Any breeds of sheep where the ewes have horns?

[Fawkes]

As the title, do ewes have horns?

 

[Alicia G]

Yes some breeds do. I don't have much experience with sheep, the only breed I know that have horns with both sexes is Jacobs sheep

 

[Fawkes]

What about hair sheep? Anyone know if the ewes have horns? When I get sheep (not in the near future or anything, but I'm researching) I don't want any horns. I'm most interested in Barbados blackbelly, Katahdin, Shetland, and St Croix.

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

What about hair sheep? Anyone know if the ewes have horns?

There are over 20 breeds of "hair sheep"
http://www.ansi.okstate.edu/breeds/sheep/hair.htm​

 

[Nicola]

http://www.sheep101.info/breedsS.html#SC Shropshire sheep seem to be polled ( which is naturally hornless )

 

[jbourget]

Jacobs are the best breed of sheep there is.

 

[Nicola]

I don't think those sheep ^^ are the ones they are looking for

they don't want horned sheep.. those have them in abundance

 

[carolinagirl58]

Katahdins and Barbados Black Belly sheep are naturally polled. I raise both of them. The Katahdins are much easier to handle. The Barbados are much hardier though. I have dewormed the Katahdins twice this summer, but have not dewormed the barbados at all. Their eyelids stay nice and pink. They are SO flighty though. Don't plan on handling them much....it's almost like owning wild animals. But they are tough as nails, don't eat much, don't need dewormimg, lamb easily and are produce very lean meat. The Katahdins are so gentle and easy to handle but they do need more maintenance.

 

[Fawkes]

oh, I didn't realize that Barbados are flighty. I definitely want gentle friendly sheep. Sounds like Katahdin and St Croix are the best sheep for me.

I like small sheep especially so I really like Babydolls but I've read that they can cost like $500

Mini shetland and mini cheviot are also probably expensive due to their small size. Actually, I just found this website http://www.minilivestock.com/miniaturesheep.html which says whethered minis are only $150-$200... but I suppose price would really differ depending on where you live. I don't want registered sheep or anything, just pets.

I like Jacob sheep, but because of where I live it's probably better to have no horns. If I were out in the country I would probably have Jacobs.

 

[carolinagirl58]

Dorpers are another good hornless breed. It's pretty easy to find Katahdin/dorper crosses since a lot of people to that to increase meat production. You will find that the more commericalized and meaty a breed is, the less hardy they are. I guess what I really mean is the less parasite resistant they are. So you'll need to keep an eye on that but otherwise, Katahdins are really easy.....much more so than goats.

The Barbados Blackbelly sheep I have are so pretty. I got most of them as lambs and tried my best to tame them down. I mean I REALLY tried. They are just as wild now as they ever were. So I have just given up and will let them alone. If I need to check eye lids (to monitor for parasite/anemia) I put some alfalfa pellets in their feeder and grab one of them. Or I can corner them in the barn to get my hands on them. But they will NOT come up to me.
Here's a couple of the ewe lambs that I'll be breeding in a couple of weeks

And here's part of my herd (kats and BB together) checking out the lamb who was born in October

here's the little lamb. He's a ram and will be kept for breeding next year. I purchased his mother already bred so the baby is unrelated to my other sheep.