[ScotsGirl]

I have to disagree on getting company for Colin. I have hand reared two ewe lambs who spent their first few months in or around the house playing with my dogs . I didn't rear the, both at the same time but the outcome was the same.


Both would rather come with me than go with the flock and if they could get back in the garden they would. I think it depends on each individual animal and obviously their own kind is better but if happy with other company then that should be ok.

[Cazzie]

Hi all 
Nobody has mentioned Ouessant sheep, so me being a breeder of these wonderful characters and Vice Chairman of the U.K. breed society, I thought I would 'chip in'.  I am in Herefordshire near Leominster, and you are very welcome to pop over and look at my flock.  As you can see from the picture, they are VERY friendly, don't jump like other primitives, and are really hardy - they will need shearing though.
I have a website if you'd like to take a look.
www.ouessantsheep.co.uk
Regards
 

[Pixie]

We are in Mid Wales between Newtown and Welshpool.

We are sw wales so unfortunately a bit far especially as i haven't past my driving test yet!(which is a nightmare out here!)But thankyou anyway.

Thanks so much for that fleece wife,plenty of useful info!Yes it's ewes i want and the shetlands look lovely,i'v also been looking at the black welsh mountain breed as apparently they are good to have with children.I'v done a little felting in the past so am looking forward to trying it with my own wool.Can i ask what roo'd involves?i'm a complete novice!I think it might be a plan to have three,it makes alot of sence 

Rosemary i am on the pembrokeshire/carmarthenshire border next to the Preselli hills.

Thanks again x

Hi again Pixie.  In many ways it would be good to have a local breed such as the BWM, as you will be near breeders, and local people will understand the breed you have.  However there is the problem of shearing.
 
The roo'ing I mentioned with Shetlands, which you also do with Soay, involves pulling the old wool off when the new season's wool has grown about an inch.  This doesn't hurt the animal and doesn't require a shearer, so allows you to be self-sufficient with your mini flock.  Occasionally other breeds such as Hebrideans can be roo'd, but not usually.
We keep Hebs, Soay and Shetlands and in the past have kept Jacobs, Manx Loughtan, a Gotland and a whole variety of cross-breds.  Although I love our Soay, they can be difficult to keep and are not an obvious petting sheep, although in small numbers they do become very tame (some of ours poke around in our pockets looking for treats)  Their fleece is not all that wonderful for craft work and is very tiny, so with just three Soay it would take a couple of years or so to collect a bagful of fleece.
 
Are there any Shetland and BWM breeders near you that you could visit to talk about the different breeds and see them close up?  They will both have websites for contacts.

I have just foun out that a family friend keeps BWM and got the from a breeder just down the road, i'm hoping to go visit her this week and i think i'v found a breeder in the localish area who doe shetlands so i think i will see if i can go visit there aswell!

Hi all 
Nobody has mentioned Ouessant sheep, so me being a breeder of these wonderful characters and Vice Chairman of the U.K. breed society, I thought I would 'chip in'.  I am in Herefordshire near Leominster, and you are very welcome to pop over and look at my flock.  As you can see from the picture, they are VERY friendly, don't jump like other primitives, and are really hardy - they will need shearing though.
I have a website if you'd like to take a look.
www.ouessantsheep.co.uk
Regards
 

Wow Cazzie these look like fantastic sheep too!There is just so much choice and i think they may be on the list too!hahha!

What does everyone think of crossbreads?Someone told me they go for a pretty reasonable price at the mo and that pretty much any sheep can be tamed?

Thanks x

[ZaktheLad]

The majority of my small flock are crossbreeds and you couldn't get a friendly bunch!  I started off 30 years ago with 2 x crossbreed orphans ewe lambs that I bottlefed and then eventually bred from when they reached maturity.  I used to walk them both around on collars and leads and they used to be great fun.  Lambing them was easy too as they would just stay put in the largest of fields when you walked up to them to check on progress etc.   I personally love crossbreed sheep and think they would make excellent pets for you

[kanisha]

What cazzie forgot to mention about Ouessant sheep is their size which makes them appealing as they are less intimidating and much easier to handle. This is one of my adult rams at a full 46 cm to the shoulder. I would add having got a tame wether hand reared as a single lamb whilst initially he took a little time to get used to other sheep he is a much happier chap for having the best of both worlds and being super friendly with people and yet comfortable with sheepy friends when humans are otherwise engaged.

