farm - they took such a lot of feeding they cost me a fortune, and I had deliberately picked ones from harder going. I sold the whole flock to a seven year old girl, who was delighted with them (she's probably 10 or 11 now) Lovely sheep though, I have a few Zwartbles X Cheviot ewes and they are grand sheep.
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Well done, Katy's son! I do really like the look of the coloured Ryelands, but I think Shetlands are probably the best suited to our situation. Also hopefully OH will protest less as they'll take less grass per ewe. I am going to ring the society secretary to find out a bit more, but think they are probably what I want to go ahead with. Am I likely to find more selection/quality at Lanark or Carlisle, or are they pretty much equal? I would like to buy at a sale so I've got more of a selection to look at, and also want to see all the lovely and completely mind boggling colours. So do I let Angus choose the colours he likes, or do I go by myself and choose what I think are the nicest sheep irrespective of colour? I know the genetics are a minefield that take years and years of experience to understand, but I would like to avoid white (and white lambs in future) if possible as we have plenty white sheep already and I'd like these to be different.
Thank you for all the help.
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I got 4 lovely wethers from Bigchicken all were different colours and pretty tame, not sure what he will have this year.
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I'd recommend buying off farm - that way you can see the rest of the flock - how healthy they look, what the grazing's like, how tame they are.
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When I got my shetlands I went for all different colours, I like the mix in the field and when they lamb it's easier to see who is who, I did get one white one but she is the odd one out - funny for a white sheep!!
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Re Lanark or Carlisle, I am going to Lanark and if I don't see there what I want I will go to Carlisle... And if there is nothing that suits you (and your budget - some prices seem to be silly at the sales, given that a Shetland rarely recoups its value, unless used for cross-breeding or you get into showing and are then able o sell at a premium) - there are always some for sale off farm near enough to the Borders. So I wouldn't hurry into it until after the sales really.
One thing to look out for - some people now exclusively breed for extra fine fleece, with the overall conformation, and size in particular suffering - if you want to cross-breed to a terminal sire you will need some body. The white fleeces btw make good enough money if included in your clip and the coloured ones should go privately.
Actually the genetics don't seem to be that mind-boggling, I have read a few articles now and think I understand the basics. There was one in a recent Shetland Sheep Society journal, I could photocopy it for you.
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I think your son will be happy with Shetlands - we have young children visiting to see ours. We have a couple of flighty ones but mainly they become very tame - only takes a bit of feeding ;D . I wish you were nearer here and you could take your pick from my assorted lovelies, sadly most are destined for the freezer.
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Thank you, everyone, this is all very helpful.
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Actually the genetics don't seem to be that mind-boggling, I have read a few articles now and think I understand the basics. There was one in a recent Shetland Sheep Society journal, I could photocopy it for you.
That would be lovely, thank you!
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Hi, I'm having to sell my Shetland flock, all sorts of colours. See ad in Marketplace:
Shetland sheep flock for sale (http://www.accidentalsmallholder.net/forum/index.php?topic=49583.msg438230#msg438230)
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Hi, I'm having to sell my Shetland flock, all sorts of colours. See ad in Marketplace:
Shetland sheep flock for sale (http://www.accidentalsmallholder.net/forum/index.php?topic=49583.msg438230#msg438230)
Have sent you a message!
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Mowhaugh, sounds like you've made a decision (?) to go with Shetlands - good choice even though I am a newbie, but I think they are my sheep of choice!! It's been very interesting to read of everyone's recommendations , as there is such a lot of knowledge & experience on this forum!
I really feel for Jaykay selling her flock, so sorry Jaykay, it must be so upsetting and such a hard decision for you, but if you could give them away to a good home that would be wonderful ! I would love to get started with Shetlands and approach Jay kay myself ,as I now have my CPH number (yippee :excited:) but need to get my fencing sorted out first - this is according to my OH but he is out of the country , so by the time he comes back in October it may be a done deal (tee hee!) and I have my first flock !! ;D
I may still go down to the Shetland Sheep Show & Sale in Lanark on 29 August - a good learning experience as long as I don't stick my hand up and start bidding!! ;)
I will still contact Denise Playfair, Secretary at Shetland Sheep , http://www.shetland-sheep.org.uk/ (http://www.shetland-sheep.org.uk/)
who lives at Stichill ! Mowhaugh, we could chum each other to go up there if you're up for it - I live at Linton so just along the valley from you!!
Best of luck in getting your wee one's first flock....