Which Breed of Sheep???

[cococrisp]

Hi
I'm new here and am going to be getting two lambs soon. I live in VA and am planning on purchasing them at the Virginia Farm Show this January. I'm wondering what breeds you guys suggest. The sheep would just walk around our yard and eat grass. I don't need ones that are great for meat or wool but I want ones that are kid friendly, safe and will tolerate poking and petting well. They would need to be pretty hardy. I'd also like ones on the less expensive side as far as sheep go. Any tips or helpful info would be much appreciated too!

Thanks

 

[ksalvagno]

Do you have a way to have the sheep shorn? Sheep need to be sheared at least once a year. If not, you may want to consider the hair breeds like a Katadin. I would think if you are getting lambs, anything could be very friendly. I wouldn't get an intact male though. They will get aggressive with all those hormones raging. Probably wethers would be your best bet.

Welcome to BYH!

 

[cococrisp]

Thanks! I would be getting 2 female lambs and 1 female calf. I thought that if I raised them together they would be friends. I would like to have the type that is really fluffy just because they are cute. They would just sit around and mow the lawn. If I offered someone to shear sheep if they could keep the wool would they be interested? I don't really know what the wool is worth but I just want them to look at and play with. My problem is that I want the most generic fluffy normal inexpensive sheep but I don't know what breed that would be.

Thanks

 

[ksalvagno]

I don't know much about sheep. I would talk to the breeders at the farm show as far as shearing them for the fleece. As long as you can get someone to come and shear them or take them somewhere to be shorn, you should be fine. I would also look at pictures of the sheep as adults and see which ones you like. They don't stay little fluffy lambs for long!

 

[cococrisp]

I was thinking something that looked like this

 

[aggieterpkatie]

Are you planning on supplementing with grain? If not, don't get a meat breed like a Suffolk or Hampshire. They are typically bred as "club lambs" for shows and have been bred to be so reliant on grain to keep them living.

Look for a breed like a Dorset or Romney or something like that. Please talk to the breeder and tell them what you're looking for so they can help you decide what breeds to get.

Sheep typically only need to be sheared once a year, usually in the spring. You will probably have to pay someone to do this, as the wool isn't very valuable unless you have a really nice wool breed sheep.

If you want a sheep that tolerates poking and petting, you're going to have to spend lots of time with them. Sheep aren't very cuddly by nature, so you can't just throw them out in the yard and expect them to act like dogs.

Please get a book from the library about raising sheep so you can learn all about the different breeds and fencing and feeding requirements. Sheep require regular care, they're not as hardy as some animals. You also need to look into what plants are poisonous because sheep will eat toxic plants.

Just do some reasearch, talk to some breeders, maybe call your local Cooperative Extension Service, and you should be fine.

 

[bibliophile birds]

i'm just beginning too, so i've been doing lots of research. hopefully some of this will be helpful.

if you want hardy breeds, you want to look into heritage breeds or hybrids. modern commercial breeds are a lot more reliant on human interventions (medicines, lots of supplemental feed, etc) to stay healthy. but the heritage breed that will work for you will depend on where you live and your environmental factors. i'm looking at Gulf Coast sheep because they are particularly resistant to parasites, heat and humidity, and footrot, all of which are problems in the Southeast. you may need a sheep that is more cold tolerant, so you want to look at what breeds work best where you are. check this website for some good overview info on breed characteristics.

you might also like the Romanov sheep. they aren't exactly the picture you posted, but they are adorable- black faces and fluffy cream bodies.

 

[WoolyWabbits]

How about baby doll sheep??

 

[rockdoveranch]

We have hair sheep. We have Barbado sheep which are on the wild side. They are hardy and internal parasite resistant. Since I am a bit prejudice, I would suggest you get bottle baby hair sheep. Our bottle girls are VERY friendly, follow us around and snooze by our back door. We call them and they come a running to us.

They grow wool in the winter and shed their wool when the weather gets warmer, so they are easy keepers.

The hair sheep people I know around here in Texas wean at 3 months. I would get a lamb that is 2 to 2 1/2 months old and still on the bottle so that you can still bottle feed to bond with the baby, whether it be a hair lamb or wool lamb. Feed them a bottle and they are yours for life.

Take a look at the American Barbado. They are lovely hair sheep, easy keepers, parasite resistant and very pretty.

 

[20kidsonhill]

We show sheep for market and the suffolk are very friendly, the only adivice I have is avoid cheviots(spelling?) They are more wild than some breeds. The suffolk have black faces and legs and are a meat breed, so you would have to feed them some grain. The cheviot is kind of what you are looking at a white cotton ball type of sheep. I am assuming also for meat, but on the smaller framed side. They are crazy!!!!

You have been warned.