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Author Topic: What breed/breeds would be suitable?  (Read 15741 times)

Fleecewife

  • Joined May 2010
  • South Lanarkshire
    • ScotHebs
Re: What breed/breeds would be suitable?
« Reply #15 on: August 19, 2017, 04:20:50 pm »
After Sally's post mentioning Portlands I've realised just how lovely they are, as well as being a truly ancient breed.


https://www.portlandsheep.com/history 


I have never kept Portlands, but two aspects struck me as interesting in the above notes.  One is that they usually have singles, and the other is that they can be bred out of season.  This would mean you could have three ewes and three lambs, then only breed again once the lambs had gone in your freezer  :thumbsup: .
If you don't mind feeding them small amounts of hay and forage (branches and such) all year round, so summer as well as winter, your ground could easily cope with three ewes and three lambs.


I think though that you would find you had taken up spinning as well as knitting  :yippee: .  It just happens  ;D


ps although I'm usually the first to recommend Shetlands, they are not a rare breed.
« Last Edit: August 19, 2017, 04:24:42 pm by Fleecewife »
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roddycm

  • Joined Jul 2013
Re: What breed/breeds would be suitable?
« Reply #16 on: August 19, 2017, 04:21:32 pm »
Keep in mind that soays, shetlands and castlemilks can all be put to a terminal sire too for a faster growing lamb. The ewes are thrifty and lamb easily. I've never had any but I hear spinners like gotlands... they too can be put to a terminal sire. So many choices haha! Sheep are wonderful creatures,  whatever breed you decide on I am sure you won't regret it!

SallyintNorth

  • Joined Feb 2011
  • Cornwall
  • Rarely short of an opinion but I mean well
    • Trelay Cohousing Community
Re: What breed/breeds would be suitable?
« Reply #17 on: August 19, 2017, 05:17:21 pm »
I think though that you would find you had taken up spinning as well as knitting  :yippee: .  It just happens  ;D


Very nearly said the same thing :). :spin: :excited:



ps although I'm usually the first to recommend Shetlands, they are not a rare breed.

:blush:  Oops, you're right of course.  And I'd toyed with mentioning that Ryelands aren't rare too  :-[
Don't listen to the money men - they know the price of everything and the value of nothing

Live in a cohousing community with small farm for our own use.  Dairy cows (rearing their own calves for beef), pigs, sheep for meat and fleece, ducks and hens for eggs, veg and fruit growing

landroverroy

  • Joined Oct 2010
Re: What breed/breeds would be suitable?
« Reply #18 on: August 19, 2017, 09:46:20 pm »
Without wishing to be bleak, I don't think you've got enough land to do all on your wish list. :thinking:
To aim at 2 breeding sheep on half an acre is being somewhat optimistic. Perfectly possible in a perfect year, but that rarely happens  :raining: . In a wet year it will get puddled up and the grass poached, And you've nowhere spare to put the sheep while the grass grows again. In a hot dry year you will run out of grass.
Your neighbour may have grazed 8 at a time, but it will only have been for a short time till the grass was eaten and then he will have had somewhere else to move them to. You don't have that option.
I would think your best option would be, as Sally suggested, to get some cade lambs. The fact that you're working doesn't have to be a problem - feed them before you go and again when you get back. Shut them up in a shed while they're small if you're worried about foxes.
If this still seems too much trouble then get some older weaned lambs that someone else has raised.
I would forget about producing your own wool. Getting just 2 sheep shorn can be difficult and expensive. There's plenty of people on here that can let you have a fleece at reasonable price and you can try different breeds.


You may find, as you get established that someone will let you have some more land and then the possibilities could be endless. :farmer:
« Last Edit: August 19, 2017, 10:37:08 pm by landroverroy »
Rules are made:
  for the guidance of wise men
  and the obedience of fools.

Buttermilk

  • Joined Jul 2014
Re: What breed/breeds would be suitable?
« Reply #19 on: August 20, 2017, 07:49:53 am »
Another alternative is to use the land as their recreation area and buy in all feed as many people do for goats.

