[jaykay]

Everyone will tell you about their favourite breeds, so the thing to do really is to go to some shows/sales and see what you like the look of.

I have swapped to Shetlands from Rough Fells (which I still love) because the Roughs became too big for me to turn on my own. Interestingly the chap I bought my first Shetlands from had gone into them from Grey Faced Dartmoors, for the same reason. Am loving my little Shetlands now

Depends on your age, muscle power, handling facilities.........

[roddycm]

If you essentially just want pets/lawnmowers and you aren't going to breed or eat them then don't get anything thats going to get too fat as its simply not fair on the poor animal, especially in the warmer months. I'd strongly urge a cpl of females that have lambs every year and you then either sell the lambs or put them in the freezer. If you are set against this then go for a more active native breed like manx, soay, castlemilk moorit, hebredean, boray or shetland... Not north ronaldsay because of the copper issues. There are also ouessant sheep which are very small and cute if that appeals. All these breeds tend to put on wieght slower, have good feet and are hardy whilst also being very attractive to look at and low maintenance! I've had manx and castlemilks before with normal stock fencing and contrary to popular pork pies they were not escape artists, i had no problems what so ever. They were bucket trained and very calm!

Good luck!

[Brucklay]

Right with you there Roddycm - My shetlands and Castlemilk so far have not gone wandering but we have what I would call decent fencing. My understanding is if a dog can get through a hole in your fencing then sooner or later a clever shetland or Moorit is going to find the hole and investigate!!

[JulieWall]

As nobody has mentioned this yet, can I add that it isn't a good idea to keep anything with horns alongside something without horns...... just in case of injury, accidental or otherwise.
I hear that Ryelands are incredibly easy to tame and I used to know a lady who had a Ryeland wether and he just stood nicely every year to be hand clipped. That does sound like a good choice to me if you have no experience with sheep. The wool isn't long either so it should stay nice and clean round the back end, which helps avoid strike (not a guarantee though). They always look like teddy bears to me.

[steve_pr]

Well like everyone else I will declare my bias for Greyface Dartmoors - we have a reasonably large flock of them, together with a smaller number of Ryelands (both white and coloured), and my next door neighbour keeps Southdowns (amongst other things!).


So how to choose? As background I will say we are newcomers, only started last year so have had to learn fast. Handling is an issue, you need to go on a course or find someone to show you how to turn one over without damaging yourself (the sheep seem much less likely to be affected!). All the three breeds you mention are similar sized (medium!) but our experience is the Ryelands are more skittish than the others - when we are having trouble gathering them up it is always the Ryelands leading the charge in the opposite direction! The GFDs are very placid, just stay calm and move slow and they will do likewise.


As far as wool is concerned GFDs produce a lot (we got 10.5kg of our older ram) but we are fortunate here in West Wales to have plenty of experts who like the challenge of shearing them (and do it for a reasonable price so that we can actually make money from the wool!). The Ryelands have a much tighter wool with avery different texture. This turned out to be important this year with the dreaded flystrike issue (and that can affect all breeds it seems). The GFDs wool is long but fairly open so you can easily get down to the skin and check. The Ryelands (and I would guess the Southdowns) are much tighter and we really struggled to find the darned maggots, but they were there all right, so the shorter (but tighter) wool seems no real plus in that respect.


Generally speaking we find the rams less of a problem to handle than the ewes, with the exception of the mature rams (we have 2 GFD rams) who get rather visibly excited (if you get the picture) when my wife is in the field, but will saunter up to me and demand to have their ears scratched! Despite their additional weight they are easy to turn over (we use a 'deck chair' type seat and simply back them in and they sit there looking dopey whilst you do whatever!  The ram lambs are equally docile, whilst the ewes will struggle and fight you all the way! We don't castrate (no sense in having a non-productive sheep around! but we do have to separate the ram and ewe lambs at weaning to avoid teenage pregnancies (we don't put ours to the tup in year 1 which seems common for the slower growing breeds).


As has been said, Ryelands aren't rare any more, GFDs are in the lowest category now with about 1500 ewes.


We have GFDs (ewes, yearlings and lambs) to sell but ultimately find something you like the look of - you will spend a lot of time watching them! They all have their moments and their problems (they are sheep after all, their prime aim in life is to die!).

