Sheep for milk????

[miss_thenorth]

Okay, I really really really want a milk critter to add to out farm. I only have three acres, so a cow is out of the question--even a dexter. I have two horses who use up most of the land.

I tried goats before, had them briefly because our set up was not goat proof. I would get goats gain, but hubby is not really fond of them. (last time I had nubian, if I got them again, I would get nigerians)

But, now I'm starting to think about sheep. There are a few breeds that are milkers. Sheep would be better on my property, as most of it is lawn and pasture. Sheep are not escape artists like goats are.

Does anyone milk sheep? What are temperaments like, do they need to have a buddy like goats? do they have one or two (or three) babies at a time?

Does anyone have first hand experience, as opposed to my just reading websites?

TIA

 

[ksalvagno]

I would suggest backyardherds.com. Maybe someone on there has some. I would think since sheep are a herd animal that they would need a buddy.

 

[louloubean]

i dunno about the milk, but we eat this yogurt almost exclusively:
http://www.blacksheepcheese.com/

the farm is a long bike ride away from our house. we like buying local!

good luck to you!

 

[miss_thenorth]

Quote:
The sheep section at BYH is pretty slow, I figured I would get more hits here.

 

[michickenwrangler]

Sheep can be used for milk. That's where roquefort and bleu cheeses come from.

I would like to get sheep but we have the opposite--forest instead of pasture.

I used to buy sheep cheese from a place in Tecumseh, MI. You can order it online (they make some cheese themselves and import others.) The woman there may be able to give you some ideas for sheep cheese.

www.boulevardmarket.com

 

[blueoval1]

Quote:
Wow thats really neat, I would love to own something like that.

 

[gypsy2621]

I dont care for sheep milk, there is a taste I cant get past. but thats me.
Sheep are evil calculating little plotters lol.
I had one who would lay there innocently untill I would get to her feed bin, then jump up and try to knock me down.
needless to say she was a right smart brat.
Sheep dont escape?
um thats not true, been there, chased a good many down the road that decided the neighbors grass was better than what they had in their field.
fun is trying to catch a smarty pants 12 week old who figure out he could go over the sheep fence.

 

[protodon]

I have been looking for similar info on different forums for quite a while. No one seems to know what is a good sheep for decent milk on not a lot of land. There are no sheep based forums either. It's like people qho have sheep, don't talk about sheep. On the internet anyway. Or they probably just have huge herds of them. And I doubt many people in this country milk them. Dairy goats seem to be catching on more and more here though. Hopefulyl dairy sheep are not far behind. I do have nigerians for milk but would also like to try dairy sheep. I think the milk is much better for cheese or dairy products than just drinking straight.

My only conclusions were to buy a couple icelandic or east friesian ewes, or one of each to tell which is the better milker or really if the icelandic is worth milking . Then I would also have to keep a ram too. Which would require more space.

 

[miss_thenorth]

Quote:
I hear ya. The info I can gather say east friesian, iclandics are supposed to be the do-all--wool, meat and milk. Ther is polypay, and they even say dorset can be quite good. I know dorsets are quite popular around here. I still haven't made up my mind. for me, I really want cheese and yogurt. I don't drink milk, but my kids do. they are looking forward to having our own milk. My son wants goats, my dd is kinda excited to get a sheep.

But as you said, not many people talk about it, or do it--milk sheep that is.

Looking on kijiji this morning, I found two dexter heifers an hour from here for $500 each. I really wish I had more land., then my problem would be solved.

 

[michickenwrangler]

I know there's a type of small sheep called "Babydoll sheep". Hobby Farms magazine's web site has a section on heritage breeds w/ small sheep breeds on there. Hope this helps.