Marches Farmer

  • Joined Dec 2012
  • Herefordshire
Re: What breed/breeds would be suitable?
« Reply #20 on: August 20, 2017, 10:51:29 am »
You'd still have problems with poaching the ground, etc.  General rule of thumb for decent pasture is 5 sheep per acre but you'd still have to buy in hay for the Winter months.

Twotwo

  • Joined Aug 2015
Re: What breed/breeds would be suitable?
« Reply #21 on: August 21, 2017, 11:00:21 am »
What about Dorset Downs they are very friendly and a rare breed ???? love mine with their teddy bear faces

Steel

  • Joined Aug 2017
Re: What breed/breeds would be suitable?
« Reply #22 on: September 04, 2017, 03:59:11 pm »
Hi all

Sorry for not making it back sooner. Have let all of your suggestions percolate and given things some more thought, done some more tea drinking and chatting, and have come up with this:

1. We could have access to further grazing land of five acres, two acres and one acre via our neighbours if necessary in bad winters. Obviously we would supply them with some pork and lamb as a thank you. However, it was always in my mind to supplement with hay and solids anyway so extra feed if the land gets poached is not a problem. We're not selling any meat, so don't have to make a profit.

2. I have decided to shelve the idea of doing anything with wool. I'm going back to school so have reluctantly concluded unless I sleep about three hours a night I will have no time for hobbies for the next couple of years. As I'm fairly wedded to my 7 hours kip, something has to give.

3. As we have access to further land if necessary and wool will not be a consideration any more, we have decided to look at...Balwens. The ground is not as damp as we thought so think they would be ok. Hardy, would be ok with the bit of semi-rough stuff under the fruit trees, might not have to shear, easy to lamb and have a lambing rate of about 100% on rougher ground and 200% on good ground, so as we have a mix of two maybe we'll get something in the middle.  Good feet and some flystrike resistant. Good weight lambs that can go at 16 weeks-ish

I'm going to get across to Melton Mowbray market this weekend for the rare breeds show and sale to have a snoop around and get close up with some.

Knowing me I'll come back with something huge and totally unsuitable because it batted its eyelashes at me.

« Last Edit: September 04, 2017, 04:36:02 pm by Steel »

Steel

  • Joined Aug 2017
Re: What breed/breeds would be suitable?
« Reply #23 on: September 04, 2017, 09:54:18 pm »
Can't believe after all the research we missed the fact that Balwens are flighty little runaways that like jumping fences. We watched some videos of them dashing around and thought "gosh, they're bouncy and fast. Hmmmm...we foresee problems."

Back to the drawing board.
« Last Edit: September 04, 2017, 09:56:59 pm by Steel »

nimbusllama

  • Joined Nov 2010
  • Near Mansfield, Nottinghamshire
Re: What breed/breeds would be suitable?
« Reply #24 on: September 04, 2017, 10:31:38 pm »
Hi all

Sorry for not making it back sooner. Have let all of your suggestions percolate and given things some more thought, done some more tea drinking and chatting, and have come up with this:

1. We could have access to further grazing land of five acres, two acres and one acre via our neighbours if necessary in bad winters. Obviously we would supply them with some pork and lamb as a thank you. However, it was always in my mind to supplement with hay and solids anyway so extra feed if the land gets poached is not a problem. We're not selling any meat, so don't have to make a profit.

2. I have decided to shelve the idea of doing anything with wool. I'm going back to school so have reluctantly concluded unless I sleep about three hours a night I will have no time for hobbies for the next couple of years. As I'm fairly wedded to my 7 hours kip, something has to give.

3. As we have access to further land if necessary and wool will not be a consideration any more, we have decided to look at...Balwens. The ground is not as damp as we thought so think they would be ok. Hardy, would be ok with the bit of semi-rough stuff under the fruit trees, might not have to shear, easy to lamb and have a lambing rate of about 100% on rougher ground and 200% on good ground, so as we have a mix of two maybe we'll get something in the middle.  Good feet and some flystrike resistant. Good weight lambs that can go at 16 weeks-ish

I'm going to get across to Melton Mowbray market this weekend for the rare breeds show and sale to have a snoop around and get close up with some.

