[danielmacconnell]

could anyone give me reasons to or to not buy ryeland sheep?

[Rosemary]

We have Coloured Ryelands and think they're great - they suit our system. Tup lambs are uncastrated and go to slaughter at six months or so. Excellent lamb. Ewes are pretty easy lambing (probably not as easy as some of the primities though); don't get lame; good milky mums. Docile and predisposed to like people. Awfy bonny 

[Bionic]

I love my Rylands. I have 3 white and 3 coloured. No foot problems, no escaping (their legs are too short to jump fences)
I have had some prolapse problems before lambing (they were probably too fat) but they have all lambed fairly easily and were great mums.

[Marches Farmer]

I love my Rylands. I have 3 white and 3 coloured. No foot problems, no escaping (their legs are too short to jump fences)
I have had some prolapse problems before lambing (they were probably too fat) but they have all lambed fairly easily and were great mums.

We used to see that occasionally in our Southdowns (now culled out) but one year used calcium injections in a preventative as an experiment on one excellent ewe that prolapsed late in pregnancy and the following two years she had large twins with no problems.  Like the other Down breeds Ryelands are very docile.

[Anke]

Just advise your shearer that you have Ryelands.... they have fleece EVERYWHERE... some shearers won't touch them.

[Deere]

It all depends on your set up and ground.

My own Ryelands have suited parts of my system better than the charolais have.

I sell all of my own lambs as meat boxes and wouldnt want to put any into our local market as the commercial buyers would turn their noses up at them.

I can also take on temporary grazing from people who dont want to renew poor fencing, with a few repairs fields can be made Ryeland proof as they are too short legged to be real escape artists. This is handy when you dont know for how long the grazing will be made available and you havent spent a fortune on it.

Some shearers dont like Ryelands due to the amount of extra clipping they take although with a few extra £'s most will take them on.

If you know someone with Ryelands it maybe worth a visit,  preferably someone whos not trying to sell you some as they may be a little biast 

[Buffy the eggs layer]

I keep them and love them for all the positives that others have mentioned but in the interests of balance here are some possible reasons not to buy them.


As they are soooo woolly the can be more prone to heat stroke . I shear in May to avoid this and provide shelters in each field. They can also need the wool around their eyes trimming in winter.


My whites need their feet trimming about every 6 weeks. The coloreds feet are not a problem.


Flystrike can be an issue. I have at least one sheep with fly eggs each summer.


Some Ryelands are the small type and therefore do not produce as big a carcass as other breeds.


Ryeland fleece is great for spinning and needle felting but wont wet felt.


They are great at following a bucket but dont like being herded especially by dogs.


They do well on poor land and tight grazing but can soon get fat on rich pasture and the extra weight is hard to shift.


Basically the main reason people seem to choose them over other breeds is their docile, friendly nature. If you want sheep that love a cuddle and are full of confidence and character then you choose Ryelands.[size=78%] [/size]
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[JFisherGreenlea]

We have a flock of 25 Coloured Ryeland which we've increased over the past 2 years.  They are a very docile breed and ideal for new starter flocks.  I graze mine with my horse in rotation on the paddocks.
We've started showing them over the past year and they're really friendly - my 6 year old nephew can handle them!

[Remy]

I've had 2 purebred Ryeland rams over the last 8 years serving all my ewes (various breeds purebred and crossbred).  They have produced some very nice market lambs.


Pros - they are generally pretty docile and not very good at escaping due to their stocky bodies and relatively short legs!


Cons - Masses of fleece everywhere, my shearer said Ryelands are generally the most unpopular breed amongst shearers due to the time taken shearing them.


Also they are prone to flystrike due to their thick fleeces - most of mine who get flystrike are the Ryeland crosses and the rams also get it regularly.

[Talana]

be careful that it is a well bred strain my daughter bought a pedigree ryeland and it is the most susceptible to lameness and foot rot amongst all our sheep normally this type would be culled but hard do do with daughters pet sheep so we are persevering with it. They are cute though and more docile than other breeds although require trimming round the eyes occasionally as they can't see for wool!