If you read my article on Preparing
For Sheep, you have your land, fence and shelters ready for sheep.
Now let’s think through what you want from your sheep. First let’s
look at the difference between “having sheep” and “raising sheep.”
Having Sheep:
If you want a flock of sheep purely for the fiber, there is no need to
purchase breeding stock. A flock of wethers (castrated males)
will work nicely and save you both money and headaches. Castrating
the males removes all the male hormones which results in less aggressive sheep
and a more harmonious flock. It also eliminates the need for a special
ram pen, lambing pens, special feed for gestating and lactating ewes, lambing
problems, etc. Plus the initial purchase of wethers is much less than
the cost of breeding stock.
Wether flocks are often made up of many different breeds and/or crossbreds.
Since there will be no breeding between the individuals, you have more flexibility
with the flock. You don’t have to worry about a large ram breeding
a small ewe resulting in difficult lambings, for instance. One issue
to think about with a wether flock is mixing polled sheep and horned sheep.
Choosing one or the other is a good idea for the sake of harmony in the flock
and each animal getting it’s fair share of the feed. Horned sheep
can easily intimidate polled (naturally hornless) sheep.
Raising Sheep:
If you want to raise sheep there are many factors to take into consideration.
First would be whether to raise crossbred or purebred sheep. Let’s
look into the pros and cons of both.
Crossbred sheep cost less to purchase and are usually more readily available
than purebred sheep. There is no need to keep pedigree records or pay
registration fees, but you should keep some basic information to make sure
you don’t inbreed your flock too closely.
Crossbreds come in all shapes, sizes, colors, and textures. You
can create a very diverse flock with crossbreds. If you are aiming
at selling fleeces to other handspinners, however, this type of flock creates
limits when it comes to Internet or mail order sales. Because the sheep
are not from a known breed, where certain properties and characteristics
are expected, many spinners may be wary of purchasing the fleece without being
able to handle it in person. But local sales should not be affected
by this. So this only affects your local vs. global selling expectations.
One down side to raising crossbred lambs is the value of the lambs themselves.
Crossbred lambs normally go to the meat market. There is little value
to other breeders for crossbred breeding stock lambs. Most ram lambs
are wethered at or shortly after birth and sent to auction or sold off the
farm. Ewe lambs may occasionally be sold for breeding stock, but do
not command the prices of purebred lambs.
Purebred sheep typically cost much more to purchase and can be more difficult
to locate. Pedigree records and registrations should be kept up to
date to retain the value of your sheep. Breeds vary widely, differences
in size, color, texture, lambing percentages, and much more. Time and
care should be taken while choosing a breed of sheep. See my article
Choosing a
Breed for more on this process.
In general, a shepherd is able to sell purebred fleeces for a higher price.
Purebreds offer the handspinner a certain type of fleece and can be sold
successfully over the Internet. Web pages such as this one Twin Willows Farm are common and
are a good way to market to handspinners.
Lambs produced and registered in your purebred flock can be sold for breeding
stock. Breeding stock lambs bring more money than market or meat lambs
will. Again, advertising on the Internet is a great way to market these
purebred lambs. However, not all purebred lambs will find breeding
stock homes. Be prepared to sell off the excess lambs to the meat market
or make sure you have enough space to keep them in your flock.
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