Sheep Questions

[witchstorm]

We've got 1/2 an acre that could do with a couple of sheep to keep the grass down.

Is that enough for 2 sheep?
I'd like some sort of rare breed with good wool for spinning but they would primarily be to keep the grass down and need to be friendly/ 'pets'.

Are they easy to keep?
What are the main pros and cons?
Thanks :)

[red]

1/2 an acre could be a bit tight for a couple of sheep, unless you are prepared to feed them extra when needed.

ideally you need at least two areas, so you can rotate and rest.

Sheep are difficult. the saying goes that a sheep spends its entire life trying to find a new and interesting way to die! - but they are a lot of fun too, and worth it. we have 6 at the mo - two ewes and four lambs. if you work at building up their confidence with you, you can pat them etc, and the easier they are to approach, the easier it is to tell if something is wrong.
You will need to thing about being able to turn them over, trim their feet, dag them ( cut off long manky wool around the bum), get them sheared (we pay someone else to do this for us) and treat against flystrike. noneof these things are difficult.. apart from learning to shear maybe.
A lot of people go for Jacobs, its the typical rare breed sheep, but i would not - they are escapologists and have horns too. if you want friendly, and particularly child friendly, you might be better off considering one of the polled breeds (polled= no horns)
The zwartbles are notorious for being friendly, and ours certainly is, but they are black, so you have to want black wool.
Here is an A-Z of sheep breeds

What we did to start is looked around for breeds typical to our area, and started with Devon closewools, and now we have a zwartbles cross, and mixed offspring.
Different sheep suit different conditions, so it is worth asking around and seeing what thrives well in your area. if you can befriend local shepherds so much the better.. although we get a lot of conflicting advice.

[witchstorm]

Thanks for that, I love the saying about finding new ways to die
We are surrounded by fields so I will investigate maybe borrowing next doors field when we need to rest ours.
I think I would leave shearing to someone who can!
We saw some Greyface Dartmoor today and they are also escapologists apparently I think this may be a common trait?!
Thanks for the link, I'll have a good look at that tomorrow.

[red]

I have an idea that the Dartmoor breeds are not the best for spinning.. course stuff etc.


smaller sheep are lighter to turn, but tend to be more into escaping. bigger breeds are a sod to turn, but they are pretty docile

[ina]

I think I would leave shearing to someone who can!

I would try and find out if there is somebody in the area who would do it for you - and do it without charging an arm and a leg... You can be lucky and find somebody who does it as a hobby; if you have to pay "professional" charges, it may make the keeping of sheep prohibitively expensive. Same goes for all the other "services" a sheep needs. If you have a local(ish) agricultural college, it might be worth checking if they do courses in sheep handling or similar - the one up here does, from time to time, and it's useful to get some hands-on training.

[red]

we joined our local small holders association. they do courses for very reasonable prices on things such as lambing, sheep husbandry etc. Thought tbh we have learnt the husbandry as we went along.

we pay the shearer 40 quid to do our little flock. thats a lot of money compared to the fleece... but we regard it as a welfare issue. it takes him minutes, he is very nice to them, and no cuts. takes us more time just to belly one (cut the wool off their bellies before going to slaughter) than it does for him to do them all! - but one day.. annnnny day now.. im going to book myself on a course and learn how to do it....

[Gert]

Just thought i'd add my 2p's worth.


Everything written below is purely my opinion, and I'm sure other sheep keepers will have other opinions.

A Primative breed sheep would be much easier to look after as they tend to be less prone to problems, and they are generally smaller and lighter making them easier to turn over and handle, but they tend to be expert escapologists and are generally wilder, faster and smarter. (apologies to any downland sheep reading this) We have Black Welsh Mountain sheep which are primatives.

Downland Breeds need more attention and care in general, they are more prone to foot problems and will need more help at lambing time. They are generally larger and heavier to handle, but are more placid and can produce better wool and more and larger lambs. We have Southdowns which are in this category.

It's really imortant to choose the breed carefully based on the resources available to you.

That's just in my humble opinion.

If it's of any interest to you there is a breeder in Cornwall that sells Minature Southdowns Which might be the thing for you. They are a "toy" breed often called babydolls. I can send you her details if you like.

Best of luck

Gert

[witchstorm]

Hi Gert I PM'd you re the breeders details :)

[Gert]

Have sent the details , let us know how you get on with choosing a breed, and what you decide to get in the end.

Best of luck

Gert

[Muscroj]

ooooh WS, I've only just seen this, I'll be soooo envious if you get sheep, I'd love to get a few livestock, but the one & only field near to us got taken by someone else, who now has about 20+ sheep on there Still I WILL get my chooks one day.....

[witchstorm]

Have sent the details , let us know how you get on with choosing a breed, and what you decide to get in the end.

Best of luck

Gert

Went to see the Minature Southdowns yesterday and they were lovely :) seem to fit everything we need perfectly but I was a little 'eeek' at the price (200 ewe 150 wether).
Sleeping on it for a few nights and maybe research a bit more to see if there are any other similar breeds that would be happy here. My mum has offered to buy half a sheep for xmas lol

[red]

that is a lot. no idea if thats normal for the breed or not... but hmmm does seem a lot. perhaps you should price out other sheep, then you can take that into consideration when you are weighing it all up

[ina]

I suppose miniature breeds are seen as pets rather than "proper" livestock - and as they'd be quite rare, not wonder they have to be expensive. The cheapest way to get sheep is some orphan lambs from a reliable farmer; you might get them for free, and have all the fun of raising them.

[Gert]

Erm, didn't realise that they would be that much.

I guess it's probably because I think she has one of the only registered flocks in the country. They are mostly found in the US.

Glad they fit the bill, apart from the price. Keep us posted. oh and any mum that offers to buy half a sheep for xmas has to be worth her weight in gold

[sbarrow]

When we wanted to change to a smaller breed than our Wiltshires, we went through a similar process, including the gulp at some of the prices for breeds like the Ousssants. We eventually selected Shetlands - reasonable price, friendly, easy lamb and easy to bucket train. If you would like to come and see our small flock and this years lambs you would be very welcome as we're up on the moor near Redruth.

regards

Sue