[smudger]

I've had / have 3 sheep breeds: GFD's (lovely lambs, not so sure about full grown sheep), shetlands (endearing and smaller but challenging in different ways) and now have Lleyns (one lambing season  emphasised I wanted lively lambs AND easy lambers, and maybe rare breeds would take a back seat to 'traditional / native').


As suggested elsewhere, go see sheep.  In meantime buy some lambs for the freezer, doesn't matter what just get some sheepy experience.  I bought a couple of in lamb 4-tooth ewes to get me some lambing experience.  I would also really suggest you look at 'local' sheep and also consider, since you won't have a lot of sheep to maybe make it worth while having a ram, if you can 'hire a ram'. Something to discuss when you buy lambs from the breeder. 


Another aspect of buying 'local' breeds is their suitability to your land / climate - not just flystrike but also feet as well. Now I have 60 odd breeding ewes it makes a huge time difference if I have to trim feet once a year or 2-3 times (I will be implementing a cull policy accordingly...). Ditto dagging mucky bums (during which I almost, almost, wish I were back in an office job). Is there an oxford / cotswold sheep breed?


The other thing is do you need to buy sheep? Look in Tim Tynes book for the ' sheep system' in the UK - you can offer 'tack' even if you don't want to rent out land. Could give you opportunity to gain experience if you helped the farmer out and get some lamb for freezer in return even if not cash. Why do you want sheep - pedigree / rare breed stock (who/ how will sell stock) for meat or for wool? Also don't underestimate the amount of sheep equipment you can end up buying in addition to the cost of breeding stock. I have literally spent thousands on hurdles and lambing equipment plus weigh crate and turnover crate and livestock trailer. I really want / need a sheep race....and more sheds....

[Lorrie66]

Hello everyone,

and so many thanks for all the replies & insights!
they have definitely helped me make a choice having failed to find a local farmer who has the time for the paperwork to put sheep on our land! Cant say I blame them if they are not short of grazing. And I did also try Sheep Keep but to no avail....

Fortunately, (I think !) my mind was made for me as everything seemed to fit into place ....so I have just bought 2 GFD wethers aged 5 months!
The plus points seemed to out weigh the minuses, and as I don't want to breed (not yet anyway) this seemed my best starting point.
1. The breeder is 10 miles from me and happy to keep in touch and help with advice when needed
2. They have given me the details of their shearer ready for next year
3. They are wethers so don't have to worry about rams or ewes
4. They have been handled since birth and are bucket trained
5. Our vet (for dogs and cats) has also bought 2 GFD ewes from the same breeder and is also happy to help me out if I am stuck
6. I had a quick lesson on trimming feet, worming and vaccs. But the breeder is happy to help out if needed
7. I also had a go at turning one ..... hopefully that will get better with practice!
8. They look absolutely gorgeous
9. They will love our paddocks and garden
10. They are on the risk list so although these wont breed at least they are serving a good purpose

Tomorrow we are off to buy stock fencing for our post and rail and feet trimmers and we should be set to pick them up once all the paperwork done !

BFN

[silkiechick]

yeah another GFD convert     they are very lovely sheep I adore mine but I did treat myself to a cheap turnover crate off fleabay small price to pay rather than being laid up with a bad back from trying to turn them over

[Lorrie66]

thanks silkiechick for that tip! I will look into a turnover crate ... sounds useful!

[silkiechick]

I did big Bernards feet the other day he,s mahoosive & I could never turn him myself it,s good to hold them in for dagging,drenching etc.Worth every penny often see them at farm sales too just lucky the fleabay one was local to me so I could collect it

[JulieWall]

It took me a while to find this but now I have, hopefully someone will find it handy.
http://theroundhouse.freeforums.org/something-handy-to-know-about-handling-sheep-t393.html
This link explains (as best I could) an easy method of sitting a sheep on it's bum without stressing the sheep or hurting yourself. I can sit my Suffolk tup on his bum easily despite being weakened by decades of arthritis - he has a body like a farmhouse table and he knows it too!
Sorry about the photos, they aren't the best but may help with the explaination.

[jaykay]

Wethers are a great way to start, and are often especially friendly.

I do like GFDs, they are such handsome animals