[fizzgigg]

i have a few acres and have had sheep before (cade lambs) and just forward thinking to next year and running a small flock what breeds would you reccomend?

[Anke]

Look what your neighbours have, don't know which area of the country you are in and what your land is like. If you want to buy any just now, you might want to look for either ewes-in-lamb (a bit later in the winter) or store lambs (females, so you can keep some and breed from the next autumn, just make sure they have the right EID tags).

Other than that - which breed takes your fancy?

[fizzgigg]

im in the north west just about in lancashire most of the farmers near me keep beef cattle my land isnt to bad it is quite open n boggy in places but on the whole not too bad

[Anke]

Go for a breed that can cope with wetter ground, some of the heavy breeds might have more foot problems on wet ground. I have Shetlands and would ´recommend them as beginners choice, easy to handle, easy lambers, not too large and also not too expensive to buy. But the not so large also means that the lambs either have to be sold as lightweight ones, or kept until 18 months and sold as hoggets, and you will not get as much for them as you would for txl crosses of one of the mules for example (prime lambs). maybe best to go to your nearest livestock market on lamb sale day and see what people are selling? Also I think store lambs will be sold soon.

Other option - any smalholders in your area with sheep - always good to chat to them. If you are looking for a small flock only, buying from another small flock has the advantage that the sheep/lambs are more likely to be bucket trained and used to being handled.

There are 90 odd breeds of sheep in Britain i heard today on the radio.... so have fun choosing!

[OhLaLa]

Total beginner with sheep myself, I went for Suffolk Black's (Shaun the sheep!) but I am at the opposite end of the country to you. I don't know if I did right but I got store lambs for mating next year and will be searching for in lamb ewes in a month or so.

I've a lot to learn but loving it.

    

[katie]

We were in the same position as you a year ago - we'd had cade (practice) lambs and went on to choose Wiltshire Horn after much deliberation. We chose them because of not having to shear (difficult to find a shearer for a small flock) and because of no fleece, less worry about flystrike and less need to use chemicals. They're also docile and good mothers ( and taste good too!)

[waterhouse]

We were keen on the Wiltshire Horn until we went to the Stoneleigh show and sale where we thought they were just too feisty for us.  One breeder told us that they were great outdoor lambers which was just as well because they'd destroy any building they were put in.

We haven't quite decided what to go for when our commercial crosses depart.  We've done our homework by visiting lots of shows and auctions but every breeder we talk to is keen on his/her type and can give lots of reasons why all the other candidates are not appropriate!  We really liked the Dartmoor but there are none within a hundred miles of us so current fave is the Oxford Down which has good local representation here.  Fallback is the Southdown which is scarcely rare.

We want a good meaty sheep with no attitude (we've got a Welsh Section D pony already).  Any views?

[katie]

Our Wiltshire's are quite docile, bucket-trained and lambed indoors with no problem last year. Must be down to the bloodline.

[Fleecewife]

Hi Fizzgigg.  perhaps you should start from the other end and ask what you want your sheep to do ie what are they for. 
Do you just want them for meat?  In that case there is still a choice - if you have a big family you might want the largest and quickest growing breed your land can support - if there are just 1 or 2 of you and you are foodies, you will want to go for a tastier, slower growing breed such as Hebridean, Shetland, Jacob, with smaller joints.
It sounds as if your land can be wet - you will need a breed which can take those conditions ie with hard feet (black hoof is slightly better than white in the wet, so Hebrideans, Black Welsh Mountain). 
If you are in an area of high rainfall you will need to choose a breed with an appropriate fleece - Hebridean, Icelandic but not the big woolly breeds like Merino.
Is your pasture lush, average or poor?  The bigger downland breeds would struggle on poorer pasture, whereas some of the primitives would struggle on too lush grass, and prefer a variety of plants in their sward.
Do you need your sheep to be easy to handle?  A small breed such as Shetland would be the one - they are hopelessly friendly and small.
Do you want to use their wool?  There are large numbers of fleece breeds out there but again Shetlands win out, all other things considered. Hand shearing with blades is easy to learn so you are self reliant.
Do you want your sheep to be beautiful?  In that case you want something like Jacob, Hebridean, Coloured Shetland, or any other breed which catches your eye - everyone has their favourites here.
Do you want to support our valuable rare and traditional breeds?  There are a number of options here from the very rare which you can see on the RBST website, or more traditional breeds which vary from the primitives such as Hebridean, Manx Loughtan, Soay, Shetland, to down breeds, or breeds which are local to your area, such as Herdwicks or Derbyshire Gritstone (depending on where you live).
Do you want to sell meat lambs through a local market? - see what sells in your area.
The options are enormous, but you have plenty of time to research the possibilities.

[onnyview]

Balwens are a good choice. Hardy, great mothers, pretty, good feet, small and more dcile than some of the primitive breeds. They also produce great meat. Being a Welsh Mountain type they wuld cope well with your area. Hill Radnors are also very docile and hardy, feet not quite as good a Balwens as they are bigger but a good inbetweener.

Allison

[jacob and Georgina]

i would agree with onnyview, i will be keeping sheep soon and after much research have decided to go with balwens, they seem very docile and friendly and are very nice to look at! also i have heard that they are very good mothers and in their first year they usually only have 1 lamb not sure if this is true? check rbst website as it is always good to look after rare breeds before they go extinct!

[onnyview]

Yes, Balwens mainly have 1 lamb, even after their first year (In our flock anyway). Great mothers too and so, so pretty. The meat is good and we've crossed them in the past too to get a bigger lamb. I've got 3 ewe lambs for sale if anyone wants them!

Allison

[piggy]

Where are you onnyview?

[onnyview]

Shropshire. I do have pictures in an ad on this site and also on the website www.onnyview.moonfruit.com.

[piggy]

Shame sorry to far for me.