hair sheep compared to goats?

AMT15

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I don't believe I ever got an answer about which of your breeds is your fav.? Or maybe you don't have a fav.? that's why you have more than one breed. :p
 

boothcreek

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I love all my breeds equally, I dont think I could pick favorits.

The European Mouflon are just regal, and the way the rams change coat colours from summer to winter is just beautiful. And as the origin species of all domestic sheep I think its vital to preserve it in captivity.
They were what I originally wanted to keep but after 2 yrs of searching was unable to find a breeder. So then I looked for a breed of sheep closely related and found the Barbados, I read and researched myself silly on them and found that whole mess with american, barbados etc and decided on the american black belly(if there is something with a standard I want it, I love trying to breed to a goal).
2 weeks after getting my first American Black bellies I got an email from a mouflon breeder only 5 hrs drive from me...... I said to heck with it I am getting my Moufs!!! So got a pair of them as well.

Usually I have all my breeds together, the Mouflons are very seasonal(end oct-mid nov) and the mouf ram is low ranking so he never gets a go with the ABB Girls unless I seperate him out with them. Now I am selectively breeding to certain rams so I watch when my alpha ram gets rather fond of a ewe I seperate her out with the ram I want her bred by and usually 2-3 days later she is in heat and getting bred.
Oct - Nov the Mouflons are seperated into their own pen.

The Girls are coming out of a multiple birth year stint so right now I seperated the rams out to give the girls a rest for a few months. They look great and are in perfect condition to be rebred, but it is taxing lambing every 6 months and you notice the numbers of twins/triplets go down to singles and twins. So a couple months rest, and maybe even a bit of syncing up the girls so they maybe get their lambs a bit closer together would be nice.

The ABBs and Painteds reproduce much faster then the Mouflons tho, Moufs usually only single once a year.
 

boykin2010

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I do want to say that sheep are very hardy even though other people will tell you otherwise. I have been reading what other people have been saying and its not true. Get good stock and sheep are so easy to care for. I have never wormed my sheep and have never had one die either. *knocks on wood*

I also want to say something about sheep being economical. Selling breeding stock has been great for me. If not breeding stock, then lamb meat will always sell better. Ive never seen a meat goat sell more than a sheep of the same weight. I have never owned goats but my neighbor has them. I also have sold sheep to 3 different people this year because they are getting rid of their goats because they can't keep them alive!
Just remember you are asking people their opinions and everyone has one that is different.

If you don't mind me asking, where are you from and what will your setup be like?
Remember that sheep do better on pasture while goats prefer browse so depending on where you go you may not have a choice between sheep or goats.

I wonder why some of the other sheep people aren't commenting? Where is everyone?
 

bonbean01

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I did comment before...we have Dorper/Kat crosses and just love them! I tend to favour the Dorpers and husband favours the Kats...we have both and we love the cross of the two breeds. So...guess my favourite are our sheep...LOLOL...if it was important to us to have purebred sheep, we've have to keep two herds. This works out for us and we're really happy with our sheep breed choices :)

Our preference for the breeds has nothing to do with quality or temperment or anything else...just their looks...both Dorpers and Kats have the traits that we wanted.
 

boykin2010

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If you are interested in Katahdins and just want to look and see how close the nearest breeder is check out this website. Keep in mind that not all Katahdin breeders are listed here. Just the ones that are members to advertise and sell. I am a member under Ga.

http://katahdins.org/

Click on KHSI Directory, Then choose your state and it will bring up a list of breeders in your state. Usually they will have websites where you can visit and see examples of their stock and learn.
 

AMT15

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Thanks for the replies and I'll check out that website. I am in Tennessee, but like I said we're looking to move, soooo......... Anyway, I hope to have everything very simple, not a big herd, probably just a simple three sided shelter and a rotational grazing setup is all. Should work? And yes, the deciding factor in which species I end up with will most likely be what type of land we end up with. And if it ends up suitable for sheep, well then, I'll probably end up eventually getting both. How about goat x sheep hybrids? will that be a problem?

Thanks,
 

ShadyAcres

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I raise White Dorper. I started with a small flock (10 ewes) of a few Kats and the rest Kat / W Dorper mix. The ewes were all bred to a W Dorper ram. Because of the faster growth rate of the Dorper we eventually built up to a flock of Pure Bred W Dorper.

In this area sheep sales are on the rise. Pure Bred and Full Blood ewes are hard to find and priced high. Many people start with a commercial flock (Kat / Dorper mix) and use a Dorper ram. Good market for the ewe lambs as commercial breeding stock and ram lambs sold as market lamb.

Those who wanted consistency in the looks of their flocks used White Dorper, those that like the color variations used Black Headed Dorper as the ram.

Having some ewes that are more Kat and some that are more Dorper gives you an idea what you like best. Can breed up rather quickly from that if you so desire.

Most of the people in this area that I know who had Blackbellies (and I am not sure what kind they had) eventually changed to either Kats or Dorpers. While there were many aspects of the breed they liked, selling lambs were not as profitable. Not as high a demand for breeding stock, market lambs smaller.

Only knew of one person that had St. Croix. She has a mixed commercial flock with SC, Kat and Dorper. She now uses a Dorper ram and only kept some of the SC mix ewes. She likes their personality better for training stock dogs (in certain stages). Lighter flightier sheep.

Decide what your purpose is. Just a few to have around and enjoy? Eventually move up to a larger flock and become a producer? A friend told me the other day that when she first got into sheep an old man told her: they are your sheep. You are the one that will be looking at them every day. Pick the one that makes you smile the most!
 

AMT15

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Great advice. I do like the looks of the Barbados best, but then the wonderful qualities of the others (kats & dorpers) outweigh just looks. If you don't mind, what area of Tennessee are you in? I certainly do want something profitable, but yet without losing the fun, simple and enjoyable part of it. And also, do you agree with the st. croix and kats. being pretty much the same?
You all have been very helpful, thanks
 

boykin2010

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The st Croix are smaller sheep. They are flightier also. I believe st Croix weigh about 85-120 full grown. Dorpers and Katahdins get much larger. But the Dorpers and Kats are not nearly as flighty.

One reason I am culling most of my barbados and switching to Katahdin is the lack of diversity in the color. When I first started out I liked the badger look of the barbados but then when they have lambs it is never a surprise to what the lamb will look like. They will always be the same color unless you have painted desserts or another variation. Some people like them to all look alike but I like to be able to look outside and see a certain sheep from a distance and instantly know which sheep it is by its color or spot pattern.
 

EllieMay

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If all you're looking for is an EASY and LOW MAINTENANCE hair sheep, then I would highly recommend Katahdins!

Second choice, of course, being Dorpers.

They both can be raised on pasture with no need to supplement (unless you're trying to put extra weight on them fast).

The Kats are a bit taller than the Dorpers and the Dorpers seem to have more meat.

If you want friendly sheep, simply train them like you would any animal (use treats).

When I feed my young lambs grain, I always call "Kitty, Kitty" and they all come running.
That makes it real easy for me when I need to move them.
I call "Kitty, Kitty" and they follow me anywhere.
:)
 
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