Gulf coast native sheep in California

[Small Farmer]

Redwingheritageranch.com

I have the only flock of gulf coast native sheep in California... I need help getting the word out, any suggestions as to where I can post the information?
Dec 7-8 Heritage sheep sale - $150 (Woodland CA) Gulf Coast Sheep, true American homestead and small farm heritage sheep... High flavor, low maintenance - The perfect sheep for beginning shepherds, easy to raise, succulent, flavorful! "Meat of the Gulf Coast sheep is extremely tender, moist and balanced with a mild, clean, earth flavor" Slow Food Ark of Taste lambs $150 Breeding pairs $250, $350, $450

 

[Ruus]

A good place to start is to have a good farm website, and a listing in the breeder directory on your breed association's website. You could also try putting classified ads in sheep/livestock magazines.
Beyond that, I think it depends on who you're trying to market your sheep to.

 

[Bossroo]

All sheep have " high flavor" and " low maintenance", please substantiate your other claims. Most of us don't have a clue what a gulf coast native sheep is. Fringe breeds of sheep have a reason why they are on the fringe. In todays economy one can break even and maybe make money with heavy meat producers, however when it comes to wool production, well one is going to loose money. I had commercial flocks for many years , so I am interested in making a profit . Please describe to us WHY someone should purchase these sheep like rate of growth, birth size, twinning %, weaning weight at 5 months, meat quality-- USDA rating, size at maturity, wool quality/ shedding, lambing percentage, mothering ability, color, conformation, what environment is needed for optimum production, photos, etc. .

 

[Small Farmer]

High flavor, I gave a chef some mutton and some hogget, he was really impressed, wasn't expecting it to be as good as it was... I will be dropping off some lamb for him to try. They are low maintenance because of their genetics. Up until the 40s they were the only sheep that survived in the south. The very tough environment selected for only the hardiest animals and they have passed this on to their offspring. High resistance to parasites and footrot. university of Florida flock hadn't been wormed in over 40 years. I was clueless, never owned a sheep in my life and with dozens of births I have not lost a single lamb or ewe. That's what I call low maintenance. You can find more links on my website. Redwingheritageranch.com

 

[Bossroo]

Well, I visited those links and they don't provide any more information than you already stated other than being brought here by the Spanish and have Merino ancestry. I had hundreds of Merinos ( Ramboulatt, Corriedale, and Purebred Suffolks too) and they had fine wool, but they are very skittish and their lamb's rate of gain and meat quality was mediocre. Much improved with the use of Suffolk rams. In this economy the price of wool is so low and sheering costs so high that it isn't worth it to raise them. I culled them all. I do not and have not owned ( one of my neighbors does and I am very impressed with them as well as their crossbred lambs) a Dorper sheep, a new breed to the U.S. developed in S. Africa crossing the Dorset ram with a Persian Fat Rumped ewe -- developed for survival and meat production in extreme conditions. Just google "Dorper" and see what is useful information that a serious sheep owner can actually sink their teeth into. ( I was a sheep owner with a profit motive, not a part time backyard rare/ endangered of extinction breed preservation operation)

 

[Childwanderer]

"Parasite Resistance
Studies at the University of Florida and Louisiana State University found the presence of factors in Gulf Coast sheep that prevent infestation of some gut parasites, in particular Haemonchus contortus. Trials conducted at Alabama A&M University in 1997 came to similar conclusions. In this study Gulf Coast Sheep had one eighth of the fecal parasite egg count (Haemonchus contortus, Ostertagia circumcincta and Trichostrongylus spp.) than Suffolk sheep under similar conditions. Some flocks have been maintained for many years without the use of dewormers. The University of Florida flock was maintained this way for more than thirty years.

Footrot Resistance
Gulf Coast Sheep have a well-documented resistance to footrot, based on the experiences of many breeders including those at research universities.

Heat and Humidity Tolerance
Gulf Coast Sheep have become so adapted to the high heat and humidity that temperatures of more than 100 degrees will not interfere with breeding. Some of these sheep have also become acclimatized to temperatures as low as 60 degrees below zero.
...
Prolificacy
Gulf Coast ewes are able to produce three lamb crops in two years and will average 150% lamb crop per year. Lambing rates are similar to that of other breeds (70% single, 30% twins and occasionally triplets). They produce a high percentage of live lambs and a high ratio of finished lambs per ewe mated."

(http://www.gulfcoastsheep.info/characteristics/)
The main interest in GCNs is in their rarity/heritage breed status, but they do have practical advantages as shown above in being low maintenance and good birthers. If you are not interested in heritage breeds as such and are not a small homesteader, however, you probably aren't the target market.