[Buffy the eggs layer]

We are hoping to purchase some sheep next year (possibly rare breed) Can anyone let me know what time of year is best to purchase stock and which breeds you would recomend for starters.

 

[old dad]

hi the best time to purchase sheep is in the autumn ready for breeding. I would recommend a breed local to your area. pick one that you like and not what people tell you as you have to look after them day after day .most sheep behave similary and you get good and bad in everything. please keep us updated on your progress. good luck

[jacob and Georgina]

hi i am also thinking of getting some sheep some time soon so will be interested to hear what people have to say, i also would like to keep a rare breed, as i am in devon not far from dartmoor i would like to get some whiteface dartmoor, alothough i dont think they are classed as a rare breed there are not many flocks around from what i hear.  i have done quite a bit of research as i am sure you have, another breed i have taken a liking to is the balwen. a small welsh mountain sheep, these are classified as a vunerable breed. I would definatley advice you to go to any local shows and if possible some farms to see what sheep are around. There are two small books on amazon called know your sheep and know more sheep, they contain pictures of around 100 breeds and give a brief description and also state if they are a rare breed or not. Hope this is of use to you!!

[cairnhill]

Hi

all depends what you are looking to do with your sheep.   Are you wanting to breed lambs for the market or to eat yourselves.  Are you wanting to keep simply for land management or for fine fleeces.  Im sure all the people on here who keep sheep will recommend the breeds they keep.  Also certain breeds are easier to keep than others and choice would depend on your expertise and level of fitness,  how much land you have, and even where abouts in the country you live.

There are a lot of breeds to choose from and they all have their merits.  I keep Hebridean sheep because I think they look wonderful, they are easy to care for, they can survive NE Scotlands worst weather, they don't eat as much as commercial sheep (as I have limited land) and I am told they are delicious, though I do not breed for meat myself.  

Best wishes with your sheep quest

Anna

[Buffy the eggs layer]

Thanks for your helpful replies. There are a number of breeds that I like but Im not sure wether to go for a rare breed or a more comercially viable one.  I intend to keep them for meat but I'm not sure wether to buy them in as lambs and fatten them up for selling on so that I avoid having to shear them.
  

[Daisys Mum]

The way I feel tonight I would gladly give my Shetlands away. They are quite a challenging breed, I think perhaps most rare breeds are, perhaps that is why they are rare. Mine are easy enough to shear it's catching them thats the problem, There is one ewe still running around with her fleece on as she will not come within 200yds.
The meat is amazing so much better than commercial sheep but then they are a lot older when they are killed, this year I have waited until they were a year old, partly due to the hard winter as they seem to prefer to hunt for grass than to eat hay so took a bit longer to get to a decent weight.

[egglady]

The way I feel tonight I would gladly give my Shetlands away. They are quite a challenging breed, I think perhaps most rare breeds are, perhaps that is why they are rare. Mine are easy enough to shear it's catching them thats the problem, There is one ewe still running around with her fleece on as she will not come within 200yds.
The meat is amazing so much better than commercial sheep but then they are a lot older when they are killed, this year I have waited until they were a year old, partly due to the hard winter as they seem to prefer to hunt for grass than to eat hay so took a bit longer to get to a decent weight.

we have shetlands and dont find them "challenging" - am i just lucky?  girls are fine o catch at feeding time and i've deliberately spent time with the lambs since they were born earlier this year and they are so tame i can do anything, well nearly anything, with them.

i love them

[Castle Farm]

Get yourself a commercial breed and forget going down the rare breed road, they are more trouble than they are worth,thats why they are rare.

I was offerered a flock of Soay for nothing if I could catch them,mad as park hares.

I keep Lleyns which are about as good as you will get for easy lambing and fast growth.
I had 200% off mine this year and except for some hard feed I never had to help them at all.

[woollyval]

Get yourself a commercial breed and forget going down the rare breed road, they are more trouble than they are worth,thats why they are rare.

I was offerered a flock of Soay for nothing if I could catch them,mad as park hares.

I keep Lleyns which are about as good as you will get for easy lambing and fast growth.
I had 200% off mine this year and except for some hard feed I never had to help them at all.

Can I put my oar in here please!

There is rather a difference between rare and primitive!

Dorset Downs are on the rare breed register and yet are as commercial in type and behaviour as they come
Soays and the like, usually from Scottish islands and part of what are generally known as the Northern short tailed group are primitive, which means they are largely unimproved!......ie have tendency to live on poor land and are a bit wild in their attitude.

