[Emmett]

I am just wondering what the best sheep breed for a large smallholding? I am very drawn towards Suffolks because of their fast finishing rates, good prices, and general look (they look class!) any input on this is greatly appreciated

[Hillview Farm]

You will find that a lot of people say negative things and that they are dopey lambs. But personally I like them, I have Suffolk cross ewes and last year I put them to Pedigree suffolks and the lambs were lovely. They finished at about 3-4 months on grass alone.

They got up and on with it as lambs, crossbred suffolk ewes are sort after for breeding as shearlings.

Go for it if you like them, no point in having an animal you don't like!

[Blinkers]

Ditto.   Crossbreds are brilliant.   Pure breds can be difficult to lamb but they are lovely sheep.

[Ladygrey]

I personally do not like pure suffolks, I find them too large and cumbersome, lack of a nice rear end (apart from NZ suffolks), lambs can be dopey and not as hardy as some others and I know of pedigree breeders who feed them full of turkey growers pellets to get them looking good for the sale    (I could go on.... but I wont

Suffolk crosses as a ewe are better as they have a bit of hybrid vigor and are a popular cross with downland farmers in the place of the mule, although I had suffolk mules and on the same grass as my other ewes they couldnt keep the weight on and were always too skinny, and I dont know of anyone who lambs then outside and doesnt feed cake so they just didnt suit me

But if you really like a breed then go for it as suffolks may just catch your eye and really suit your system so they could do well for you! 

[Emmett]

Apart from crossbred Suffolks, what breed woul you guys reccommend?

[Ladygrey]

it depends on your system

do you want sheep to just live off grass? do you want to do indoor or outdoor lambing? how good is your fencing?

I keep shetlands and shetland crosses, they are very friendly and cheerful, have a large range of colours, good quality wool and a main reason for me having them was the size! my ewes are between 40-50 kilo, as I shear them myself this is important as I cant handle nigger breeds as easy.

Also I have various blocks of land but I have no barn for lambing! so I needed a hardy breed that can lamb outside and do well on my grass. My input is very low and ewes never get fed apart from grass and a small amount of hay when snowing etc, and when crossed with a charollais or similar they can produce a good lamb which also allows me to produce a higher output from a low input ewe

[Emmett]

I'll be making hay myself in our two acre meadow just to supplement them with if it snows. We have an oldish cattle byre which i plan on lambing them in (for the time being as we have plans to put up a proper shed for them) and we have full sheep wire fencing with a strand of barbed wire on top so fencing is not an issue. I was also considering Border Leicesters and have heard good things about them and their lambs

[moony]

Lleyns are one of my favouties. Manageable size, very marketable lambs that will normally finish on grass alone, pretty easy lambers and hardy. Not really a fan of Suffolks and not sure how experienced you are but I wouldn't recommend them if you are a complete novice.

[Emmett]

Lleyns I have also considered and right now I am not sure what to do. After hearing bad reports on Suffolks I've leaned away from them so now its down to stats :s  Im also aware of what the market would be for the different breeds over here (Northern Ireland) 

[si-mate]

Where are you going to be selling them and are you looking to sell fat lambs or breeding stock?


Would you rather go down the intensive, indoor lambing and using hard feed or extensive outdoor lambing / forage based system?

[Marches Farmer]

Might be worth asking your local livestock market for their opinion.  If shepherding doesn't suit you you know you'll have a ready market for them.  Good idea to buy off farm if you can and a Down-type breed is a docile one to start with.  Suffolks were originally a cross between a Southdown and a Norfolk Horn (which brought the black bits and the comparatively poor rear end to the party).  Get tough little Suffolks from poorer ground if you can, not the overstuffed show types.  My own theory is that the big, showy rams produce lambs with big heads and legs and the poor old ewe is often too tired to finish the job herself, let alone mother up quickly.

Mountain types (and I would include Lleyns here) are often skittish and difficult to handle if you're inexperienced.

[Emmett]

What we'll be doing is breeding and keeping the ewe lambs to expand the flock and then sell the ram lambs as fat lambs. We would be keeping the pregnant ewes outside until a day or two before their lambing date and feeding them meal and hay.

I'm heading to the mart on Tuesday with my school so I'll ask there. Was wondering does anyone here keep Kerry Hill sheep? I know they aren't the heaviest of sheep but they're nice to look at which is a plus for when I start showing

[Bramblecot]

My neighbour had Kerry Hills and they looked beautiful.  He did say they were flighty and they have now been replaced .  Have a good look at what is being shown in your area and if there are local breed society groups - great for advice and practical help.  Remember we all like different breeds (here we go again ).

[Marches Farmer]

Warning on keeping the ewwes outside until just before their lambing date.- mine all lambed 6 days early last WInter!  (No, I didn't get the dates mixed up.)  Kerry Hills are very pretty to look at - IF you can get close enough.

[Emmett]

The ewes will have access to the byre at all times with straw on the ground so If they do start to lamb a few days early, I will put them in the lambing pens. My neighbor also had Kerry Hills and I remember walking my dog through the field and the sheep came right up to me within touching distance, not afraid of the dog or anything!! not that my dog would ever worry sheep he's been trained not to .

 I want a breed that produces decent lambs and would be good for showing? Do Kerry Hills fit the bill?