small sheep breeds

Nature Watcher

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We have Black Mountain Welsh sheep. Their wool is black and is supposed to be very durable. Some of them have very soft wool but, like all breeds, some are coarse. :/
 

nsanywhere

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I have shetland/merino mix ewes and they are fabulous! Not too big and very friendly. I got Towanda as a one month bottle baby and Tilly at 2 months old. They will have their first shear soon so I'm going to see what fiber sheep are all about :)

Here's a pic - I don't think there is much for scale, but will show off my girls anyway

1448_100_3586.jpg
 

j.luetkemeyer

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I currently raise Soay sheep. I only have a few; however, they are a small breed of sheep that require less maintenance than others. You can do a search for them to get more info. If you have any specific questions let me know.
 

jessica117

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My handspinner flock consisted of 2 tunis ewes and 2 shetlands, a ewe and a wether. All friendly, small compared to say a columbia, and quite spinnable. The wether had the best fleece. The tunis were a little coarser than the shetland but not bad. Just my 2 cents :)
 

Tashi

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j.luetkemeyer said:
I currently raise Soay sheep. I only have a few; however, they are a small breed of sheep that require less maintenance than others. You can do a search for them to get more info. If you have any specific questions let me know.
My mum and I are hoping to get some of these (because the alpacas are sulking at us :p) - isn't the fleece really sought after? Are they nice temperament wise? But low maintenance sounds kinda perfect!!
 

finns&fjords

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Have you considered Finn sheep? They're a calm and friendly breed. Mine are very bucket (grain) oriented and will follow me anywhere if I have one in my hand. They eat brush and grass both, will nibble the blackberry vines before grass, which is a plus for our property. They're small in stature as well and I have no problem trimming feet or worming by myself. They are also quite prolific; lambing with litters of 3-5 is common. Because of this they do need extra supplementation in the form of alfalfa and/or grain, from midway in pregnancy and continuing while nursing. With good feed they can usually raise up to 4 lambs w/o supplementing the lambs. you can learn more about the breed on the Finnsheep Breeders Association website. Though I've not had hundreds of sheep in my lifetime, I have had a variety and the Finns are my favorite. Oh and their wool is topnotch for felting.
5107_sheep_betty_finn_ewe_1.jpg

5107_summer2011_030.jpg
 

cinmcrk

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Hello,

A finn cross is an excellent ewe. I am going to cross finn ewes with my Dorset ram. I have also bought Ile De France semen, I'm going to cross this with finn and Dorset. You get the excellent hybred vigor and the milking and still stay docile like the finn.
 

firstimehogger

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Im few to this....haven't gotten mine yet so I have questions about the wool of the O.E.Babydolls. Is it hard to spin??
I'm putting my deposit down on them this week and have lots to learn in the meantime.
 
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