Rare breed is due to declining numbers and fashion not the type of sheep......The Dorset Down is an ideal beginners rare breed sheep. It is easy to catch, easy to handle, are good mothers, easy lambers if not too fat and lambs finish at 25kg at 20 weeks off grass and milk. Added to that good fleece and a commercial shape what could be better if you want to combine keeping a breed that needs a bit of support with a good commercial carcass shape!......oh and they taste amazing!

[Fleecewife]

Well put, Woolly Shepherd.  I would add though, as I've said before elsewhere, that primitives don't have to be 'mad as March hares' - it all depends on their handling.  Soays left wild will be wild but they tame up very well.  Mine are as tame as you could want.  The Hebrideans too are quiet and glorious to keep with the addition of being stunning to look at - and lets face it, if you are keeping sheep you might as well love them.
For the best of all worlds I would suggest Shetlands.  They come in all colours with wonderful spinning fleeces, they produce tasty meat in joint sizes ideal for most families, they are very easy to handle (they can be readily trained to walk on a halter so hardly wild) and they are very individual little characters.  The Shetland Sheep Soc is very supportive and stock is readily available at modest prices. If you are into showing sheep then there are classes at just about every show from tiny local to the biggies. Shetlands are not a rare breed (nor are Hebrideans any more as there are more than 3000 breeding ewes) but they are unusual and different.
The down side of keeping commercial sheep is that returns are likely to be poor on a small scale and you are unlikely to become a top breeder whereas with the less numerous breeds you can get to the top if that is what you want.
I suggest that you both take your time choosing the breed and talk to as many breeders of as many different breeds as you can find, at shows or wherever.  Yes of course they will all promote their own favourites but you will get the chance to see examples of the breed and you will probably fall in love with one of them 

[Fleecewife]

Another suggestion Egg Slayer is to choose a breed which you love, to breed and provide you with top quality meat, but also buy in a few commercial lambs for meat in the early days.  Breeding your own takes a while before you get any old enough for meat.  Commercials though go fairly soon after they are weaned so you wouldn't have them for long - not like fattening weaners. So in a way you wouldn't have to make the choice between one or the other.
If you do go for a rare or traditional breed, I would suggest that you go for the best registered stock you can afford.  That way, when you realise you want to do this for more than just the meat (you will  ) you will have a good sound foundation flock to grow from.

[Shnoowie]

We chose Ryelands as they are smaller than your average sheep and do not seem to want to escape.  They make good mums and have wonderful personalities They were classed as a rare breed up until recently when they were moved to a class 5 or 6.  There are still a smaller number of them than there could be.  With regards to uses, they have very good meat and their wool is popular with hand spinners...though shearers are not always too keen on them due to the amount of wool they have, and it is ALL over!  Also with the Ryelands a good pedigree sheep can be worth as much live as dead, so it gives you more leeway if you don't feel like putting them in the freezer!
Jacob; I'm not far off Dartmoor either, try popping to some local shows - the Okehampton show has a good variety of breeds, traditional, rare, commercial - that's how we found out about Ryelands.

[Buffy the eggs layer]

Oops! I seem to have started the battle of the breeds here!

Thanks for all your suggestions, there are certainly a number of breeds there that I like the look of. I was recently concidering Wiltshires as they dont need shearing. How do you manage regarding fleeces? Do you shear yourselves?

[Fleecewife]

Wiltshire Horns are SOO beautiful, amazing presence, especially the tups.   They don't need shearing as they don't have woolly fleece but they produce the most horrible kemp in vast quantities - it sticks to your clothes and gets up your nose.
We shear our flock of about 50 by hand ie with old fashioned shears such as the Romans used.  The British Wool Marketing Board runs shearing courses, mainly for machine shearing, but they will arrange hand shearing courses if there is demand. People are terrified of hand shears as they look so big and sharp, but in fact you can feel with them far better than with machine clippers so you are  unlikely to cut the skin.  There are several travelling shearers, some of them on this group, who will come to your property to shear your flock.  Wool is not just a by-product of keeping sheep but has so many uses and can provide a bit of extra income.

[jacob and Georgina]

thanks for that advice shnoowie. Would love to go to the oakhampton show to see whats there, Do yoy know what the dates are??