Knowing me I'll come back with something huge and totally unsuitable because it batted its eyelashes at me.


I will be at Melton, come and say hello and have a chat.  I am not selling but will be hanging around the Castlemilk Moorit sheep pens probably helping. Brian (likely to be wearing a yellow checked shirt and a green RBST tie)
« Last Edit: September 05, 2017, 08:12:50 am by nimbusllama »

twizzel

  • Joined Apr 2012
Re: What breed/breeds would be suitable?
« Reply #25 on: September 05, 2017, 08:38:55 am »
Can't believe after all the research we missed the fact that Balwens are flighty little runaways that like jumping fences. We watched some videos of them dashing around and thought "gosh, they're bouncy and fast. Hmmmm...we foresee problems."

Back to the drawing board.


Possibly a down breed might suit better for temperament but not sure how they would like wet ground. Poll Dorsets are nice and docile but some don't have the best feet (white feet can be softer). If you can find a smallholder that has the breed you want then they may be slightly quieter than from a proper commercial farmer. Ive bought 2 groups of Lleyns from 2 separate places- both were wild when they came here. The 2nd lot were particularly sharp but within 2 weeks were following a bucket around the farm. Not tame enough to the point they knock you over, or that I could even catch in the field, but tame enough to manage them without a dog ????????

Foobar

  • Joined Mar 2012
  • South Wales
Re: What breed/breeds would be suitable?
« Reply #26 on: September 05, 2017, 10:06:37 am »
Black Welsh Mountain?


Any breed can be flightly, best to buy off farm then you can see how they are - something you can't see at auction.

Steel

  • Joined Aug 2017
Re: What breed/breeds would be suitable?
« Reply #27 on: September 05, 2017, 08:13:02 pm »
nimbusllama - I'll pop by and pick your brains about CMs

twizzel, Foobar

Am I right in thinking that the Blacks, Balwens and Badger-Faced are a variation of the same basic breed of welsh mountain sheep? How different are they in temperament?

No, I won't be buying at auction. I know roughly enough about sheep to be stitched up royally.  ;D This weekend will be purely for me to get to know some of the rare breeds better and get a feel for how they might be to handle.

My cunning plan at the moment for handling the sheep (apart from trying to buy tame-ish in the first place) is to have a large field shelter with a perimeter of hurdles at the front and from here I will put any extra feed and mineral licks so they get used to being inside the hurdles. If they get used to seeing me coming and going from there with feed and go in there to eat, I might just be able to quietly shut the gate behind me when I need to check/treat any of them.

I know, I know, best laid plans and all that.  :excited:



« Last Edit: September 05, 2017, 09:15:06 pm by Steel »

Old Shep

  • Joined Feb 2011
  • North Yorkshire
Re: What breed/breeds would be suitable?
« Reply #28 on: September 05, 2017, 08:34:34 pm »
What about a couple of angora goats?  They would be fine on half an acre supplemented with hay and concentrates, just need a bit of a shelter to get out of the rain. Lovely fleece!!

Helen - (used to be just Shep).  Gordon Setters, Border Collies and chief lambing assistant to BigBennyShep.

Steel

  • Joined Aug 2017
Re: What breed/breeds would be suitable?
« Reply #29 on: September 05, 2017, 09:13:33 pm »
What about a couple of angora goats?  They would be fine on half an acre supplemented with hay and concentrates, just need a bit of a shelter to get out of the rain. Lovely fleece!!

I'm not a goat person at all. My aunt used to keep a few and they were nosy, bitey, chewy and a bit mean. That's always stuck with me and I have avoided them. I know, totally irrational, but they just don't move me in the same way that sheep do.

Also, not sure how I feel about using goats for meat.
« Last Edit: September 05, 2017, 09:36:19 pm by Steel »

 

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