[Marches Farmer]

Sold three Southdown ewe lambs to a chap in Derbyshire who wanted paddock grazers he thought looked more appealing than his Ouessants ......

[SteveHants]

I have to disagree on getting company for Colin. I have hand reared two ewe lambs who spent their first few months in or around the house playing with my dogs . I didn't rear the, both at the same time but the outcome was the same.


Both would rather come with me than go with the flock and if they could get back in the garden they would. I think it depends on each individual animal and obviously their own kind is better but if happy with other company then that should be ok.

However, if Animal Health visit you - they will view a lone sheep as a welfare issue (having one orphan waiting for company aside), so Id be aware of that.

[kanisha]

Sold three Southdown ewe lambs to a chap in Derbyshire who wanted paddock grazers he thought looked more appealing than his Ouessants ......

Marches farmer everyone is entitled to their preferences however I would to a degree agree with you. I am no fan of starrey ( thats as in stare not star) eyed sheep and too many of the Ouessants particularly of dutch breeding have a bug eyed look about them and lets be honest southdowns can be cute!!

so heres my offering on cute-r ouessants

[GaddesdenGal]

Sold three Southdown ewe lambs to a chap in Derbyshire who wanted paddock grazers he thought looked more appealing than his Ouessants ......

I have Southdown ewe lambs this year after having had crossbred of my own always before (always good) and working with larger commercial breeds. They are SO cuddly and child friendly. They love a fuss and follow me everywhere if they can. Though small in stature they are far chunkier than the Ouessant so if you're going to be doing the lifting and turning on your own that might be worth bearing in mind. My lovely cuddly Southdown ewes are little leadweights!

[Cazzie]

Sold three Southdown ewe lambs to a chap in Derbyshire who wanted paddock grazers he thought looked more appealing than his Ouessants ......

Marches farmer everyone is entitled to their preferences however I would to a degree agree with you. I am no fan of starrey ( thats as in stare not star) eyed sheep and too many of the Ouessants particularly of dutch breeding have a bug eyed look about them and lets be honest southdowns can be cute!!

so heres my offering on cute-r ouessants

Bug Eyed?..........'starey'?.........that's a very sweeping statement 
Pop over for a cuppa next time you're in the U.K. and give me your opinion on mine........
 
 

[kanisha]

Hi Cazzie you should check out the differences I can see them from the photo you posted.  Even the dutch breeders would happily admit the shorter blunter more wedge shaped head and broader bridge to the nose as a difference in french Ouessants of course the dutch prefer them as they breed them but they do acknowledge the difference.

[Cazzie]

I'm certain that there's room for any subtle differences.....who's to say which type is 'better'?
Perhaps it's down to personal preference.........when breeding any animal be it dogs, horses etc. there's room for interpretation is there not?  Maybe someone else can add something to this debate? Or maybe not, I don't want to hijack this thread 

[Pixie]

The majority of my small flock are crossbreeds and you couldn't get a friendly bunch!  I started off 30 years ago with 2 x crossbreed orphans ewe lambs that I bottlefed and then eventually bred from when they reached maturity.  I used to walk them both around on collars and leads and they used to be great fun.  Lambing them was easy too as they would just stay put in the largest of fields when you walked up to them to check on progress etc.   I personally love crossbreed sheep and think they would make excellent pets for you

Well i'v actually decided that crossbreads are probably for me!Seeing as purebread animals often have health problems and also they seem to be pretty expensive!I am currently looking at some shetlands with Jacob in them.

[in the hills]

Good luck and enjoy your sheep keeping, Pixie.


We looked after our neighbours Jacobs and their X bred lambs on our land before committing to owning our own sheep. They were very calm and soon got used to even our bouncy dog.


Have fun. 

[Marches Farmer]

I have Southdown ewe lambs this year after having had crossbred of my own always before (always good) and working with larger commercial breeds. They are SO cuddly and child friendly. They love a fuss and follow me everywhere if they can. Though small in stature they are far chunkier than the Ouessant so if you're going to be doing the lifting and turning on your own that might be worth bearing in mind. My lovely cuddly Southdown ewes are little leadweights!
[/quote]

There's certainly an appealinI a sheep you can tuck under one arm.  One of my SD cull ewes once broke away from the market porter and he chased her across the car park, cornered her and tried to carry her back to the pens.  I took pity on him after he'd gone 25 metres and we carried her back slung between us.  He had to go off for a sit down and cup of tea afterwards ...