The 8 Best Sheep Breeds For Homesteaders
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- čas přidán 19. 06. 2024
- We're back again with all the research in one place on the best breeds of sheep for homesteading or on a small scale.
Happy homesteading!
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ABOUT THE HIGH MOUNTAIN HOMESTEAD
Hi! I’m PJ, and my family loves the homesteading life! It’s something my wife and I have always wanted to do, but we grew up with ZERO HOMESTEADING EXPERIENCE!!!!!
We grew up in beautiful southern California, 15 minutes away from the beach. As amazing as that was, we both dreamed of a life closer to land and animals. After getting married and moving to Utah, our family slowly grew. We had become a family of four living in a townhome with a small backyard filled with potted plants.
In 2019 we dipped out feet into homesteading on 1 ¼ acre lot in Utah. In 18 months we were ready to do this for real. So in 2021 we packed everything up (including our sheep) and moved to North Carolina to 12 acres and we love every inch of our homestead!
We raise Dorper sheep and have big plans for:
• grass-fed lamb
• fullblood Dorper breeding stock
• meat chickens
• laying chickens and ducks
• heritage breed pork
• honey
• row crops
• perennial food forest
• and more
I hope you join us on our journey, subscribe and ring the bell if you haven’t yet.
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#homesteading #sheep #meatsheep
Another breed not mentioned but I think is worth a look is Shetlands.
They are known for their wool but produce lots of milk and a good dress out of meat.
They are a smaller sheep breed (ewes top out at about 80lbs, Rams 180lbs) but they eat half the amount and are good browsers so they’ll eat all the weeds/shrubs while still having grazing tendencies.
Their smaller size makes them easy to handle and they do well on lower quality pasture.
Great pick! Plus they are really attractive sheep to have around too.
I have St. Croix ewes, a white dorper ram and raise the cross. In Canada, neither one is common and it is REALLY HARD to get new bloodlines into Canada. The cross is fantastic though. Really awesome sheep in terms of size, health and temperament. We had 9 lambs out of 4 ewes this year and every one of them thrived. The mom with triplets was more than capable of looking after all 3 entirely on her own. I love going out every day and having them come running and freedom leaping out to greet me. They're fantastic sheep and I recommend them to anyone looking to raise sheep for meat.
That's such an amazing cross! You are doing it right!
@HighMountainHomestead lmao I'm doing that part right. I've made plenty of other mistakes 😅
I like doorset and Suffolk
I want to get some sheeps too! I just need to make a good shelter for them. Your sheeps are adorable and I'll definitely be taking all these pointers for you. Money is right here so it will be a while, but hey I'll be all the more wiser about sheep care by watching you.
hybrid vigor is real, in my experience crossbreds almost always out perform purebreds,
Hybrids between 2 to 3 good breeds.....Suffolk is great on its own....now cross it with doorset or dorper
White chickens hybrids lay more but for a shorter period of time.
White chickens hybrids lay more but for a shorter period of time.
chickens hybrids lay more but for a shorter period of time.
chickens hybrids lay more but for a shorter period of time.
Thank you for your info
Good to see you back on CZcams! We are going to Frontroyal va for the HOA conference in October we hope to c you there.
That would be fun. I still haven't been to a HOA conference yet. One day!
fun video PJ. i was wondering what you guys were up to.
any progress on your pig journey? we just got rid of ours. happy with weights and happy to be done for the year for big pigs.
definitely resonate with hybrid vigour. its why we cross dorper and katahdin alot in ontario. i also crossed dorset and katahdin and found those ram lambs to be big boys very young. big win for meat breeders. also we notice up here pure breds tend to struggle with worms and hybrids not so much.
one breed i was surprised no mention of was isle de france. theres a pretty big push up here for mixing that breed with other wool breeds for folks sending to market. same idea-- multiples and quick growth. do you see much of that breed down south?
i love to stick to hair sheep because i hate sheering days for the few wool sheep we have. all about lazy sheperding where we dont trim hooves much, we barely worm and we dont sheer. the beauty of katahdin you might find too if you get breeding is most of my girls once they're 2nd timers dont even need help with lambing. just walk in the barn in the morning and say, oh look, more baby lambs :)
Next video will be about the pigs. Finding all the photos for these videos takes a long time to edit. But the pig video is already recorded, just needs editing.
We ended up getting about 390lbs back from our two red wattles. A lot of that is backfat and bones, but still a good amount of food for us!
Yes, crosses and terminal crosses have a real future in sheep farming. Hybrid vigor is real, and I want more of that on my little plot of land.
I have never heard of the isle de france sheep, but after looking at the photos from Google images, I see why they are a growing breed. They look like a wool sheep with the body of a hair sheep. Squat, round, and meaty. Its face looks like a white dorper.
