Does anyone else have experience with Finn sheep? "Litters" of six sounds really intriguing.
sheep
- Thread starter Anny
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That sounds really interesting does anyone in Washington state have them?
"Litters" of six sounds really intriguing.
It SOUNDS good, but any time you have more young than you have teats, you're looking a bottle feeding every 3-4 hours for several weeks, and at a LARGE cost unless you have goats to provide the milk.
I prefer twins at the most to get healthy lambs without a lot of extra work and expense
It SOUNDS good, but any time you have more young than you have teats, you're looking a bottle feeding every 3-4 hours for several weeks, and at a LARGE cost unless you have goats to provide the milk.
I prefer twins at the most to get healthy lambs without a lot of extra work and expense
Bearfoot, what you said sounds pretty logical to me. Can't understand the "litter" concept in regard to sheep. Did a search on Finn sheep and it appears that large multiples (3 or 4) is fairly common. Unless they are extremely vigorous I don't understand how a ewe could raise that many naturally. It appears that Finn sheep are not particularly large; therefore, lambs if multiples must be quite small. Hard to see any advantage in ths scenario.
What sets the Finnsheep apart from the other Nordic breeds is the large number of lambs produced. Only the Romanov can compete with Finnsheep in terms of prolificacy. Litter sizes of up to nine live Finn lambs have been recorded. There have been several litters of seven live lambs born in the USA. More commonly three to five lambs are born in a litter. Adult ewes can raise triplets with no difficulties.
Larger litters can be supplemented with an extra feeding or two or the extra lambs may be raised as bottle lambs.
http://www.finnsheep.org/spinoff.htm
Larger litters can be supplemented with an extra feeding or two or the extra lambs may be raised as bottle lambs.
http://www.finnsheep.org/spinoff.htm
Ooh I want a bottle lamb!
- Mar 27, 2009
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My fiance and I are planning our dream farm-for some reason it involves a lot of mini animals.
Can someone explain the difference between Southdowns and "Olde English Babydoll Southdown" sheep? The latter makes me think of the "Micro Mini Teacup" dog craze.
Can someone explain the difference between Southdowns and "Olde English Babydoll Southdown" sheep? The latter makes me think of the "Micro Mini Teacup" dog craze.
Southdowns are a legit old breed.
The babydoll southdown people will tell you that their sheep are selected back to be like the original southdowns (which have indisputably changed over the years as there's been greater emphasis on a larger carcass that requires more feed to produce).
But I dunno, personally I am skeptical, I think more than anything it is just "breeding for smallness" in the same way as teacup poodles and mini horses and miniature cattle and those wee tiny pigs and so forth. Miniature livestock is just trendy lately, what can I say. It seems to be a yuppie hobby-farm thing, in large part, AFAIK, (especially when called "olde english" babydoll southdowns)... although I can see where for some purposes a very small sheep might have some practical use, like fiber production in a suburban backyard. But, <shrug>. Think of it as keeping the economy going
There are plenty of small sheep to choose from, though. Supposing that one wants a small sheep in the first place. If you want *really* small, also somewhat pricey, then babydoll southdowns would certainly be one of the main options to consider.
Pat
The babydoll southdown people will tell you that their sheep are selected back to be like the original southdowns (which have indisputably changed over the years as there's been greater emphasis on a larger carcass that requires more feed to produce).
But I dunno, personally I am skeptical, I think more than anything it is just "breeding for smallness" in the same way as teacup poodles and mini horses and miniature cattle and those wee tiny pigs and so forth. Miniature livestock is just trendy lately, what can I say. It seems to be a yuppie hobby-farm thing, in large part, AFAIK, (especially when called "olde english" babydoll southdowns)... although I can see where for some purposes a very small sheep might have some practical use, like fiber production in a suburban backyard. But, <shrug>. Think of it as keeping the economy going
There are plenty of small sheep to choose from, though. Supposing that one wants a small sheep in the first place. If you want *really* small, also somewhat pricey, then babydoll southdowns would certainly be one of the main options to consider.
Pat
- Sep 24, 2010
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Finsheep are mainly raised for wool nowadays, not everyone raises for meat, you know. Many people have sheep as just pets, anyway, which was what this thread was about.
They are often able to raise these large ammounts of lambs with little, if any trouble depending upon the ewe. There have been records of as many as eight lambs from the same finsheep ewe.
Feeding once in the morning and once in the evening is usually all that is needed for the finnsheep to raise the litter successfully. If you need to bottlefeed most of the babies fulltime then you don't have a very good ewe. Finnsheep were bred to be able to raise the litters without help originally.
They have very good fleeces and more lambs means more to sell. you want to select your breeders that were at least a triplet for good breeding potential in the Finns. they also produce fairly large quantities of milk for their size.
From the perspective of a wool breeder a small sheep with a good fleece that produces large ammounts of lambs is an ideal. If you aren't going to eat them then they don't need to be a large sheep.
They are often able to raise these large ammounts of lambs with little, if any trouble depending upon the ewe. There have been records of as many as eight lambs from the same finsheep ewe.
Feeding once in the morning and once in the evening is usually all that is needed for the finnsheep to raise the litter successfully. If you need to bottlefeed most of the babies fulltime then you don't have a very good ewe. Finnsheep were bred to be able to raise the litters without help originally.
They have very good fleeces and more lambs means more to sell. you want to select your breeders that were at least a triplet for good breeding potential in the Finns. they also produce fairly large quantities of milk for their size.
From the perspective of a wool breeder a small sheep with a good fleece that produces large ammounts of lambs is an ideal. If you aren't going to eat them then they don't need to be a large sheep.
- Mar 27, 2009
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Quote:
We at least have practical uses for the small livestock we want. Kinda. I've had Mini Horses for years, so they stay. We're looking at miniature cattle because we like the idea of our own milk and beef, but we don't use enough to justify a full-size animal. The sheep are mostly because I like sheep, but my fiance also likes to eat lamb, but again, we don't need much.
We at least have practical uses for the small livestock we want. Kinda. I've had Mini Horses for years, so they stay. We're looking at miniature cattle because we like the idea of our own milk and beef, but we don't use enough to justify a full-size animal. The sheep are mostly because I like sheep, but my fiance also likes to eat lamb, but again, we don't need much.
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