[shrekfeet]

Okay, here's the challenge and I'd like your comments or guidance please. I have two of three acres of grazing and would like to raise some lamb for meat. I'm thinking that a small number of breeding ewes would provide me with enough lambs to finish on grass late spring/early summer whilst grass is growing fast. I could then keep the ewes through the summer and winter and breed from them the following year. But where do I start? Should I buy some ewes in the spring with lambs in tow or is there another way to do it. Should I buy younger sheep and then start breeding them next winter? But then I'd be without any lamb for the freezer! Should I try to pick up some orphaned lambs to raise for meat?
So I'm looking for your ideas. WHat would you do with a clean sheet? How would you get started? What did you do? What would you do differently?
Hope you can help me.
 

[danndans]

Have you lambed before? or have you got someone you can ask for help from if need be?

I'd be tempted to go for ewes in lamb, 

rearing an orphan lamb is time consuming and expensive

[garden cottage]

get some dexter cattle there less work!

[Rosemary]

Difficult to shear though!

[doganjo]

Now there speaks a lady who thinks 'out of the box'

[woollyval]

get some dexter cattle there less work!

Having had some and worked with cattle for many years..........I disagree.....any breed but not a dexter

I would go for buying some nice been there, done it , got the tee shirt types with lambs at foot in the spring, learn about sheep from them less the added strain of a possible difficult lambing, then keep the ewes and borrow a ram for the following lambing, by which time you will have got your head around managing sheep and hopefully attended a lambing course!

Then after a full year of hands on you can decide whether to keep the ewes or add to them or change them for a different breed!

Good luck

[shrekfeet]

Hey Wooly, thanks for the constructive comment. That's a good idea. I have a shortlist of breeds at the moment (not short enough yet!) any recomendations? Also, where would you buy the ewes with lambs? From the breeder direct or from market? Are they easy to come by?
One other thing, I have a small orchard and was planning to graze that too. Will the sheep eat the bark?

[danndans]

Oi WS!!!   whats wrong with dexters hey??...........................................i've got the holey jeans to prove theres nothing wrong with them  well if they learnt to kick a bit softer...........and lift you a bit higher over the fences..................and  not have tantrums when they feel like it  then they'd be a lovely breed 

but the meat is realy good and defo worth the hassle 

[derbyshirenovices]

Hello Shrekfeet
Your situation seems very similar to ours except maybe you're in a greater hurry to produce some lamb for the freezer. We have all of six weeks experience with our flock of two - Ryeland ewe lambs from Spring 2008, but the thoughts of thewoolyshepherd fit with our thinking and experience so far. We also have a couple of acres and did think originally that four sheep would be needed to do the lawnmowing (our first priority). We had an opportunity to buy two from a small local breeder and, personally speaking, I'm pleased that we did just that, i.e. start small and take our time to get into it. So far so good, the Ryelands seem a smashing breed, friendly, tough enough, not escape-minded. You could probably find someone nearby who breeds them via http://www.ryelandfbs.com/.

As plans stand at the moment, we'll look to tupping come the autumn and maybe then we'll start thinking of lamb to eat, so long as we don't get too attached to them.

Re the orchard: we also have an orchard and will look to let them in there in due course, although the other day they were nibbling away at some tree prunings and so I'm a bit more wary now.

[kaz]

I agree Ryelands are the best I have approx 50 of them. Great little breed. Have been outside all the time in this bad weather (we are cruel) but as long as they have plenty of hay and feed they are pretty hardy. You'll not regret having them. Started off with 3 ewe lambs and went from there.

[garden cottage]

and they taste fantastic!     still got lots in the freezer

[Rosemary]

We've got Ryelands and really like them. We bought them 'cos they look like teddybears. We've only got three, who will lamb (hopefully) this Spring. If all goes well, the intention is to retain the ewe lambs and eat the boys.

They have beautiful fleece. The only drawback with a small number is getting someone to shear them - quite costly - and all spot-on etc comes on large packages but you can always find other small scale owners and team up - that's what we're doing this year.

Best thing about Ryelands - they don't wander.

[woollyval]

Its ok Danndans.....I love Dexters really......

Re apple trees.......some sheep will totally ignore them......some will behave like unattended children in a chocolate shop!!!!! Personally I would construct hefty tree guards, triangular with 3 posts and stock wire well out of reach of the sheep...........and if they really want to destroy your tree its surprising how far a small shep can reach

I would go for getting some ewes with lambs .........if thats your initial choice, from a reliable source such as a good local farmer with a reputation he wishes to keep intact!!!.............or take a very experienced person to market with you...........I have got some good bargains in market.........urrr and also some 6ft fence jumpers you take a chance there!

As for pedigree breeds........
Easy lambing breeds are to be recommended ..............but do not forget your second valuable crop....the wool!! eg Ryelands, Dorset Downs, Gotlands, Shetlands (but make sure they are not wild!!!) Ouessants (lovely wool, good carcase for a small family wanting just to eat their own) etc

[Rosemary]

One of our three - Jinx - eats bark like a mad thing if she gets the chance. The other two don't seem to bother about it.

[shrekfeet]

Thanks again Wooley your comments are much appreciated.

Would people recommend keeping the flock pure bred or crossing the ewes with another breed? Also, if I was buying Ryland ewes with lambs at foot then what kind of price range should I be looking at? I guess it would depend on the age of the ewes. 

I suppose once I have ewes with lambs I can keep the ewe lambs and eat the tups.

I'm guessing that many flocks will be starting to lamb now and therefore I should be thinking about making my purchase pretty soon. How wiould I go about finding local breeders?

One of my neighbours keeps Black Welsh Mountain and I was wondering whether it might be more simple to adopt the same breed. I hear they are pretty easy to keep.

Thanks for all your help