I love being a lazy shepherd too! Less worms, less hoof problems, and less shearing is what hair sheep are all about!
Any good recommendations on a place to try the meat? We would like to taste the meat before we purchase a certain breed to raise. Thank you thank you for all the information!!
I definitely recommend going to your local farmers market. If you find lamb being sold there from multiple vendors ask them all what breed they raise. That'll be the most important information for you to consider because whatever breed is being raised near you is a breed that works in your area. If you go after a certain breed just because you want to, it may not work out because that breed may not thrive in your climate conditions.
So, ask vendors what they raise, what problems they have raising the sheep. And buy some lamb! Lamb pretty much all tastes the same, it won't vary tremendously by breed. If you find you don't like it, give it some time. If you've never cooked it, you may want to try it from a nice restaurant to see how it's cooked well. It can take a few times to practice cooking something new and learn how to make it just like you like it. I hope this helps!
Anyone have a good resource for finding sheep to buy in the East Tennessee area?
Dorper❤
South Africans prefer the SA Mutton Merino for more meat and the best wool yields. If you don't like wool the Damara or Meatmaster are good choices for meat. Dorper is small.
Which breed sheep grows fast like kiko goat?
The black belly ?
Like your channel. I am in moving to North and planning to put 2 sheep in my backyard. I was first intrested in the Finnsheep, but after watching you vidio, I got interested in the dorper.
I would like to choose a hardy breed that sometimes I can get a little milk from.
What are your thoughts on the Finnsheep breed?
Anticipating a reply
Hello! I'm unfamiliar with the Finnsheep breed, but after you move and get settled into your new place, I'd recommend going to your local farmer's market and asking around so you can get a handle on what breed most people raise in your new area. The locals usually have a good idea what breeds will do well in the area. If you have your heart set on Finnsheep, definitely see if someone around you is raising them and how they're doing it. If no one near you is raising them it may be difficult to even get your hands on them. Definitely ask around and see what people near you are doing. Hope this helps!
Love your videos!
Thanks so much!
I’m new to your channel! Bingeing the videos as I’m in middle Georgia USA on five acre homestead. Wanting to get a small flock of sheep for milking purposes first, meat would be second priority. Parasite resistant is a plus…probably three ewes and a ram. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I’m still going to binge all your videos! 🤍😉🥰
What an exciting phase! I think that's a great place to start.
I imagine Georgia is humid like North Carolina, so I'd prioritize a breed with renowned parasite resistance. St. Croix would be at the top of my list. Blackbellies would be high on my list too (if you can find them near you).
@@homesteadingwithPJ I appreciate you! Thank you.
If your main focus is dairy look for east friesan lacaune crosses with higher lacaune. They are the more durable and tough breed between the two. If you wanted to breed in a more shedding breed like Katagan Lacaune is also the better breed to do that with their shedding they do already.
@@thewolfaeflock8060 thank you so much for the advice. Much appreciated.
My sheep are East Friesian and Lacaune mixes. In the US you CANNOT yet find 100% of either of these breeds. Some people are close with mid 90s but they just keep working with importing semen as the sheep cannot be imported.
Lacaune are the 2nd highest milk producers and they shed their inner wool so need less shearing.
I also have some Dorset. If there is any triple threat for sheep Dorsets are likely it. They are good size, grow fast, have medium to to high quality wool ( outer wear to adult skin contact) and produce a large amount of milk just not for the lengths of the pure dairy stock.
I will having half dorset 1/4 east friesan and 1/4 lacaune lambs thus year to raise a girl from to test how much it increases milk production and lowers wool value.
Those sound like good milkers. I'd love to try raw sheep's milk sometime.
It's great! Sheep milk is sweeter and is the best for making cheese. The milk is always homogenized and can be frozen for months and still usable and taste fine.
@@thewolfaeflock8060 I'm sold! Now i just have to find some around me doing it.
Navajo-Churro sheep produce some of the best meat!
Dorset, Suffolk and dorper seem to be the best...
have you heard about dohne merino, meat and wool
Googling it now. That's a handsome sheep. Large frame, and I'd imagine the Merino in it ensure a good quality wool for shearing.
@@homesteadingwithPJ also South African Meat Merino/Dormer, SAMM in short
or meatmaster a pick between 20 breeds just in ZA ... so many sheep varieties 🤣🤣
Suffolks are very poor fiber sheep. In commercial flocks, Suffolk rams are used to improve lamb carcasses of fiber breed ewes.
Thank you. This was a great video :) I believe hybred viger comes from the fact that when God made everything, they had perfect genetics, and as animals spread out, selection started taking place based on climate, location, people, etc. and as time goes on and genetic selection takes place more and more, you lose certain genetics for that breed. When you cross them, lost genes are re-introduced, creating a stronger healthier animal :) Thank The Lord Jesus Christ for His smazing creation!