Someone please talk to me about sheep...

[justusnak]

everythingjane ..... BEAUTIFULL! I am getting my first sheep this spring. I too am getting Shetlands. I am so excited...I think I could just do a happy dance! I am getting 2 Ewes...and possibly a Ram. No goats for me...I dont think I have the patience for them.

 

[conroy]

Are sheep loud? or as destructive as goats? I wanted goats and my bro in law told me to ge sheep instead.. he said they were easier to keep.

 

[playswithfowl]

I really wish I has the space to keep sheep. The breeds I have always been interested are: Icelandics, Jacob, Finnsheep, Navajo-Churro, and Barbados Blackbellies. I am not very interested in the bigger breeds such as Suffolk or Hampshire.

 

[NOnuggets]

What breed is it with the black faces and white bodies?

That coloring is found in many breeds, though some breeds only come in that color. In Icelandics it is called Badgerface, but is only one of seventeen different colors and patterns. Icelandics are heavy wool bearers that are shorn twice a year. They grow two qualities of wool at a time...Tog and Thel, so from one sheep , you can get three varieties of yarn. Depending on the availability of hay and pasture, they are relatively inexpensive to feed, as they do not need grain.

I would recommend that those considering sheep visit a number of farms for the breeds that interest them

. The same breed under a different shepherd can act like an entirely different sheep. Our sheep are very much like dogs in their temperament...here is Sophie, my "border collie"

She runs to the gate and sticks her head out when people pull into the driveway, hoping to get scratched.​

 

[playswithfowl]

Ooohh love the Icelandic pic

 

[Redtractorranch]

I have raised Finnsheep for about 10 years. Their wool is a long staple wool that is good for hand spinning (though I don't spin, I sell it). The meat has a delicate flavor, not that overwhelming "lamby" taste that store bought lamb does. Our ewes are pretty friendly, but the rams and wethers are very friendly and like to follow us around. If you just want one for a pet and wool, I would consider a wether.

One note about Finns, though, is that they act a little more "goat like" than the Suffolks I used to have. Especially when it comes to grazing. My Finns prefer to eat shrubs, weeds and flowers rather than plain grass. They are also a little bit more of escape artists and climbers than the Suffolks.

 

[cgjsmith]

I love my sheep, I let the goats and athe sheep run together for a bit but they tend to seperate themselves. My billie tends to be rough with my sheep. I feed all my animals allstock from TSC and have loose minerals out for them. The goats have a miniral block in an area where the sheep can't get to ( they go down into the woods often. Mostly though they all forage and get hey. Its a sheeps natural diet anyway. I try and give a hand full of allstock and corn mix once a day though. (more for a treat though) Heres two of my babies. I raise babydoll sheep. crystal

 

[MissPrissy]

My sheep are a mixed bag.

I have pure freisans - dairy sheep, and border leicesters - spinning wool, and mutt sheep that grow a very thick wool but is a larger stocky animal that also gives great meat.

Dorcas is of unknown breeding. I saw her face and loved her instantly and wanted her above all other sheep in the pasture for sale. She is also a pig and will knock you down for a grain bucket or a crumb.

 

[Felicia]

Quote:
Really? My sheep is the boss of all the goats. Whenever the one of my goats (she is a bully) starts picking on my alpine goat, my sheep Mollia used to go and stand in between then and then she would go away. Everyone has learned to listen to Mollia, so all she has to do now is look at them and they stop whatever they are doing. Its hilarious, because she looks at them like a mother looks at her kids. Like talking with her eyes, hehe.


Miss Prissy - Your ewe in that picture looks exactly like my friends colored Corriedale. They seriously look like twins...

 

[MissPrissy]

I suspect she has corriedale in her but we don't really know what she is. She came from a mixed breeding pen with several rams and ewes.