Photos galore of my new Damara sheep!

[cwc362]

Quote:
You will get quite a few hits if you google 'damara sheep', and 'damara sheep south africa'. If you google 'damfattail' you will find the breeder who I purchased these off.

Do you know if they are already in the USA or not? I would think they would probably be ideal for people out in some of western states like Texas and Arizona and a few others too. I really like animals that still have some gaminess and intellingence to them . It's just like the chicken breeds- I like all of them but have a special respect and admiration for the " Game" type chickens.
Oh and are you familiar with our Texas longhorn cattle? I really like them too even though I've never seen many live ones around here. You did say you were in Australia , didn't you?

 

[username taken]

Yes - these strike me as a sheep version of a texas longhorn. there are very very small numbers of them here in oz, I saw them for the first time last year, a heifer and bull in an animal nursery, I've never seen anyone showing them at the agricultural shows.

there is a good cattle forum www.cattletoday.com/forum and there is a guy there named Ryan - he has the best longhorns I have ever seen. They retain all their breed character and hardiness - but they are BEEFY!

The biggest thing I think the damara needs to work on is improving carcase conformation, while retaining the hardiness. I think some texas longhorn breeders (such as Ryan) have managed to do that, although its a controversial issue and I think it will be the same for the damaras. You have to remember that the LACK of muscle is in itself a breed characteristic, so if you go around trying to breed them into poll dorset lookalikes, people will be upset with you for changing the breed.

That was a bit of a ramble, hope it made some sense ... lol

 

[New adventure]

Beautiful animals, and very interesting. Thanks for sharing!

 

[username taken]

Quote:
You will get quite a few hits if you google 'damara sheep', and 'damara sheep south africa'. If you google 'damfattail' you will find the breeder who I purchased these off.

Do you know if they are already in the USA or not? I would think they would probably be ideal for people out in some of western states like Texas and Arizona and a few others too. I really like animals that still have some gaminess and intellingence to them . It's just like the chicken breeds- I like all of them but have a special respect and admiration for the " Game" type chickens.
Oh and are you familiar with our Texas longhorn cattle? I really like them too even though I've never seen many live ones around here. You did say you were in Australia , didn't you?

I believe they are in Canada, I cant seem to find anything to say they are in the states. What are your quarrantine laws like for bringing livestock over the border? Perhaps you might be able to get some from Canada and introduce them to the US.

There's some contact info at the bottom of this article

http://www.sheepmagazine.com/issues/24/24-2/Nathan_Griffith.html

 

[cwc362]

I'm not set up for sheep or any other large animals - But if I was or if I am able to in the future- These would be an interesting choice. I'm not familiar with the Quaratine laws either. I really enjoyed the pictures and all the info about these sheep . If I was able I'd probably have more animals than a zoo!! LOL Thanks for posting - I really enjoyed this thread!!

 

[username taken]

Quote:
Glad you enjoyed it. I'm absolutely taken by this breed and believe there is a big role for them as both extensive range animals in tough areas, and also for homesteader type people. So I will be talking my head off about them to anyone who cares to listen!

FWIW these sheep are easier to fence in than other breeds, because of the strong herd instinct they dont tend to wander, cattle fences with a combination of plain and barbed wire will hold them in, whereas normal sheep would walk through that and so need the sheep mesh. Damaras also respond well to strands of electric fence, whereas other sheep tend to go through them when they get the shock, and need the electrified mesh.

I have 24 goats (angora, boer, dairy, harness, crossbred), 6 normal sheep (merino, crossbred, meat sheep), 4 damara sheep, 1 cat, 1 squatter, a heap of fish and a rabbit. Yep, I think I've got a zoo!

 

[ozflock]

Hi, i just couldn't resist posting - i love your sheep pics, fascinating animals aren't they? - I have a mob of 14 ewes (plus 8 lambs) from damfattails damaras and i am really taken by them too!

I bought initially 8 ewes with a ram and a couple of wethers - (one of those is in the freezer) After the ewes had their lambs i was REALLY hooked and bought another 6 that are due to drop in spring.

They certainly seem more intelligent than our Suffolks. i love the way they mob together so closely and are very protective of their lambs. They have personality plus and all have names now - I have one in particular that "parades" around the group, ever on the look-out for my dogs. The dogs have all been bowled over and one even slammed against a fence - they know now not to get cornered by a damara!

They say they are impossible to work with dogs and they certainly refuse to turn their backs in the yards. Mine have learned pretty quick to "come" at the tap of a bucket though.

Be warned - mine did learn to go straight through five strand wire fences without batting an eyelid (no barbed wire) They did this shortly after giving birth and ended up a couple of km's away. I still believe that they were "spooked" partly i think because i had 2 "matriarch" ewes locked in the barn with newborns, and partly perhaps because friends had visited with strange dogs. My donkeys possibly gave them a hard time too.

Anyway i got them back with a bit of help from the neighbours and they have not done it again since - they seem to know their boundaries now and where they're safe.

I've not home killed any other breed to compare, but the meat is good. The butcher said that they are not as "meaty" as other breeds but i think this out-weighs the other advantages. We only have 2 ppl to feed and a cow takes up so much room in the freezer!

 

[KotaDVM]

These hair sheep are extremely popular in some breeding programs because of a high resilience to parasites compared to the wool sheep. My undergrad university is trying to breed hair sheep into the wool sheep population for JUST the parasite resilience while keeping the meat characteristics of wool sheep. Driving by the sheep farm is always interesting because you have hair sheep with tufts of wool and wool sheep that look like barbados black bellys.

 

[username taken]

Hi ozflock, where are you located? I'm about halfway between albury and wagga wagga.

haha, I was hooked also when they had their lambs, but I havent bought any more (although I've wanted to!) mainly because I'm pretty limited on space and 4 ewes to start with was 2 too many! But I'm completely hooked on them.

oh, mine were rather wild when I got them because leigh had them out on the weir without much human contact, so I unloaded them into a very sturdy pen. I actually had them penned in the shed in a very small yard for 1 month before I turned them out on pasture. In there, they were hand fed twice a day, had their pen cleaned out daily etc. so they were used to humans being up close and personal. I have to say it was definitely worth it because when I let them out to go to pasture, they were so quiet. They know their names and come when I call them, follow me round like puppy dogs, right on my heels.

I do have one girl - she's 9 yrs old and wiley and cunning - who has been ducking under the fence the last few days and taking the 3 lambs with her to munch the green grass - always greener on the other side. But for the most part they are very good about staying in - much better than my goats lol

I think there is much to gain in the meatmaster - Damara Dorper cross to get those meatier carcasses but the temperament advantages of the Damara.

KotaDVM - the "meat characteristics of wool sheep" ??

 

[ozflock]

Nice to meet you fellow ozzie, I'm down in gippsland, near foster.

I kept mine in a small yard for the first few weeks too and was quite surprised how quickly they settled. Leigh had been handfeeding my ram which helped a lot i'm sure. Imagine 24 of them trotting behind you? - it's a colourful sight.

We have about 40 acres with plenty of blackberries so i'm hoping the extra's will make inroads on them. I also think that the more i have the easier it will be to eat their babies

One negative with our damp conditions down here some of them are having trouble with footrot, i am treating them and hoping they will aclimatise. The suffolks have had no trouble so perhaps down the track a cross between those two will work for us. The suffolks are ok but I hate those wooly bums - in the summer they were literally covered head to toe in big brown burrs and now the poor things walk around big blackberry stems hanging off their privates..

I'm interested in hearing about your harness goats sometime...